A Discussion on Love and Patriotism
The focus of this post will be centered on a topic in a book that I have been reading recently. The book is The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis. Most would know Clive Staples Lewis as the author of The Chronicles of Narnia series of which its first installment, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, was recreated into a film in 2005 which grossed more than $745 million worldwide. In The Four Loves, Lewis tries his hand at breaking down the difficult subject of love. The book may have been more properly titled The Four Loves and a Like, but who am I to question Lewis. The progression of his chapters is as follows: Likings and Loves for the Sub-Human(this has nothing to do with animals), Affection, Friendship, Eros, and Charity. For the purpose of this post, I will focus on patriotism which is a topic in the second of his chapters, Likings and Loves for the Sub-Human.In the introduction chapter, Lewis brings to us the statement, "We may give our human loves the unconditional allegiance which we own only to God. They become gods: then they become demons. Then they will destroy us, and also destroy themselves." We must consider this statement when thinking about the things we feel most strongly about. One of the things most humans feel strongly about is their country. Lewis describes the progression from healthy love to demonic destruction with the following:
Patriotism "contains many ingredients."
(1) There is love for home-Lewis described a thought from G.K. Chesterton by saying, "a man's reasons for not wanting his country to be ruled by foreigners are like his reasons for not wanting his house to be burned down; because he 'could not even begin' to enumerate all the things he would miss."
(2) We have a particular attitude to our country's past-We must remember the times that those who have gone before us did great things to make us who we are. If we were to forget those things, we would "fall below the standard our fathers set us, and because we are their sons there is good hope we shall not."
(3) The third ingredient to patriotism is a belief. We believe in a grand way that our country is superior to all others.-In a discussion with an old clergyman, Lewis asked him, "But, sir, aren't we told that every people thinks its own men the bravest and its own women the fairest in the world?" To which the clergyman replied, "Yes, but in England it's true."
(4) "If our nation is really so much better than others it may be held to have either the duties or the rights of a superior being towards them."-The thought that acquiring other nations is for their own good. We are going to help them out, and show them the ropes. These thoughts are not parallel to the thoughts of exterminating a given set of inferiors, but "both are fatal." To be given to the thought that we should grow "wider still and wider," will surely bring corruption.
This is the point where the love of one's country has become a god to that person or group of people. As we discussed earlier, that love is not at all being used properly(it is not being directed towards God), so it will become a demon. That demon will destroy.
This progression is not exclusive to feelings for one's country. You could replace country with your school, a club, your family, socioeconomic class, or even your church. In fact, Lewis sums up his thoughts on this topic with the following information, "If ever the book which I am not going to write is written it must be the full confession by Christendom of Christendom's specific contribution to the sum of human cruelty and treachery. Large areas of 'the World' will not hear us till we have publicly disowned much of our past. Why should they? We have shouted the name of Christ and enacted the service of Moloch."
As I inspect myself, I can see that in the past and present there have been thoughts of superiority for reasons that I would now consider both worthy and unworthy. Now I understand that if the thought/action is worthy and glorifying to God, there is in no situation that I should cease to think or act in the same way I have been. In fact, when Lewis spoke about wars in the context of being for the cause of Christ, he said those wars should be, "wars of annihilation." Our mental and spiritual "wars" should take on the same conviction as the physical wars of which Lewis was speaking. And, on the other hand, if our cause is not for Christ, but for something less divine, we must reconsider the length we are willing to go to affect others with our thoughts/actions. We must not let our loves become gods, because when they do, the god becomes a demon, and the demon will destroy what we thought we were holding most dear.
Food for thought:
In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.
-George Orwell
"1b O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. 3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. 4 So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, 6 when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; 7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. 8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. "
-Psalms 63:1b-8
posted by IndyRider at
11:52 AM
7 Comments:
America, on its most ethical day, is "one nation under God." What America never is, however, is "God's one nation." America is not, nor has it ever been, a Christian nation. What this nation undoubtedly is, and has always by structure been, is a republic within a democracy. A country of many freedoms, one of which is the freedom of religion and another is its correlate, the freedom of no religion. America is one nation, one among many, upon which the face of God may shine.
Our status as a Christian nation is not disqualified because of all the non-Christians living within our country or even leading it. America is not a "Christian" nation because "nation" is itself a secular notion. It is human beings who draw their borders and assign their names. It is my conviction that God recognizes nations only insofar as they are a means by which his creatures have chosen to organize themselves.
God's own social organization is far more inclusive than any nation state could achieve. The Great Commission commands Christians to go into all nations and witness to those within them. It does not commend them to establish nations and consecrate them unto the Lord. What God has brought about through Christ is the reality of a Body that makes all distinctions of nationality (ex.: Jew or Greek) of secondary concern to the greater unity that comes with inclusion into Christ. We as Christians do not cease being citizens of our respective nations but the way live as citizens is now preconditioned by our primary responsibilities to the Body.
The notion that America is, has been, or must now be a Christian nation is one significant pathway to the type of idolatry that C.S. Lewis by way of Nick Tranbarger has described to us. I think this idolatry is most often achieved by the following means: We attempt to sanctify our nation state by conflating Christian ethics with the values of demoncracy. Then, operating under the false assumption we have been successful, we use America's "Christian" status to justify sinful postures like nationalism and imperialism (so we can better show the poor savages the ropes).
America can be one nation under God, but not by virtue of its constitution or its political leaders. America can only by one of the nations under God by the way its people treat the widow, the orphan, and the alien. As such, this country can never claim to be a Christian nation as long as it creates wars in far away lands, consumes a huge majority of all the world's food and resources, and leads all other countries in the damage it does to the Creation of which humanity is supposed to be the steward. America can hardly claim to be one nation under the Christian God as long as this remains the case, no matter how closely American laws embody the values of our religious beliefs.
I'm no liberal. Nor do I believe in an utter separation of church and state. But am one Christian who believes that claiming America is "God's country" is to drag the name of the divine through the mud.
By
Dave Scott, at 5:28 PM
P.S. Though I wrote in a rather stern tone in my comment above, those of you who don't know me personally needn't be afraid to engage, dispute or even completely ignore the perspective I shared. I am usually a charitable conversation partner should any of you reading this decide you'd like to pick up the thread of I've started.
From my discussions with Nick about his intentions for this blog, I understand what he's doing with it to be largely experimental: Nick submits an opening statement on a subject which interests him, and then sits back and waits to see what comments his readers feel inspired to share. My preceding rant is definitely an example of a comment inspired by Nick's thoughts, and not necessarily one in direct conversation with what he wrote.
I'd hate for my comment to be a conversation killer. Again, engage, dispute or ignore it. "The power is yours!"
By
Dave Scott, at 2:52 PM
Dave, I couldn't have said it better myself. To add, I appreciate your comments.
These comments by Lewis have opened my eyes to be more of an international "thinker." At the end of the day, we must be fully committed to Christ and nothing else. Not our country, our families, our interests, it is Christ alone that we must pursue. This pursuit causes an overflow of many types to nuture and serve the other attentions of our lives.
I too am interested to read other's prespectives on this issue.
By
Anonymous, at 4:42 PM
It is very interesting to me to read this particular blog from my husband b/c all the time I have known him he has been a die-hard patriot. I have never thought of patriotism as a bad thing (and still don't really) but I absolutely see that we can't put the love of country above the love of God. I really liked what Dave said about America being God's nation. So many think that way and forget that He created the rest of the world as well. I remember coming back from Kenya and not wanting to be here (I was 14) and someone telling me that I didn't deserve to be here. All b/c I, a child, longed for the place that I had called home for 3 years of my life, I wasn't worthy of being in the USA. Anyway-all that to say that I appreciated Dave's view on this subject and the fact that God loves everyone and all nations as His creation.
By
Anonymous, at 4:59 PM
Hey guys!
I was just helping a couple of 7th graders with essays about religion vs. government, so I too have been thinking about this subject a bit recently.
I think if we read the words of the Constitution with unbiased eyes, it's pretty easy to see that the founding fathers weren't calling for separation of church and state, but offering the state as a church ENABLER rather than a church REGULATOR. While that doesn't exactly make the United States a Christian nation, it certainly makes worship a state-sanctioned activity and gives God the glory for being our Creator and Sustainer.
Modern liberal political and social activists have tried to eliminate God from our national radar by suggesting that when the founders of our said that Congress should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, they meant that government should be totally removed from any matters of faith. I believe they meant quite the opposite -- due to the oppression and suppression experienced by its early citizens, many of whom had come to the Colonies to escape religious persecution, the new nation being formed purposed to allow free expression of faith, without requiring submission to a state church or making the governmental leader have dual headship as the spiritual leader as well. To suggest that their intent was to alienate and forbid the expression of Christian principles presupposes an animosity toward God that I just don't believe existed.
Having said that, Romans 13 is still in effect, and except where our government's mandates contradict Scripture, their authority has been ordained by God, and He uses them to carry out His will. Is it wrong then to feel patriotic toward, or even to love a nation founded on Christian principles, whose leaders God is using to accomplish
His purposes in a global fashion? I don't think so. God Bless America!!
By
Unknown, at 3:30 PM
Ellen, it seems to me that the point on which you and I would stand together most firmly is that religious perspectives have a place in American government and that place is provided for by the very foundations of our government. As long as America is truly a republic within a democracy, the elected leaders of this nation must answer (to some significant degree) to the desires and convictions of the electorate. Therefore, as long as significant portions of that electorate call for the actions and decisions of government to reflect the religious convictions held by America's people, this country's leaders are obligated to heed such a call. As we saw in 2004, their re-election may hinge upon it.
What I'm picking up from your comments is that you and I have different views of how "Christian" the founding principles of our nation's government truly are. I agree that our government is fundamentally structured to support the free practice of religion and to protect that practice against the type of conflation of church and state you have already described so well. Because the overwhelming majority of people who had settled this nation were Europeans, and the predominant religion practiced by Europeans at the time was Christianity, the religion that was almost exclusively practiced by the first Americans was Christianity. It is my position (and I acknowledge I am neither a lawyer or historian) that the enabling of the Christian church you described was not the primary aim of laws establishing religious freedom, but rather the immediate consequence of those laws being put into practice.
The values imbedded in the principles on which American government was founded are first and foremost principles of the Enlightenment. Jefferson and Franklin in particular had committed themselves to a natural religion guided by pure reason. For them, this religion held a place of authority over more traditional faith systems like Christianity. Hence Jefferson had a cut-and-paste New Testament and Franklin had some rather unflattering things to say about the worth of Christianity.
Did the Founding Fathers weave what we would regard as "Christian" values into our earliest laws? Certainly. But these values were included not because they were Christian, but because those particular values met with the approval of natural religion. Now certainly not all the Founding Fathers were naturalists and deists, some were undeniably pious Christians. But the ground in which the commonly held values of the Founding Fathers were rooted was not the soil of Christianity but the values of equality, freedom, and civility which had gained ascendance during the Enlightenment.
These distinctions are important for me because so often the Christian right wants to promote its breed of religion over against the free practice of other faith traditions within our borders by making appeals to the fact that this country began as a "Christian" nation. As a scholar of religion, this upsets me.
The truth is, when this country was founded it had a heck of a lot of Christians living it, and so the unofficial religion of America was Christianity. But it wasn't at its core a Christian nation. One implication of this interpretation of our government’s origins is that, if one admits to its validity, one must also admit that Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, etc., have just as much constitutional right to lobby for their religious values to be represented by American law as Christians do. After all, the First Amendment protects religion in general, not Christianity specifically. So, hypothetically speaking, if the American population should some day become predominantly Muslim, the fundamental principles of our government would not need to be undermined for our laws to accommodate this dramatic change.
Hopefully this comment hasn't become so lengthy that everyone has stopped reading because there's one other. Regardless, this is the end of it. I'm sorry this has gotten away from the original subject of patriotism. But it may still be worthwhile reading for those interested in thinking about how the Christian should best relate one's faith commitments to one's commitments as a citizen of this country.
By
Dave Scott, at 3:33 PM
Jesus Himself said in Matthew 6:33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." On the basis of God's revelation to the Apostle Paul, Paul wrote in I Corinthians 10:31 "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." My thought is that patriotism must be to our God first and foremost. Anything less than that comes with the certainty of falling away here on earth as well as for eternity. John 3:16-17 "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."
By
Anonymous, at 7:33 AM
Post a Comment
<< Home