This is from his Politics According to the Bible.
He has a great section on a godly patriotism. Nations are legitimate because:
- God has established nations on the earth (Gen. 10, Acts 17:26; Job 12.23).
- Nations divide and disperse govt power throughout the earth, providing a check against a one-world govt (110).
Patriotism is good because:
- A sense of belonging to a community. Sure, our primary sense of belonging is to the church.
- Gratitude for the benefits a nation provides. Gratitude is a virtue and should be practiced.
- A shared sense of pride in the achievements of others. This isn’t my glorying in their achievements, but my rejoicing in their achievements.
- A sense of pride for the good things a nation has done.
- A sense of obligation to serve the nation under the commonweal.
- A sense of obligation to transmit to newcomers and future generations the legitimate values of a people (e.g., hard work, limited govt, free economics, etc).
- A sense of security with respect to the future.
Of course, all of this is relative to larger issues of national sin, repentance, the health of the church. And when I say “pride” in this sense, you know what I am getting at.
