Concerns about “Christian nationalism” have been raised in recent years from the political left. Some people in Christian circles, and specifically conservative Christian circles, have pushed back on those concerns and criticisms. At the same time, however, concerns about Christian nationalism have been voiced from within Christian circles, even from within conservative Christian circles.
The conversation has arisen, perhaps, because of the way that Donald Trump has courted Christians in his campaign to “Make America Great Again”. Many Christian voters have embraced Trump and his campaign slogan.
I am thinking about this in the context of a question raised about Christians being patriotic to John Dickson on a recent episode of the Undeceptions Podcast. (See Question Answer XIII at abut the 42 minute mark.) The person who raised the subject referenced the Bonhoeffer movie, observing that the issues for the church seemed to come when the church stopped thinking what it means to be a Christian and started thinking about what it means to be a German Christian.
The question is, “Should Christians be patriotic?”
Putting the question in terms of patriotism, rather than nationalism, presents a slightly different twist on this conversation. “Christian nationalism” has become a pejorative term, but patriotism is seemingly more neutral and non-pejorative. At the same time, many people accused of Christian nationalism would likely say they are only being patriotic.
So, is patriotism ok for a Christian?
I like the fact that this question was put to John Dickson, an Australian who has no dog in the American political fight. Though he currently teaches at Wheaton College in Illinois, he approaches the issue from outside the roiling turmoil of American politics.
The question was also posed by a non-American listener to the podcast who was concerned about the way patriotism “potentially dehumanizes others and makes them seem lesser because they are not of our race”. He expressed concern about the mistreatment of refugees and others of different background to our own.
The “glaringly obvious” theological view proclaimed by Jesus and the New Testament writers, responds Dickson, is that Christians should view themselves fundamentally as citizens of a kingdom that is not of this earth. (Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” (Jn. 18:36); Paul said, “[O]ur citizenship is in heaven.” (Ph. 3:20); and Peter called Christians “sojourners and exiles” in this world. (1 Pet. 2:11) In my view, that means that none of us have a dog in the earthly political fight – ultimately.
Thus, we should “be shaped by the values of God and not the values of any particular nation”, according to Dickson. He observes that this admonition is everywhere in the teaching of Jesus, beginning with the first public words spoken by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, which we call the Sermon on the Mount. He summarizes,
“Everything in the Beatitudes [in the Sermon on the Mount] seems to stand against the nationalistic mindset of dominating others…. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are the merciful; blessed are the peacemakers; blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven [paraphrasing the Beatitudes]. The contrast with the nationalistic spirit of the day couldn’t be more striking.”
JOhn Dickson in Episode 146 of the Undeceptions podcast
Dickson urges us to consider the Beatitudes in light of the Roman domination of the world at the time and the Jewish expectations at that time. These are some song lyrics written in the 2nd Century BC by a Jewish author:
“See, O Lord, and raise up for them their king, the son of David,
Psalms of Solomon 17:21-23
At the time known only to you, O God, that he may reign over Israel your servant.
Gird him with strength, to shatter unrighteous rulers;
To purge Jerusalem of the nations that trample her down in destruction;
To expel, in wisdom and righteousness, sinners from the inheritance;
To smash the sinner’s pride like a potter’s vessel….”
This Jewish author’s sentiment is full of what we might call nationalistic pride. Contrast that sentiment with the words of Jesus. The meek inheriting the earth seems like a far cry from shattering unrighteous rulers. As John Dickson explains,
“Jesus is demanding that his followers live by the values of the future kingdom over the values of any particular present nation.”
JOhn Dickson in Episode 146 of the Undeceptions podcast
Everywhere Jesus went, he proclaimed the coming of the kingdom of God. (Luke 8:12) The kingdom of God (and being ready for it) is the subject of most of the parables Jesus told. He also announced that the kingdom of God is here now (in our midst), but he sad it is like a mustard seed, the yeast in bread, or a treasure buried in a field.
The kingdom of God now is not (yet) the ruling authority. It is here, but it has not taken over. It is emerging, but it is not yet what it will be. When that time comes, however, everyone will know it; and people need to be ready for it, or they will miss it and be left out.
The message of the kingdom of God – that it has come, but is yet to come fully – is consistent with the instruction of Jesus that the meek will inherit the earth. We do not rule in the kingdom of God presently with might and power; we “rule” by denying ourselves, but taking up our crosses, and by allowing God to rule and work in our hearts to conform us to Himself.
The Jews who expected their Messiah to come at the time of Jesus did not recognize Jesus because they thought he would be their champion, empowering them to shatter the nations that oppressed them and smash the pride of (more) sinful nations. They failed to recognize their own sinfulness and the promise to Abraham, which was to bless all the nations through Abraham’s descendants. (Genesis 12:3, 18:18, 22:18)
They were too full of nationalistic pride to see what God was doing, consistent with the very promise God made to the them – to bless all nations. As we will see, this is a key issue, and it is something we need to contend with, lest we enter into the error of the First Century Jews
Paul’s letter to the Romans is a plea to Jewish Christians not be be filled with nationalistic pride, because Abraham was counted righteous by his faith (trust in God), not by any merit of his own (Rom. 4) and because grace is available to all people who trust in God (Rom. 5), not just the Jews.
Nationalistic pride causes us to think more of ourselves than we ought to think. It causes us to think we are better than others. It also causes us to miss out on the grace of God that can only be received in humility and meekness, understanding that we all sin and fall short, and we all are justified and saved in the same way – by faith (trust in God).
Our nationalistic pride causes us to build up walls between us and people not like us. Jesus came to tear down those walls that separate us in our pride. (Eph. 2:14) We may not even mean to wall people out, but nationalistic pride, by its very nature, does that.
Paul used the concepts of nationalistic pride and honor that existed in the Greco-Roman world in his letter to the Philippians, but he put a Gospel twist on those concepts. He contrasted citizenship in the Roman Empire with citizenship in God’s kingdom:
“[M]any live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven.”
Philippians 3:18-20
The glory of a Roman citizen is shameful in God’s kingdom. In the same way, we can say the the glory of being an English, or Iranian, or an American citizen is not something we should exult in. Setting our minds on earthly things makes us enemies of the cross! Rather, Paul says,
“Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ.”
Philippi ans1:27
The word translated into the phrase “conduct yourselves” was full of patriotic meaning to the Philippians. The Greek word, (politeuomai), has the same root as the word from which we get the word, politics. It means “to live as a citizen, to conduct yourself [as a good citizen]”. The word is unique to Greek, and means to live like a faithful citizen in the Greco-Roman world.
When Paul used this word in his letter to the Philippians, a Roman colonial city steeped in Greek culture, they knew exactly what he was doing. Paul was telling them to live faithfully like a citizen of the Gospel. He was saying that the allegiance they owe is to God and His kingdom.
The phrase “in a manner worthy” is translated from the Greek word, ἀξιός (axios), meaning worthy, deserving, suitable. It carries the idea of living worthily of the honor, social status, and reputation one has. According to Strong’s Lexicon, the closest Hebrew words to convey this idea are kabod (glory) and tsaddiq (righteous).
By using these words that carried connotations of social/political citizenship, honor, and glory in the Greco-Roman world, Paul was telling the Philippians to live with that same sense of allegiance to the Gospel and the kingdom of God. Paul was instructing them to embrace the honor and glory of living as citizens of heaven – where blessed are the meek, the mourners, the poor, and the peacemakers (now) who will inherit the earth God made (later) when His kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven.
John Dickson says the theology of Jesus and Paul is simple:
“Any Christian who sees himself first as an Australian, or an American, and secondarily as a Christian is living at odds with their Christianity. The central biblical principal is that we must be willing – cheerfully – to sacrifice or criticize any value of our nation that contradicts the values of the kingdom of our true citizenship.”
Dickson concludes all of this by making a distinction between nationalism and patriotism. He defines nationalism as “devotion to a geographical place; it’s commitment to the land and structures and institutions and people within a certain border.” He says a nationalist remains loyal to the nation even if/when the values shift in that nation. He defines patriotism as being an allegiance to values and traditions handed down from our forbearers (provided they align with God’s kingdom), and he concludes that Christians can be patriots in this sense.
I really respect John Dickson (so much that I have listened to dozens, and maybe hundreds, of hours of his podcast), but I think he falls short in his analysis. Obviously, patriotism that includes an allegiance to values and traditions handed down from forbearers that does not align with the values of God’s kingdom should be shunned as much as nationalism.
As a friend often reminds me on this subject, we need to be carful to define our terms. Therefore, I asked Chat GPT for 5 definitions of nationalism, and I found some definitions not at odds with the theology John Dickson carefully laid out (with which I agree). For instance, nationalism that values the shared identity of a group of people based on common language, culture, history, and traditions, and which emphasized the importance of preserving and promoting this identity, isn’t (necessarily) at odds with being a citizen of heaven.
Forms of nationalism, such as prizing the superiority of one’s nation over others, asserting national interests over international concerns, and prioritizing our own national interests over all others, can put us at odds with our heavenly citizenship. To the extent that our nationalism causes us to exult, favor, and serve ourselves to the exclusion and detriment of others, we violate the second greatest commandment – to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Both nationalism and patriotism can be at odds with Paul’s admonition not to set our minds on earthly things and to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy and appropriate of being citizens of the kingdom of God. That doesn’t mean that having some love for and pride in or interest in preserving our heritage puts us at odds with God and His kingdom.
When Jesus said that any man who does not hate his mother and father, wife and children, and sisters and brothers cannot be his disciple (Luke 14:26), he wasn’t telling us to hate our family. He was saying that our love and devotion to him must come first.
The same can be said of our national identify and our patriotism. The danger is that we can love and honor and be devoted to national pride and patriotism too much. The danger is that setting our minds too much on earthly things can diminish our love for God and devotion to the Gospel and His kingdom.
Of course, anything that takes primacy over our love for God is idolatry. Anything that diminishes our love for other people, including people who are not of the same nationality or heritage as us, is sin. We are told that our love for each other (fellow followers of Christ) is what will set us apart from the world. If we love our countrymen more than we love our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world, wherever they are, we are not living in a manner worthy of Christ.
Navigating by Faith 