The Christian and Patriotism

What about on July 4th weekend Sundays the Churches giving direct biblical messages to their States? I am toying with this thought.

All in all, I can agree with almost every element of the article.

With the way that Americanism has influenced our culture, it shouldn’t be shocking to see how Christianity has been influenced to place too much of an emphasis on patriotism and American values. The hard part is finding a way in our minds to separate out what is the influence of the culture we live in, and what does the Bible really say.

Pretty much the only “patriotic song” that ever gets sung in my church would be the US national hymn, “God of Our Fathers,” which really only in the most vague way mentions any nation at all and far more focuses on God’s people.

I am very thankful for this nation. We enjoy so much freedom and prosperity, and it’s the blessing of God on our nation. I vote and do my reasonable civic duty, and would not object to protecting the nation if I was so called to do so (though I am thankful that such things haven’t been required of those that haven’t volunteered).

However, the article does express some ideas that I have to disagree with, and they are significant enough to require some reasoning.

Many of the ideas espoused in the various documents that are cited as “the idea” of America may cite the name of God and claim their foundation in God, but they don’t actually agree with the word of God.
1. The “Social Contract,” the document from which many of the ideas expressed in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution is a great logical treatise on government, but it is not the least bit biblical. It states that government is derived from the people and that it is beholden to the people, but the Bible says that government on any level is derived from God and is beholden to Him alone. The idea that government derives from the people and not God makes the allowance for a person that can coerce or manipulate the people into support to therefore be legitimate and proper government. The idea that government derives from God and not the whims of fallen man makes the correctness and propriety of government instead be based on consistent and righteous standards.
2. The Declaration of Independence cites the name of God on many occasions but takes for granted ideas that are not of God. The idea that man has an “inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” is not found biblically. In fact, the Bible has nothing to say about rights at all, and rather limits what men call rights by various responsibilities and limitations placed on all of those things.
3. The idea that the form of government that the US has is the best option available for man is very counter-biblical. First, if a Constitutional Republic was such a good idea, then why did God never mention anything like it? I’ll leave out the government of the Judges, since that was something that God selected, and can no longer be seen to be an option. The only form of government that God endorsed in scripture other that one under His personal oversight was a monarchy. You could consider that monarchy to be a “Constitutional Monarchy” in the fact that the Law of Moses could be seen as a form of Constitution, but the governments seen in Israel and Judah appear far more to be an Absolutist form of monarchy. As far as God’s ideal ideas on government, the verses that should best inform us on His ideas are these:
Proverbs 30:29-31 - Solomon in inspiration quotes the words of Agur, and states that “A king against whom there is no rising up” is a glorious and beautiful thing. That really describes nothing less than an Absolute Monarch.
Proverbs 30:32 - Immediately after describing that monarchy, the statement is made that those “lifting up” themselves (see the similarity to the statement “rising up” in the verse before) are being foolish and devising evil, and should immediately stop their actions. In essence stating that rebellion against absolute monarchies is wrong.
Ecclesiastes 10:5-7 - Solomon in inspired philosophy describes what best matches a representative form of government: those of nobility, wisdom, and proper authority being ruled over by the common people. The thing is that such a government is described as “an evil.”
Daniel 2:36-43 - The interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream shows another of God’s thoughts on government. Daniel says explicitly in verses 36-37 that Nebuchadnezzar and his heir’s power and control over the government of Babylon made them the head of gold and that the kingdoms that followed were inferior to his. Now every kingdom that is described as following and being inferior in the chapter (Medo-Persian, Greek, and Roman) was actually larger and more powerful. The difference being that each one added more and more dilution to the power of the leadership of it, making them each weaker. We can see by this that God esteems the absolute authority of a ruler to be a good and notable thing.

I could continue to go on with a lot more reasoning, but as it is this has gone on for a while and will either be entirely ignored or will have stirred up enough controversy without adding more.