Wayne Grudem on Patriotism

This is from his Politics According to the Bible.

He has a great section on a godly patriotism. Nations are legitimate because:

1. God has established nations on the earth (Gen. 10, Acts 17:26; Job 12.23).
2. Nations divide and disperse govt power throughout the earth, providing a check against a one-world govt (110).

Patriotism is good because:

1. A sense of belonging to a community.  Sure, our primary sense of belonging is to the church.
2. Gratitude for the benefits a nation provides.  Gratitude is a virtue and should be practiced.
3. A shared sense of pride in the achievements of others.  This isn’t my glorying in their achievements, but my rejoicing in their achievements.
4. A sense of pride for the good things a nation has done.
5. A sense of obligation to serve the nation under the commonweal.
6. 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).
7. 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.