Breakpoint
Author: John Stonestreet and Andrew Carico
Should Christians love their country? This has always been a controversial question, but as America celebrates its 250th birthday amidst intense political divisions and a decline in reported pride of country, a proper understanding of patriotism from a Christian worldview has never been more relevant.
In his book In Defense of Christian Patriotism, Daniel Darling defined patriotism as “love of country as manifested in loyalty, service, and giving honor to one’s country.” Church Father St. Augustine gave Christians a good way to prioritize loves in his ordo amoris, or order of loves, which can be a good way to think about love of country. Here is St. Augustine:
…living a just and holy life requires one to be capable of an objective and impartial evaluation of things: to love things, that is to say, in the right order, so that you do not love what is not to be loved, or fail to love what is to be loved, or have a greater love for what should be loved less, or an equal love for things that should be loved less or more, or a lesser or greater love for things that should be loved equally.
As Darling pointed out, Christians often create a false binary between “love of country” and “love of God,” but that framework contrasts with both Augustine and the Bible itself. The Apostle Peter wrote that we are to “Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the Emperor.” There is an order here: We are to Fear God and honor the government, unless the powers direct us to disobey God.
One helpful way to understand a proper, ordered patriotism is to consider it like a virtuous mean, similar to Aristotle’s virtues, that exists between two extremes. A virtuous patriotism sits between two extremes. On one hand, as C.S. Lewis explained in The Four Loves, an excessive love of one’s country leads to idolatry, as it “becomes a demon when it becomes a god.” On the other hand, the deficiency can lead to what Lewis called “debunking,” or a mockery of love of country that tears down one’s home and heritage in the name of patriotism itself.
Yet, a biblical and virtuous love of country need not blindly see America as perfect or God-like. America is neither pure nor free from sin, nor is it uniquely evil. As such, America is not unredeemable. Rather, it is grounded in noble, true principles. That kind of patriotism asserts gratitude and loyalty to America by recognizing it as a love properly ordered.
An example can be found in one of America’s greatest statesmen, Abraham Lincoln. In 1852, he provided a eulogy for Senator Henry Clay, who did much to try to stymie the coming Civil War during his lifetime. Lincoln said this about Clay: “He loved his country partly because it was his own country, but mostly because it was a free country.” Here, Lincoln proposed a form of patriotism that goes beyond loving your country merely because it is your place of birth and the home of your fathers. He demonstrated an informed patriotism, understanding his country’s freedom and justice as worthy of his love.
Christians in America can love their country because they know that Christianity was at the heart of not only the founding of America but also many of its most important reforms to help ensure greater freedom and justice for all. In his book, Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land, historian Mark David Hall argued that Christians and Christian ideas were pivotal in resisting British tyranny, conducting the American Revolution, eradicating slavery, pursuing justice for Native Americans, and promoting religious liberty.
Years ago, Chuck Colson wonderfully described this Christian ideal of patriotism, as a way of loving God and neighbor:
The Christian position is beautifully balanced. On one hand, we don't deify our country. We don't wrap the flag around the cross. Our ultimate citizenship is in heaven, and that's where our ultimate allegiance is. But the only place for expressing that allegiance is in the concrete loyalties God calls us to here on earth—including loyalty to country. We can't love mankind in the abstract; we can only really love people in the particular, concrete relationships God has placed us in—our family, our church, our community . . . and our nation. So brush up on your civics, dust off your U.S. history books, and celebrate this July Fourth by thanking God that He has not only called us into His kingdom but that He's also allowed us to live in—and yes, love—this land of liberty.