God Bless America?

Independence day is here and that means two things for our family, celebrating the freedom we enjoy and gathering in Northport with my aunt.

Going to Northport is always a packing adventure for us. Because of packing, the 48 hours before my stress relieving vacation is my most stressful time of the year. This year was no exception.

To the right is a US military C-5 transport plane which is the largest cargo plane in

the world. It has maximum payload for shorter distances of 500,000 pounds.

Nothing could possibly carry more…..until this week. The C-5 transport has been surpassed by my mini-van. The attachment of a car top carrier and a trailer hitch bike carrier coupled with my wife’s masterful ability to pack every cubic inch of space inside has given our mini-van a new transport record. Once we packed our kids in and gave them air tubes to get them oxygen, our total carrying weight was 505,000 pounds.

It is now considered a miracle in reverse format from the feeding of the 5000. Experts are calling it the packing of the 505,000.

Every year I ask myself, why go through all this?

We do all this in part to celebrate our country’s founding on July 4, 1776. Not everyone finds this worth celebrating.

As a pastor I am often confronted directly and indirectly with the question whether the USA is a Christian nation or not.  That question will get you many different responses ranging from angry rejection to angry patriotism. In a sea of strong emotions and undeveloped dogmatisms how should a Christian think about the USA and patriotism? Here are a handful of thoughts to help navigate the subject.

Reasons not to consider the USA a Christian nation:

1. We are part of God’s country first and foremost. This governs all earthly attachments including patriotism. We are much more connected with a Christians around the world than we are with non-Christians in our back yard.
2. Though many of the people who came to America did so with the hope of establishing a Christian society, many did not. Many of our most prominent founders were not godly men. Ben Franklin would not get an invite onto Focus on the Family today, and Thomas Jefferson surely would not be on the Back to the Bible Hour.
3. Slavery is a tragic reality of our founding and its effects are still felt today. Though some were against slavery, the country as a whole lacked the political will to do away with it.
4. The USA has committed many atrocities over the years to advance its interests.

Reasons to consider the USA a Christian nation:

1. Devout Christians played a significant role in establishing the footings of our nation. Their influence is even seen in the writings and actions of most of our fairly irreligious founders like Thomas Paine, Jefferson, Washington, and Franklin. Almost to a man they acknowledged God and the need for free religion in a healthy republic.
2. Christian principles were a vital part of our nation founding ideas though many of these ideas were divorced from the person of Jesus Christ and attached to a non-personal God the father. The principles are none the less biblical.
3. Despite many evil and destructive moves by our government over the past two centuries, the USA is far and away the most benevolent and helpful nation the world has ever seen.
4. At the time of our founding no other place in the world offered the ability to worship Jesus Christ freely.

I could go on with this list with things both for and against viewing our nation as Christian. There is clearly a tension that exists that pulls us in both directions.

I think the question of Christian patriotism is answered mostly in what we mean by patriotism and by identifying the object of our patriotism.

If our patriotism is a pride that we are better than other people because our geographic region has more jets, tanks, ships, cars, malls, clothes, t.v.’s, skateboards, t-shirts, athletes, Disney theme parks, decadent music and movie stars, droids, ipads, bandwidth, etc….. , then a Christ-follower should have nothing to do with it.

If, however, patriotism is defined as gratitude that many obscure people made great sacrifices to give us religious freedom, safety, and opportunity to flourish that few others in the history of the world have had, then we should lead it. Patriotism of gratitude is very different than patriotism of “we can kick your butt”. It is this type of patriotism that wants to extend the liberty we have to those around the world that are under oppression. It is a patriotism of giving not hoarding. It is a patriotism of shalom.

Ultimately, Christians must keep in mind what we are patriotic toward. We are patriotic toward specific ideas more than a specific place and specific government (though we are called by God to obey the authorities He puts over us). The ideas of life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and the acknowledgment that all people are created equal are founding principles of our nation. These are also biblical principles that all Christ-followers should long for in their country as well as all countries around the world.

The USA has not always followed it's core principles at times as evidenced by slavery, abortion, and many other oppressive and destructive acts here and abroad. However, the ideas still remain, though imperfectly, and they are worth advancing and being patriotic toward. I love this country not because it does everything right, but because in its ideal form it strives to advance liberty to all people everywhere. This makes the USA a unique place.

I know my government does not advance Christ, but in the name of liberty it allows me to. That is something worth appreciating, celebrating, and at times defending. It is worth praying for, persuading others toward, and participating in government to maintain.

In the name of God given liberty and out of appreciation and care for the oppressed enjoy this holiday and pray the world will embrace liberty so everyone may make an informed and free decision about Jesus Christ.