The Fourth of July has come and gone and the theme of patriotism often appeared in our social media. Given that there are many, diverse uses and misuses of the topic of patriotism, I suggest that the Bible offers us surprising and helpful corrections.
One initial challenge before us is trying to define patriotism in a functional way. Most popular definitions use phrases like “love for one’s country”, usually suggesting that we should have a deeper love for our nation than we express toward other countries. We need greater precision with this kind of definition. We use the word “love” in a variety of contradictory ways. The object of our love frequently produces in us an extreme self-centered happiness as in one of my favorite phrases, “I love chocolate!”. Note well that chocolate can contribute to one’s happiness while at the same time not contribute to one’s health. This is a cheap, albeit common, use of “love” in English in the Unite States today. The Bible provides a sharp contrast to this cheapened use of “love”. Christians used the Greek word agape to mean seeking the multifaceted well-being of other people, usually at the expense of one’s own interests. It is self-giving rather than self-seeking. The object of agape is a person or a group of people, not things. Let us now look at an area where typical or traditional patriotism is not agape-patriotism at all.
Exceptionalism is the false belief that one’s group or country are God’s special favorites and therefore are ethically “above the law”. Although the Word of God describes the Jews as God’s chosen people, there is no place in Scripture that even hints that God does not hold them accountable for their actions. To the contrary! If Jews have more revelation about God, they are responsible to act more justly, not less. “To whom much is given much is required.” (Luke 12:48) John the Baptist warned people not to trust in their “exceptionalism” by claiming Abraham was their “father”. Like everyone else, they needed a deep conversion of repentance in which they would show by their actions that they had returned to God. (Luke 3:1-20 and Amos 2-3, especially 3:13-15)
There are many Christians in the United States who claim that our nation is exceptional, that is, God’s favorite people. This claim is not found any place in the Bible! Although many of our founders had a genuine deep Christian faith, many did not. Jefferson published a “Thomas Jefferson Bible“, in which he removed every reference to the supernatural or miraculous action. Jefferson and Washingtom, like many of our national founders, were more deists than Biblical theists, that is, their God was like a watchmaker who created the world, then left it “ticking” on its own. Regarding exceptionalism, God does not give a free pass to any ethnic or national group.
A cheap patriotism wants our country to “win”, usually with the defeat of others. The Bible has a better goal, harmony and shalom for us, but also for our neighbors (Matthew 22:37-39), and even for our enemies. Agape-patriotism can transform our enemies into our friends. I don’t approve of all of our decisions in World War II, but there are a few positive examples (such as our treatment of Germany under the Marshall Plan).
We need to correct the misuse of cheap patriotism words, like “allegiance”. Almost all who believe in a Creator God who is just (such as in Judaism, Christianity, or Islam) would claim that their allegiance to their God is more important than any loyalty to a country. So what do we mean when we say “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America…”? Surely it means a lesser allegiance, a limited loyalty. But history reveals many problems. Followers of the great theistic religions agree that God said, “Thou shall not kill”. Nevertheless, there are horrible examples (Germans in the time of Hitler) who killed other human beings without any ethical qualms, and all in the name of a cheap patriotism or religious nationalism.
A cheap patriotism leads to a nation becoming more dominant or cruel. A genuine agape-patriotism leads a nation to become more like a city on a hill or a bright beacon of light and hope for all…no exceptions.
Lindy Scott 