IDLE WORSHIP: Confusing the idol of nationalism with true faith in God

Like many American Christians, I grow more worried by the day at the displays of national pride that are tinged with images of God, as though belief in God is the equivalent of righteous military might. If there are two things that don't go well together, it's jingoistic patriotism and true faith in Christ. No matter how I view it, I can't see past the clear contradiction between Christ's calling and the demands of fervent patriotism. When I read articles such as this one, I can't help but feel that something’s gone terribly wrong. For a country that considers itself largely Christian, there’s little Christian about these public displays of faith, or what passes for it.

To call oneself a Christian is to be a follower of Christ, the Word of God made incarnate as Man, but so many of the public displays of faith I see have little to do with true discipleship, which requires surrender and forgiveness. Since 9/11, a large number of Christians have bought into the notion that actions against our country require swift, vengeful retribution, which couldn’t more of a polar opposite to the message of Christ. Imagine for a moment if a nation that’s largely Christian responded to 9/11 by forgiving our enemies for the attack, and then reaching our for reconciliation by attempting to find out what their problem with us entailed, and then collectively searching our souls for a solution. The thought alone is so radical that it probably never crossed anyone’s mind, yet that’s exactly what Christ would have called us to do. Yet try telling that to anyone and you get met with a blank stare, as if you were crazy.

I recently took an Internet tour of a number of websites with pro-Christian music videos, and left feeling very unsettled. Over and over again I saw the same thing...images of American might, largely military, being associated with God’s blessing America. And that’s the problem in a nutshell. Do people really believe that an all-loving God, watching over a world filled with His creations, favors soldiers from one country and not those from another? Stop for a moment and look at the big picture from God’s perspective. Wouldn’t you imagine that He’s terribly saddened by the manner in which we all treat each other, and how we all attempt to justify our actions by claiming that God’s on our side, or that Americans are somehow more righteous and deserving than people of other countries? Or that the deaths of 3,000 American civilians on 9/11 was a terrible tragedy, but the deaths of nearly 4,000 Afghan civilians caused by our bombs was somehow acceptable and okay?

Back in the mid-1960s, Senator William Fulbright once commented that great nations often confuse great might with God’s favor, and once a country starts to feel that way, anything goes. America is in this position right now, and it’s a dangerous position to be in. The problem with this train of thought is that once we start thinking God is behind us, we will take any sort of action without bothering to examine our motives too closely. I hear so many Americans speak of how our soldiers are defending our freedoms by fighting abroad right now, but I would ask them this question: What freedoms specifically are they defending? Our “right” to a steady supply of foreign oil? Our right to keep our consumer economy rolling by exploiting the resources of other countries? No matter how you cut it, I don’t see how they’re defending my personal liberties.

Please understand that I’m in no way attacking the character of our young people who make up most of our fighting forces. They, for the most part, are dedicated and loyal people who believe they’re doing the right thing. My problem is with the powers-that-be who are misusing them terribly. As a conservative relative of mine recently commented, “Our all-volunteer army has become little more than a mercenary force for big business.” Sadly, I believe it’s true. Even worse, many conservative Christians continue to promote our wars as “us against them, good against evil,” and the madness continues.

In the end, we’re left with a choice many Christians don’t want to make. Either re-examine our faith and get it in line with the commands of Christ, or sink deeper into a corrupted, cultural faith that claims God as its leader, but instead worships the idols of nationalism and patriotism.