There is nothing Christian about patriotism. Agree or disagree?

Question

I am an Eastern Orthodox Christian and I find patriotism to be fundamentally contradictory to the Gospel message. What do you think?

Answer 1

Patriotism is beautiful....Love of one's fellow man, and of the country that they belong to.
Patriotism does not infer that one thinks his country is better than another...only that he loves it. And it by no means implies that one necessarily agrees with the politics of the leaders either. I love my country, though I don't necessarily agree with all its policies.

Nationalism on the other hand...yeah, that's pretty non-awesome. It is arrogant/ exclusionary/ aggressive... non-loving.

-Rob

Answer 2

Christians , Jews , Buddhists , Muslims , and each and each of the others may be extra patriotic than Atheists , or a lot less patriotic . one ingredient has no longer some thing to do with the different . in my opinion , I served seven years interior the military - - - six years remote places in W W 2 , i'm very patriotic - - - and a non-believer .

Answer 3

In Greece, a bishop declared Independence in 1821.
In Cyprus, the Archbishop of Cyprus was head of government for a number of years following the end of British rule.

The Orthodox church allows for ethnarchs during times of crisis with the hope that a spiritual leader can heal divisions and allow for restoration of political rule. There is precendence in both the Old and New Testaments for religious leaders serving as political leaders. The Jewish high priests were political leaders with loyalties to Rome.

Because there is separation of church and state in the US, no religious person is expected to be a political leader. With the influence of AIPAC and the 700 Club, the Old Testament notion of God has clouded the vision of political leaders of all denominations. There is nothing wrong with being patriotic in the Orthodox faith but one renders unto Caesar that which is Caesar's and unto God that which is God's.

Answer 4

When the forefathers wrote the Constitution, they had in mind that people not be burned at the stake just because they were Christian. Likewise, they wanted a separate country from England whom was taxing them heavily on the exports from this current country. Being a patriot means being both, back in their era. Both a Christian and a citizen of the United States are patriots.

Its easy for us to now criticize the constitution, it leaves many doors open for greedy lawyers, or other lobbyists to take advantage of democracy.

But for your question, both Christians and citizens were patriots when it came to fighting for our independence.

I'm not prolific on Eastern Orthodox, and hardly know what it means to me as a follower of Christ, maybe you could expand on that in future questions as to what your agenda is?

Answer 5

Hi, okay, I'm actually a Christian and will help you out. The Bible is quite clear that faith, not one's nation, should be the top priority of every Christian ("Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind"). The two are not contradictory, I say this because Jesus says in the gospels, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's" in reference to paying taxes. Also, the Bible says to "be in the world, but not of the world". Christians are not to reject commitments to fatherland, but "to respect the authorities placed above", so long as faith retains its status of primary importance. I hope that helps you out.

Answer 6

Basically, you're probably right. I myself have a serious problem with saluting and pledging allegiance to a flag.

However, do you realize that your freedom to openly be a Christian (at least if you live in the United States) was guaranteed to you by the people who founded this country? It probably will not always be that way, as we are certainly starting to see now, but for now at least, I feel I owe those patriots some gratitude for founding this great place where I can openly share my beliefs without being arrested or executed as a criminal.
I think there's a fine line.....we should be appreciative of where we live without putting our nation before our God. I hesitate to pledge my allegiance to a piece of cloth (it feels like idol worship to me), but at the same time, I'm so very happy to live in a country where I'm free to feel that way if I want to!!!!

Answer 7

Patriotism is almost like a sort of Religion in many American minds, but the fact is that we don't really believe in religion. We believe in America's right to do whatever it wants to do in the World. We believe that God loves us more than God loves anyone else.
We truly believe in various superficial notions of the greatness of America, but that stuff along with the civic religion we share goes out the window when you are under fire, or when you are trying to figure out what is driving you mad and making your life turn upside down.
Why are we still executing people in America. Are we retarded or what? Why do we believe that our Military can go out in the World and do anything it wants to do and get away with it forever?
There is a rude awakening coming to the right wing militarist in this Country if they don't get off the Humvee like war chant that they love. America has no right to kill over a million people in the world in the last fifty or so years.
The people of the world are watching us, and they are not going to care when we go down the toilet, Religious Military and all.

Answer 8

I am a Western American Christian, I find patriotism to be fundamentally cohesive to the Gospel. What do you think?


Jesus is Lord

Answer 9

Maybe not Christian but religious, If you apply loyalty in you life, it's hard not to do the same with your country.

I haven't read the gospel message, but this is what I think.

Answer 10

patriotism is a different ideology. you can't compare both, surely they differ in objectives, goals, and purposes. christianity transcends to all ideologies. in fact, it promotes love for one's country but not to extreme. for we christians are called to first love the Lord our God above all else, so our loyalty and devotion belongs to Him alone. besides our eternal destination (which is our eternal nationality) is more worthy than temporary nationality. :)