Five Pillars of Christian Patriotism

Christians have a responsibility to bless the nation in which God has placed them, where they can make real contributions to peace, prosperity and restoration.

Why this list matters: Christian Nationalism, progressivism’s bogeyman, exists more in the Left’s fevered imagination than in reality. What does exist, and is crucial to restoring the West, is Christian patriotism. We can learn much from the example of five great patriots who exhibited some of the essential characteristics of Christian engagement in public life.

1. Seek the Good of Your Country and Your Compatriots

In his second inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln exemplified patriotism’s fundamental priority: “…seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you…” (Jeremiah 29:7). Delivered in 1865, just weeks before the American Civil War’s end and 41 days before his own assassination, it speaks hard truths about human brutality. Yet, after four years of mutual slaughter in America’s bloodiest war, he calls for grace and kindness: “With malice toward none, with charity for all, …let us strive on to…achieve…just and lasting peace….”

2. Speak the Truth

In his essay "The Power of the Powerless" Soviet-bloc dissident Václav Havel describes how the great lie, forcing everyone to act in all spheres of life as if communist ideology were true, "works only as long as people…live within the lie." Only "living within the truth" can overcome totalitarianism; political or military power alone is insufficient. Truth "tears apart [the lie that] holds…[the system] together." Christian patriots must speak the truth against all injustice, regardless of the cost.

“It is love that will save our world and civilization; love even for our enemies.” - Martin Luther King

3. Speak in Love

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s non-violence in fighting racial segregation was much more than a strategy; it was done out of love for enemies. King maintained that "loving Your Enemies...is an absolute necessity for the survival of our civilization…. it is love that will save our world and civilization; love even for our enemies." A model of Christian wisdom, King knew that "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that; …only love can [drive out hate].”

4. Respect the Human Dignity of Opponents

The Russian novelist Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn suffered unimaginable evil in the Soviet Gulag. Still, he humbly recognized the mixture of good and evil in every person: “…the line separating good and evil passes …through every human heart.” Even “hearts overwhelmed by evil” retain “one small bridgehead of good. And even in the best…, there remains … [a]… corner of evil.” This Christian view of the human person guides true patriots—respecting the dignity of our adversaries, and acknowledging our own sinfulness.

5. Remember that Politics Is Not the Last Word

A true patriot, in 1939 German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer returned to Germany from his safe haven in America. Associated with the "20 July" plot to assassinate Hitler, he was hanged just four weeks before Germany's surrender. Bonhoeffer gave his life opposing an evil political regime, but he was not political. It was not politics, but the moral imperative to aid the persecuted—born of faithfulness to Christ—that moved Bonhoeffer to countenance violence against Hitler, despite his abiding commitment to non-violence.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Though not all believing Christians, these patriots were models of Christian public virtue. They lived and acted in faith, hope, and love in the political realm, seeking—at great personal cost—"the peace and prosperity" of their country and compatriots. This is love of country that transcends political and religious differences.