I grew up with a profound love of the United States of America, as did most in my generation. We stood when the American flag passed by in a parade, we held our hands over our hearts as we recited the Pledge of Allegiance, and we believed that most politicians truly wanted what was best for our country. That was then. Today, there is a lot of animosity toward our country from its own citizens, some of it rightly deserved. We live in a free country, so people have the right to criticize and critique and even condemn the very nation which provides such liberties.
What I find disturbing, though, is the contempt that some pastors feel for America. When part of Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s 2003 sermon was played over and over during the 2008 presidential election, in which he repeatedly blustered, “God d*mn America,” many of us were stunned. The ABC News website gives some context to his inflammatory rhetoric: he decried the “less than human” treatment of black Americans, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 that ended WWII, supporting “state terrorism” against the Palestinians and black South Africans, etc. While I don’t necessarily accept his premises, I do understand his frustration. He has every right to voice his opinions and to question the actions and motives of our government. But “God d*mn America”? Why not, “God, wake up America”? “God, save America”? America should be held accountable for her actions, but that doesn’t mean America herself, as established by our founding fathers, should be unilaterally condemned to hell.
Fast forward to today. The condemnation of America by American pastors has reached a fever pitch, with ministers of the Gospel joining hands with abortion advocates, LGBT militants, and anti-government protesters in marches on our Capital. They have become the activist heroes, lending credibility and an air of respectability to the mobs regularly calling for revolutionary change. They see themselves as counter-cultural voices for the masses. They are on a mission to fundamentally change America and the role of the church within her. Unfortunately, even pastors from our Wesleyan/holiness churches have been caught up in the rebellion – not in large numbers, but in vocal minorities who see their opinion as the only “correct” opinion to be accepted by the truly spiritual. They display a remarkable disdain for our country and openly mock “God and country” advocates who see their faith and their patriotism as intertwined.
To be fair, there is a lot to complain about these days. Political corruption, moral depravity, sexual deviancy, disregard for human life, rampant crime, and excessive hedonism provide sufficient grounds for God to destroy our country or send us all off into exile as He did with ancient Israel. But whereas the majority of conservative-leaning Christians pray for America to get back to her roots and to her Constitution and to her Christian principles of morality, many of these Leftist pastors advocate either a total separation of Christians from governmental involvement (unless, of course, such involvement advances left-leaning causes) or revolutionary change in our country toward socialist (or even communist) ideals. Many reject capitalism altogether and find its system inherently unchristian.
It is possible that these pastors actually love America – at least the new America that they envision. It’s possible they just hate what America has become. If Jesus were physically here today, He would no doubt cry over the depravity of our country and its rejection of Him, much as He wept over Jerusalem prior to His triumphal entry. But grief and hatred are two very different emotions. Disagreeing with the direction of our policies or the political party in power or even the “sins” of our past are not reason enough to speak of America itself (which includes the people of America and its founding principles) with such invective and vitriol. It’s not a good reason to fight against our own country’s laws nor to vilify other Christians who love their country.
I often hear these pastors compare America to Rome. The early Christians, they pontificate, never would have been “patriotic” toward Rome. Their citizenship was not an earthly citizenship (though they forget that Paul appealed to his Roman citizenship, even while claiming a higher citizenship in heaven; see Acts 16:37-38; Acts 22:24-29; Acts 25, and Philippians 3:20-21). Comparing America to Rome is a flawed analogy, especially considering most of America’s founders and early settlers were either Christian or heavily influenced by Judeo-Christian principles. Perhaps a better comparison would be to the ancient nation Israel in the Old Testament.
Israel, right from the outset as a political entity, failed to live up to God’s standards and the principles by which its monarchy was instituted. Saul, Israel’s first king, disobeyed God’s explicit command, became insanely jealous, and obsessively sought to kill the young man who had been anointed to replace him. “He was man’s choice, not God’s choice,” you say? Well, David, Saul’s successor, committed adultery (in a sheer #metoo moment if there ever was one) and had his mistress’s husband killed on the battlefield. He was a man of war and bloodshed. And yet God still considered him a man after His own heart. David’s son, Solomon, was led into idolatry by his many wives and made some surprisingly unwise decisions (despite the divine wisdom God had bestowed on him). Because of him, the kingdom was torn in two and both resulting nations descended into idolatry. And it was all downhill from then on, with only a few good kings over the following three hundred years who tried to bring Judah back to God. The prophets decried the sins of both Israel and Judah time and again. And yet God always loved the nation of Israel because of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). Even after He had sent His people off into exile, He still remembered His covenant and was gracious on account of the patriarchs.
When America was founded, many who had fled religious persecution saw the New World as a new Israel (see The Colonial view of America as a New Israel and Jews and the Founding of America). I’m not claiming here that America replaced Israel in God’s divine plan, only that the early settlers believed they had crossed their own “Red Sea” and had been delivered out of their oppression, making a comparison of America to Israel more appropriate than to Babylon or Rome. America was founded on religious principles – on biblical principles. You can argue that America committed grievous sins from the start, just as Israel did, but historical evidence proves our founding fathers truly wanted to honor God. While we’ve experienced many bad leaders who have attempted to lead our country away from its moral and Christian underpinnings, I believe God still loves this country – and we should love this country – “on account of the patriarchs,” our founders and those who stood with them. Perhaps the only reason we continue to prosper as a nation is because of God’s blessing which He continues to bestow because of the patriarchs (as abhorrent as that idea is to our Leftist pastors).
I realize there are many pastors who will disagree with me on my interpretation of American history. They believe they’re justified for their disdain – or even hatred – of America. From what I hear and see across the Internet, these are the primary reasons why many pastors have trouble loving America.
They can’t forgive the sins of the past.
They look at the history of America with anger and contempt for perceived atrocities committed on many fronts, and they can’t seem to get past the sins of the nation. I say “perceived atrocities” purposely, because revisionist historians have distorted the facts of history to promote a political agenda and to inflame the hatred of America. But even if all the accusations were true, isn’t vengeance God’s role and not ours? And let there be no mistake: what most Leftist groups want is revenge on America and on the Americans they choose to blame for their ancestors’ actions.
If America is a type of Israel, then there is coming a time when God will ultimately execute judgment for the sins of the past and present, but until that time, His call is for repentance. He wants us to love Him and our country and our fellow countrymen enough that we humble ourselves before Him and ask forgiveness. Through the years many political and cultural leaders have acknowledged the evils of slavery and of our treatment of Native Americans. Regrettably, far fewer have acknowledged the evil of the American holocaust, where 3,000 preborn babies a day are being ruthlessly murdered – legally – through abortion. Abortion is rarely even mentioned by those who decry America’s sins.
We can’t rewrite our history (despite recent attempts to do so). We can’t undo the past. At what point do we stop focusing on the past and look to the future? When do we stop punishing ourselves? When do we stop punishing others? Do we tear down every statue of every person who might have done something that was legal in the day but is now morally reprehensible? When we finally wake up from our complicity as a nation in abortion (fifty or a hundred years from now), will we change the names of buildings or roads that were named after today’s supporters of abortion? Will we demand compensation for all the lives lost and the families destroyed in its wake? Where is the Christian forgiveness we all talk about? At what point should we Christians advocate healing and forgiveness instead of stirring up every past slight and injustice?
The anger and hatred I hear from some pastors, from my observation, stems from an inability to forgive the sins of our past. At some point, for the health of the nation, we need to leave vengeance in God’s hands and move on.
They can’t tolerate capitalism.
For some of these pastors, their love affair with socialism and Marxism is due to their unfamiliarity with the repercussions of these philosophies when put into practice (see Crimes Against Humanity Under Communist Regimes and Mass Killings Under Communist Regimes). Their disdain for capitalism generally focuses on the “excessive greed” of powerful and wealthy people in our nation. Sometimes that “excessive greed” is attributed to anyone who makes more money than the average worker, regardless of how hard they work, their level of education, their skill level, or the level of risk they’re willing to assume. These haters of capitalism believe that if a worker at McDonald’s works hard all day, he shouldn’t make less than the president of the company. Others don’t go quite that far. But, still, they consider it “corporate greed” when companies determine wages based on desired profit. Sadly, they believe socialism or communism will fix the downsides of capitalism and lead to a Utopia where everyone prospers equally (see Comparing Economic Systems). But it never has.
Some pastors deem all monetary economic systems as evil (despite Paul’s warning that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, not money itself in 1 Timothy 6:10). When people in a capitalist culture intentionally seek to exploit the poor, it is repulsive, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the system itself is corrupt. The negative outcomes of a capitalistic system are far superior to the negative outcomes of a socialist or communist system, if history is any indication. Given our choices and absent another viable economic theory, capitalism offers the most benefit for the largest number of people who are willing to work. There is equal opportunity, although not always equal outcomes. Despite opinions to the contrary, studies show that when the rich get richer, the poor also get richer (see this video).
The Bible has a lot to say about money, which was used in both Old Testament and New Testament times. Let me share just a few that speak to the economic system. In addition to the numerous instances where we’re encouraged to give to the poor, we are told that a worker is worth his wages (1 Timothy 5:18), to pay people what you owe them for their work (Deuteronomy 24:14), to be trustworthy with other people’s property (Luke 16:1-12), that if a man will not work, he shall not eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10). We read about the wife who works with her hands and buys a field with her earnings, plants a vineyard, trades for profit, makes linen garments and sells them and is also generous to the poor – the consummate entrepreneur or businesswoman (Proverbs 31:10-31).
Even Jesus’ parable of the talents (now translated as “bags of gold” in the NIV – Matthew 25:14-30) is a bit capitalistic. A talent was a measure of money. A man entrusted each of his servants with a portion of his money according to their ability. One was given 5 talents (“bags of gold”), one was given 2 and the last was given just one. Each was expected to use the money to make more for the master. Two doubled their amounts. The third, who had received the least, hid the money in the ground and did nothing with it. It was this third servant who was condemned for being lazy and wicked. He should have at least “put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest” (verse 27). The purpose of the parable isn’t to proclaim it unfair that some people are entrusted with more than another, but that we’re expected to do something with what we’re given, even if it isn’t very much. And Jesus didn’t seem to have a problem with all the profit going to the master. Now, this is only a parable, so it wasn’t meant to give us a full economic theory, and it shouldn’t be applied beyond its intended purpose. But if this is what the “kingdom of heaven” will be like, where we’re expected to be good stewards of what has been entrusted to us and to multiply it for our master’s profit, then I think it’s valid to apply these same principles to how we view money and work today, which is much closer to capitalism than to socialism or communism.
They can’t support flawed leaders.
Americans have always detested greedy politicians and corrupt leaders. Nearly every politician leaves Washington D.C. substantially richer than when he or she arrived. Insider trading laws that would land the ordinary citizen in jail don’t apply to congressmen. They can wheel and deal and ensure they make a handsome profit. It’s my observation, though, that these pastors who seem to hate America because of corrupt leadership have only hated it since the current President came to power. Now, to be fair, they may have hated the sins of our past and the corruption of our government during the past administration, but I wasn’t aware of any public protests or of any overt admissions of their aversion to our country at that time. But I have heard a lot of disgust about our current leader and his past moral failures as if this was the first time we’ve had a leader with moral issues.
People are people. And most are flawed. Read the book of Judges in the Old Testament and see some of the leaders God raised up to govern His people prior to the monarchy. Do I need to mention Samson and his dalliances with a prostitute, his anger issues and petulance? As mentioned above, most of Israel’s leaders were flawed. Even when we get to the New Testament, Paul had a flawed past. “America” is a bigger ideal than the sum of its leaders. And most of our leaders have had a past that was less than noble. Some even owned slaves. Do we wish our leaders were better men and women? Sure we do. But being disappointed with our leaders or our current President isn’t a good reason to abandon America or to be hostile toward it.
They can’t imagine fixing what’s wrong with America without a political and cultural revolution.
It appears to me that these pastors who seem to hate America are longing for a new movement so they can be part of a groundswell of societal revolution. They missed the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. They may oppose abortion, but they weren’t fans of the tactics used in the 1990s and they don’t want to be alienated from the Left. So they need a cause to give life meaning, to be part of something bigger than themselves. So, they’ve gravitated to the Left and adopted their talking points. They want to appear more loving and more tolerant than their predecessors. So, they are increasingly aligning themselves with groups that advocate for the poor and marginalized, the illegal immigrants and LGBTQ Christians. But these same groups want a revolution. They want a socialist country. They want to impeach the President because they don’t like him. They want to continue the Obama dream of a “fundamental transformation” of America. They hate the America many of us love – the America many gave their lives for. Pastors who align themselves with these groups are being influenced by them, knowingly or not.
Perhaps getting back to what is truly “America” might be a better answer to the problems of our nation than throwing out the baby with the bathwater.
They can’t see the harm they’re causing through their influence.
When well-meaning pastors share such contempt for America, they are doing a great disservice to their congregations. They alienate those who love our country. They dismiss the sacrifice of those who have served in our military. They teach their congregations that the way to deal with elections that don’t favor their preferred candidates is to throw away our country’s foundations and to start over. They are fomenting a hatred for our country that may have unintended consequences in the future. I’m not a prophet, so I can’t see the future, but I can confidently predict that any proposed “solution” to America’s troubles that isn’t founded on America’s principles will not go well for Christians and the cause of Christ.
I don’t see this simply as a matter of rhetoric, as if pastors changing their tone on social media is the solution. Even if pastors don’t say it explicitly, their feelings about America can easily be derived implicitly. Maybe it’s time for a crash course on what’s good about America. There may have been failings in our past, but there is also something grand about the American experiment. We are the most generous country in the world. We are still a beacon of hope, and there’s a reason why people from around the world want to make America their home. I just hope that our American pastors are willing to see how privileged and blessed they are to be Americans.
So, what do we do with this information?
- Pray for your pastor. If you attend a church where your pastor is embarrassed to be an American, pray for him or her. Pray that God helps them to break away from influences that cause hatred and division. Pray that their eyes will be opened to see the goodness of America and the principles on which she was founded. If you’re a pastor, pray for your denominational leaders.
- Learn about history. Visit the online library at Wall Builder’s to read the actual historical documents that tell the truth about events in American history and the principles embraced by our founders.
- Study issues and ideas that are being exploited by those who favor socialism or communism to bring about a social or cultural revolution. Prager University is a great site to find targeted videos that take big ideas and make them accessible to everyone.
- Share articles and videos on social media. You can be a partner in correcting misunderstandings and helping people (including pastors) see the truth about America. But – please check your sources first. If you post “fake news” and false claims, then anything else you share will be suspect. Do your homework. This isn’t the time to be lazy or to pass information along that is false. If you’re not sure, don’t post it.
- Pray for America. Pray that goodness and righteousness will prevail. Pray that God’s people would humble themselves and pray and seek His face so that God will cleanse our sins and heal our land.
- Talk to your pastor and be vigilant. Don’t allow falsehood to be shared unchallenged. It’s time to resist the forces that seek to destroy the America we love. Don’t cower. Stand behind your pastor and district leaders if they still love America and seek her success and return to the founding principles. If your pastor or district leader is one who seems to hate America, challenge the sentiment. Let your love for your country be heard.
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