Pray for all who find themselves in harm’s way;” in the debate that followed, the prevailing sentiment among the delegates seemed to be that praying specifically for American troops deployed in battle was somehow unchristian. I can report to you the motion to reinsert the original wording passed — but only by five votes! Our presbytery is now on record as approving offering specific prayers of support for American troops — but only by five votes! I am sure the 14 members of our armed services who are Presbyterians from our churches are relieved to know they are so strongly supported!
We have come a long way in the American church from the days of our Revolutionary pastors — men who “not only spoke well but lived well.” It is now difficult to imagine pastors of whom it could be said, ‘to the Puritan pulpit, we owe the moral force which won our independence.” We have very few pastors of whom it can still be said, “the political leaders may have declared independence, but the minister turned the revolt into a holy war.” It is the rare American pastor today who could be burned in effigy besides the likes of General George Washington because of their patriotic fervor.
These men of God, whose valor is now largely forgotten by the American church, received their inspiration from the prophets of the Old Testament and the letters of Paul; they recognized the sovereign as God’s earthly representative until that sovereign began to rule unjustly — something they firmly came to believe about the conduct of the King of Great Britain — one “whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant’ and thus was ‘unfit to be the ruler of a free people.”
Paul valued his Roman citizenship! He benefited from the protection accorded Roman citizens. Paul was repeatedly rescued from mobs by Roman troops who had the duty to maintain order along with a special duty to protect Roman citizens; Paul is sent for a hearing under a heavy guard to Felix, governor of Judea, by the tribune Claudius Lysias — to protect Paul from an assassination plot; given our contemporary experience of courts and the way anti-militarism is now curiously equated with patriotism within the mainline American church, we are likely to have difficulty understanding Paul’s respectful attitude toward Rome and his viewpoint that the military was there to help him;
He urged prayer for the sovereign: bear in mind that Nero is the emperor at this time. But at a time when Nero’s beastly behavior toward Christians was restrained by his advisors; nevertheless early Christians prayed generally “for the state of the world, for the peace of all things and for the postponement of the end;” and bid God specifically bless the emperor with “long life, secure dominion, a safe home and a faithful senate, a righteous people and a world at peace.” At a time when the Roman emperors considered themselves gods, Paul nevertheless urged a type of prayer that was “a petition offered in the presence of the king.” was clear who was the True King.
We must remember Paul’s world. There would always be emperors, some good and some bad; there would always be empire, sometime threatened by enemies and sometimes at peace. People of his day could not imagine a democracy such as Jefferson’s nor anything like our contemporary nuclear family; but Paul could envision one thing which is still true to this day — God’s desire to “save all humanity” through Christ and thus the duty incumbent on Christians to pray for social conditions that encouraged the spread of the gospel.
Let us value American citizenship!
Let us pray for the President. I am aghast at the level of vitriol poured out in public speech about President Bush — and it equals the level of mocking scorn heaped upon Mr. Clinton when he was president. There is within the leadership of the American church a corresponding spirit of abhorrence toward members of the military that is uncharitable, foolish and fundamentally unchristian. Friends, I am convinced that when we do this, a spirit of disrespect is unleashed that shreds our nation’s soul and increases our nation’s vulnerability to disintegration from within — something that has always been this nation’s most pressing danger. The recent vote within the Presbytery of the James is but a small example of this uncharitable and fundamentally foolish attitude.
Let us participate as citizens. We have a 24/7 economy but a majority of Americans cannot find the time to vote in elections — we have a positive duty to vote. We are awash in data and information about our nation and its activities — we have a positive duty to be well informed. We can pretty much “do as we please” in our private morality without much interference — we have a positive duty to follow the highest ideals rather than what we think we can get away with. We enjoy the blessings of liberty as a consequence of the sacrifices made by our ancestors — we have a positive duty to learn about their lives; being grateful for the best motives without being blind to their human flaws;
The early church became a leaven within society — the one place where rich and poor, slave and free, male and female, members of the emperor’s household and the reformed dregs of society could meet on level ground. The church at its best can still be such a leaven, but only if we remain faithful to our fundamental task — letting our neighbors know their life before God has been redeemed by the gracious gift of Christ. We have a positive duty to invite people to attend and join our church because doing so will enrich their life as a citizen and ennoble their life before Almighty God.
America: the last, best hope of mankind
Friends, it is easy to become weary of responding to those who decry or debunk the traditional values of patriotism — and it is tempting to believe their Big Lie (that True Patriots are the ones capable of heaping scorn on the homeland). My counsel — do not believe the lie and do not let them grind you down; celebrate the strengths of this nation and the unmerited blessings of God that come to us as American citizens. The best answer to these folks is the laughing invitation for them to live somewhere else if they are truly unhappy with being here … and the best antidote for our soul is to spend time with genuine patriots — those who have served this land faithfully and those who have chosen to come here voluntarily and take the oath of citizenship;
Friends, we must continue to offer a positive experience of Christ and His church; people will not long attend a congregation of malcontents where the emphasis is on intramural denominational feuds or on unfettered and reflexive opposition to national policies. Let us lift up Christ and his new life — and God bless America, where we have the freedom to offer such a life-changing proclamation! Amen!
Donald D. Denton Jr. is stated supply, Brett-Reed Memorial church, West Point, Va.
Send your comment to The Outlook. Please give your hometown.
