Nationalism

Resources on Politics

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Every year, (and especially every four years), we’re faced with the daunting task of voting for those who will shape policies and legislation that will impact us and our neighbors. So how do we as followers of Jesus exercising Spirit-filled wisdom navigate this topic faithfully? Below we’ve provided a series of sermons, articles, and books to better equip you to think through this.

Watch/Listen

SERMONS

podcasts

Videos


READ

ARTICLES

“How Do Christians Fit Into a Two-Party System? They Don’t” by Tim Keller in The New York Times
“The historical Christian positions on social issues don’t match up with contemporary political alignments.”

“Bad Reasons to Vote for Someone and Good Questions to Ask” by Midtown Fellowship
“Biblically, I can’t even tell you as a Christian that you absolutely should or should not vote. But I can tell you the good news of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection give us a new perspective and a new identity.”

“America is in the Grips of a Fundamentalist Revival” by David French in The Dispatch
“I wasn’t sure I’d ever live to see a truly large-scale religious awakening. But here we are. Here it is. There’s just one catch. It’s not Christian. It is, however, quite fundamentalist.”

“I’m Not Hateful, You Are!” by David French in The Dispatch 
“Do the first verses of Matthew 7 describe a reality that isn’t just personal but also cultural and political? Can a nation suffer the consequences of mass-scale intolerance? I think yes. I think we’re living it right now.”

“Jesus is Not Your American Patriot” The Gospel Coalition
“‘God and country’ is a popular sentiment. Despite the fact that America was reputedly built on Judeo-Christian values, this seemingly honorable motto is problematic.”

“Patriotism and Christianity” in Christianity Today 
“What is the difference between patriotism and nationalism?”

“Our Exile Heritage” by Midtown Fellowship
“Like the Christians Peter wrote to in Asia Minor, we are now called to pick up the mantle of living as exiles for the benefit of the world around us by seeing and knowing and glorifying Jesus.”

“Parenting and Patriotism” - by Midtown Fellowship
“Should we be leading the charge in celebrating this nation? Or should we lead the charge in mourning the many sins of our nation? And how should we talk to our kids about it?”

“The Freedom of Fear” by Midtown Fellowship
“Fear of God means politics and politicians aren’t ultimate. So if my candidate loses or the worst candidate ever wins, I can remain confident that God will hold the universe together.”


Books

Onward: Engaging the Culture Without Losing the Gospel by Russell Moore
“As the culture changes all around us, it is no longer possible to pretend that we are a Moral Majority. That may be bad news for America, but it can be good news for the church.”

Compassion (&) Conviction: The AND Campaign’s Guide to Faithful Civic Engagement by Justin Giboney, Michael Wear and Chris Butler
“Too often, political questions are framed in impossible ways for the faithful Christian: we're forced to choose between social justice and biblical values…  As a result, it's easy for Christians to grow disillusioned with civic engagement or fall back into tribal extremes… When we understand our civic engagement as a way to obey Christ's call to love our neighbor, we see that it is possible to engage the political process with both love and truth―compassion and conviction.”

Thou Shalt Not be a Jerk: A Christian’s Guide to Engaging Politics by Eugene ChoWhen we stay in the Scriptures, pray for wisdom, and advocate for the vulnerable, our love for politics, ideology, philosophy, or even theology, stop superseding our love for God and neighbor.”

Parenting & Patriotism

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Parents, the 4th of July is right around the corner. Hopefully, you have plans to grill out and shoot fireworks with friends and family. However, have you considered how we as Christians should think about the 4th of July, as well as patriotism in general? For example, should we be leading the charge in celebrating this nation that we grew up hearing was founded on biblical principles? Or should we lead the charge in mourning the many sins of our nation? And how should we talk to our kids about it? Hopefully, these few simple ideas will help.


  1. Remember that our citizenship is in heaven and our identity is in christ

Above all else, we should remind our children that the truest and most essential thing about us as Christians is that we are God’s. It’s not the grades we get in school, the color of our skin or the country we live in. As Christians, we have more in common with believers from other nations than we do with our unbelieving fellow Americans. The Bible says that our citizenship is in heaven. (Philippians 3:20) We are on this earth for just a little while before we spend eternity with Jesus and even while we are here, our allegiance is to Jesus and His kingdom above all else.

The truest and most essential thing about us as Christians is that we are God’s.

2. Celebrate the Good

As parents, we should help our kids remember all the good that we have by living in America and be grateful for it! We are free to meet openly with our church family on Sundays and throughout the week. We are not in danger of physical persecution for being a Christian. As well, most of us have access to food, drink, education and healthcare and we can be grateful for that! 

By celebrating and thanking God for the good things that we have in America, we are not saying that we are better than other nations. There is a good emphasis these days that ultimately has its roots in Scripture of celebrating other cultures and seeking diversity in every sphere of life. In fact, the Bible says that when we worship God in heaven, we will be doing so with people from every nation! (Revelation 7:9)

At the same time we’re thanking God for all of the blessings we have, we can pray for those who don’t have the same blessings.


3. Mourn the bad

It’s good for our children to know that neither America nor any other nation is perfect, because every nation is made up of imperfect people. We need God to intervene to end racism, religiosity, greed and selfishness which run rampant in America. We should mourn this and teach our children biblical values, not American ones.


4. Pray and work for the good of our nation. (Jeremiah 29:7)

Finally, as citizens of heaven, we should pray for the good of our nation, the leaders of our nation and the people in our nation. We should also find every opportunity to work for the good of our nation and neighbors.* So enjoy your hotdogs, hamburgers and fireworks, and find a second to talk to your kids about how we as Christians should view this holiday and this nation.

*For ideas of what you can do regarding racial justice, click here.


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