Many American churchgoers are asking: “When will God bring revival to this nation and restore our Christian foundations?” The desire for a country based on Christian morality and for revival is not unlike the concern in Jesus’ day for the restoration of Israel, its freedom, and economic prosperity. . . .
October 15, 2016
By Amy Medina “I”m moving to Canada.” Personally, Canada would be way too cold for me, but I understand the sentiment some have expressed. However, instead of fleeing for the hills””or tundra””maybe it”s time for American Christians to start living like missionaries in their own country. Before you get offended, let me assure you I am in no way belittling the millions of American Christians who are already living out gospel-centered lives in their communities. As you learned in Sunday school when you were 5, we all are missionaries. But I”m not talking about living as a proclaimer of the
October 11, 2016
By Mark A. Taylor Why devote so many pages, words, and ink to a question that can be answered with just one word? Can a Christian be a patriot? Yes! With two more words, let us be clear: of course! Readers of articles this month should not see any anti-Americanism here. But these articles offer a plea for us to put our patriotism in perspective: To thank God for America without assuming America is at the center of his will for the world. To ask God to bless America without believing that America”s interests are always God”s purposes. To respect
October 10, 2016
Four problems with nationalism for the Christian By David A. Fiensy I suppose when a small country church invites you to fill their pulpit on a Sunday near the Fourth of July, you should expect some flag-waving. But what I experienced was way over the top, in my opinion. The song leader led us in patriotic songs exclusively. At various times during the service, he seemed to choke up when referring to the American flag. When it came time for the Lord”s Supper, he apologized for “breaking the mood.” After the Communion service, he sang as a solo, “I”m Proud
October 8, 2016
By Rubel Shelly In my opinion, the United States of America is a wonderful, though imperfect, country. One could even call it exceptional in many ways among all the nations of the world, but I refuse the designation “American exceptionalist.” An American woman can love her country and be deeply patriotic because she appreciates its uniqueness and marvelous history. She might point to such things as its abundant natural resources and favorable climate. More likely, she would talk even more about the freedoms of speech, press, and religion. There is the protection under law its citizens enjoy. She could reference its
October 7, 2016
Books to shed light on conventional notions of God and country By Jim Tune “Is the United States an exceptional nation? Of course it is. . . . Though not everyone may like the way the United States has used its exceptional status over the course of the last two centuries, it is hard to deny that it has been . . . extraordinary.” So says John Fea in his foreword to John D. Wilsey”s American Exceptionalism and Civil Religion. Personally, I”m inclined to agree. In my research, the authors of the books I surveyed are, for the most part, in agreement
October 6, 2016
Four biblical principles about our earthly citizenship By Matt Proctor Full confession: I love America. I was born on an overseas U.S. Army base where my father served, and I respect the office of president, sing the national anthem, salute the flag, and own the movie Captain America. But my study of God”s Word has led me to decide how I should view my love of country in terms of my higher calling. Two summers ago, I took my 10- and 12-year-old sons on a weeklong U.S. history tour. We imagined being an immigrant at Ellis Island, marveled at the
June 28, 2016
By Mark A. Taylor The below piece, first posted here five years ago, still resonates with me as we approach the Sunday before the Fourth of July. As one commenter said when it first appeared, “Our patriotism is for our freedom and way of life in a free country; our worship is reserved only for our Creator God.” More than a decade ago, my congregation hosted a patriotic pageant each year called “Sea to Shining Sea.” We had a huge adult choir, a children”s choir, a live orchestra, actors, and dancers. We welcomed color guards from all the armed services.
November 19, 2014
By Jim Tune The Sermon on the Mount has been speaking to me in fresh ways lately. In the tradition of Alexander Campbell, I am trying to read these passages without viewing them through any particular Evangelical, sociopolitical, or theological lens. You can imagine how difficult this is to do. My biases rise up in protest””especially when I read what Jesus taught about peacemaking and loving enemies. Please don”t send me any hermeneutical treatments of the subject. I”ve read them all. But in times of honest reflection, I find myself pushing back when it comes to all the Evangelical escape
September 24, 2014
By Jim Tune Jesus Christ turned conventional views of power upside down. Jesus was remarkably indifferent to those who held political power. He had no desire to replace Caesar with his apostles. He gave civil authority its due, rebuking both the zealots and Peter for using the sword. This seems to have infuriated the religious right of his day. In an effort to discredit Jesus, the Herodians tried trapping him over the issue of allegiance to political authority. I am mystified by the Evangelical obsession with power and influence. A made-in-America Jesus seems more concerned with nationalism, patriotism, and power
July 2, 2011
By Mark A. Taylor More than a decade ago, my congregation hosted a patriotic pageant each year called “Sea to Shining Sea.” We had a huge adult choir, a children”s choir, a live orchestra, actors, and dancers. We welcomed color guards from all the armed services. We sang every patriotic song you know, including one that invited veterans from every branch of the service to stand and receive the cheers of the crowd. Fireworks accompanied the songs, and after the last note, everyone sat with necks craned to the sky and enjoyed 20 minutes of the rockets” red glare. Our
March 14, 2010
By LeRoy Lawson Fareed Zakaria, The Post-American World (New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 2009). James A. Morone, Hellfire Nation: The Politics of Sin in American History (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004). David Domke and Kevin Coe, The God Strategy: How Religion Became a Political Weapon in America (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007). Love of country can be beautiful. I remember returning from my first extended trip to Europe. When we landed I almost kissed the ground, I was so glad to be home again. I”ve since had that experience over and over. I”m proud to be
By Patrick Nullens I”ll never forget my first trip to America. After landing in Chicago, I thought, It”s like the movies. I took a cab to a huge hotel. As most tired travelers do, I switched on the cheap television set. That was when I experienced my first cultural shock. A well-dressed woman with giant artificial pink nails was resting her hands on a stack of postcards and praying for sick people. After reading each card, she prayed for each request, one by one. As she prayed eloquently and piously, a number for financial contributions flashed across the bottom of
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