The Irony of Christian Patriotism

Every week at AWANA Bible club we stood to pledge allegiance to the United States flag, the Christian flag, and the Bible. (Yes, we pledged allegiance to the Bible.) I dutifully stood and said all three pledges, but I had a friend who didn’t. She didn’t pledge allegiance to the United States flag, she told me, because her allegiance was to God.

You often accept a lot of cognitive dissonance when you’re a child. I certainly did. I was an evangelical Christian. I knew my allegiance was to Jesus. The gospel was for the whole world; we were part of the family of Christ, which transcended national boundaries. We heard missionary stories in church and at home, and for many years I planned to be a missionary. But for all that, I still participated wholeheartedly in the jingoistic American patriotism so common among today’s evangelicals.

Looking back, my friend had a point. The Bible says to “give to Caesar what is Caesars” but it also says that the Christian’s allegiance is not of this world. Paul told his followers to be subject to the authorities, but he also said that Christians were citizens of heaven. Throughout the New Testament, government appears as an entity to be abided by (so as to avoid trouble and the appearance of evil), but not one to be glorified in.

The closest the New Testament comes to endorsing patriotism the command in I Peter, which by the way was almost certainly not written by the Apostle Peter, to “honor the emperor.” However, it is worth remembering that many scholars believe that I Peter was written during a time of Christian persecution, and the book itself exhorts Christians to stand firm in defense of their faith. Here’s how the command to “honor the emperor” appears in context:

I Peter 2:13-17 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king [or emperor].

Some understanding of early Christianity is helpful in understanding these verses. During this period Christians were often viewed as disturbers of the state, in part because they preached allegiance to God above all else. Because of this, and because of their refusal to make sacrifices to the emperor, early Christians were persecuted sporadically by officials in various regions across the empire. By urging his readers to submit themselves to the authorities and “honor the emperor,” the author of I Peter sought to head off these allegations that Christians were disturbers of the peace.

The situation today is entirely different. Christians are not thrown in jail or executed for their faith. Interestingly, those Christians who claim that such persecution is taking place take the exact opposite response to that recommended in I Peter, crying persecution and drawing attention to themselves rather than submitting themselves to those in authority or honoring the emperor. Think of Kim Davis, the Kentucky official arrested for refusing to allow her deputies to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, for example.

In other words, the command to “honor the emperor” is not a command to embrace patriotism, but rather a command to obey the authorities so as not to draw negative attention or a bad reputation. Allegations that they were disturbing the state, after all, came hand in hand with negative perceptions of Christians that surely got in the way of evangelization and recruitment.

My friend’s refusal to say the pledge of allegiance arguably fell afoul of I Peter. Saying the pledge likely falls under “honor the emperor.” (Of course, this begs the question: Why were we saying the pledge of allegiance at Bible club, in a church, surrounded only by Christians?) Still, I understand the spirit of my friend’s critique. I Peter commanded a pro forma nod to the emperor, to keep up appearances, not the sort of deep almost, spiritual attachment so many of today’s evangelicals feel toward America and its flag.

And I Peter certainly never commanded Christians to police the honor others showed to the emperor, or to position themselves as the arbiter of the acceptable level of honor that must be shown to the emperor. And yet, here we are.