Country First. That’s the theme of John McCain’s Republican National Convention. This is the slogan emblazoned on signs and placards waved around the convention hall with fervor and excitement and the theme scrawled upon the banner of the John McCain website (as seen above). This theme has also been used on the campaign trail leading up to the convention and stated over and over by the Republican pundits on the web and television interviews. And for a political campaign it’s a good theme… it works to rile up the base and the patriots. However, I am concerned with a segment of the population that is swallowing this theme whole, waving the signs, spreading the word and truly believes it to be truth. The segment that I am concerned with: Christians.
As a Christian, there should be no place for country at the top of your priority list – to do so is akin to idolatry. By putting “country first” where does that put Jesus? Where does that put the Kingdom of God? As citizens of the Kingdom first and joint-heirs with Christ, there should be no question that they come before country. In my own personal life I have a hard time having country in my “Top 10 List” of priorities and if it makes it into that list it’s only by default (I ran out of priorities). I would not be able to put country before Jesus, before the Kingdom, before my wife, before family, before my friends, and before anything else for that matter. The call from Jesus for the Christian as explained by Peter: We are to live as strangers in a foreign land. Country cannot be first for the Christian. It should not be first for the Christian for civil government ultimately belongs to the world, not the Kingdom.
Country first? No. Christians please start paying attention to what you are so quick to accept without question. I have no problem with who you vote for but please don’t blindly accept slogans without thought of its implications.
Related posts:
- more from p-ro.
- the myth of a christian nation (a review)
- overheard.
- overheard.
- jesus… the king of poland?
No kidding… As a student at a conservative Bible college – I am engaged in quite a bit of political banter wrapped in purple linen. It sickens me to hear carried away Republicans speak of Democratic ‘pagans’ and just as much am I repulsed to hear my “liberal” friends’ align Jesus with Obama’s proclaimed agenda. Politicians are just that. The church needs to step up and step out. We need to stop relying on (or blaiming) the government to help the poor and hungry or to feed hope to a struggling nation… Arrgh.
My thoughts almost exactly. I posted just today about giving up patriotism for the Kingdom.
Monts.
Great stuff. I linked to the post and wrote basically the same stuff. I couldn’t agree more and it makes me sad to see people waving the banner of USA and thinking it means they love Jesus or something like that…
I heard that this was the theme today and had the exact same thought run through my head… It’s almost as though they’re promoting ignorance, or at the very least blind patriotism.
I have a feeling that the slogan “Country First” is not as much about putting the country above Jesus or family as it is about distinguishing McCain from Obama (who tends to make his campaign about himself).
Wonderful post and thoughts.
Keep up the great job you do with your blog.
You and your ministry is always in my thoughhts and prayers.
I hope you have a blessed week!
Is it truly any different for Obama though? You dont think he has a country first mentality, or for that fact any politician running for president. They all adhere to country first. Guiliani and Palin were indeed on their game, and the criticisms they made should be realized by all voters.
Again, I cannot vote for mccain, and voting to raise taxes and expand govt is something I cant stand behind either. But simply put the Palin choice does give Mccain a chance whereas before he had none.
Christians should stand up and vote for none of the above truly if you want to bring Jesus into the mix. Both have severely flawed roles as “proclaimed” men of faith. I am definitely anti Mccain, but to his credit he has never wavered in his stance on the war or the way he believes foreign policy should be run. The dems have all flipped and flopped so many times no one can keep track, and the repubs even have flipped a bunch too.
You want true change dont vote for either, vote for liberty. Vote for less govt, less taxes, less violence overseas, printing legitimate money that is actually backed by something, give powers back to the church when it comes to working and taking care of the least of these. 15,000 people showed up in St Paul for another rally, a rally that stands behinds those principles, yet the mainstream news media is too worried about a 17yr old girls pregnancy then facing cold hard facts.
http://www.campaignforliberty.com
PS – If you live in IL and you plan on voting for mccain, it truly is a wasted vote since the popular vote doesnt mean a thing, and there is no way in hell Obama loses here. So send a strong message in IL make that other % higher than mccain and make a true statement about whats right and what is clearly wrong.
Kurt,
The issue isn’t the differentiation between Obama and McCain, it’s how Christians are understanding the slogan that is of main importance. Unfortunately I’ve been in and a part of those churches that truly do believe “Country First” before anything else. Those same churches made a bigger deal out of the 4th of July than they did Easter — by far! Those same churches have more American Flags draped throughout their building than Bibles (I wish that was an exaggeration). Those same churches celebrate anything “country based” before celebrating anything about Jesus.
This isn’t an issue to bash McCain – this is an issue for Christians to stop and take note of realizing the extent of what they’re really doing.
Monts, I think you tuned in to the RNC too late. The phrase Country First has nothing to do with a list of priorities – as if Repubs are all so blindly patriotic that they can’t think of anything before their country. Come on – this is a cardboard cut-out figure of the Repubs which isn’t really fair (just as it isn’t fair to question the patriotism of the Dems). The point behind “country first” is more a commentary against partisan politics – which admittedly was on full display last night, but I digress. The thought is that it isn’t about Repubs or Dems. It is about what is good for the country as a whole. The theme was hatched in the wake of the (massively overblown) hurricane in the gult.
With all that being said, I hear Christians on the right and the left all the time making a category mistake when it comes to the notion of patriotism. What is (rightly) worrisome to many Christians like yourself who actually have a head on their shoulders is not really patriotism, it is nationalism. Nationalism says essentially, God bless only the USA. It is exclusivistic and callous towards the rest of the world. It mistakenly assumes that we alone are God’s chosen people – a new Israel. Are there some Christians who believe this? Of course. But I think it is the overwhelming minority of American Christians. Patriotism is simply loving your homeland enough to say, God bless America. Patriotism is being humble enough to admit that indeed God has blessed America. How arrogant would it be to say that God has not blessed America – as if all the good of this nation is merely the result of humanism. Sometimes we are so afraid of sounding nationalistic that we sound very humanistic. It is OK to love your country and want what is best for it. That is patriotism.
Another difference between nationalism and patriotism is that nationalism is blind. The image of the state is projected from the top down and is never brought into question. Patriotism on the other hand develops largely from the bottom up as our good feelings for country are developed from our good feelings about our lives and our families and our communities and all of those things that we appreciate about living in this country. This type of patriotism is never blind – it understands the flaws and the wrinkles of our country mostly because it recognizes the flaws and wrinkles in its citizens.
BTW – admit it Montsy. You wish Palin was on your side
I am less stared of thinking “Country First” as a placement about God than I am scared that “Country First” is more of that current administration cowboy mentality of shoot-first-ask-questions-later. To me, “Country First” is like a mantra of the “hell with the rest of the world, we’re number 1 – suck it!”
You see how loved we are in this world with that thought process.
No offense to Jeff (I don’t even know you), but I think you are incorrect. I think Rags hit it right on!
Monts,
Even though we disagree on much, politically speaking, I agree with you that to put anything above Jesus is unacceptable. I have never seen a church that fits the description that you gave, but I am sure they exist, and that becomes an issue of Lordship. Anything that is good (i.e. patriotism) has the potential to become an idol, if we do not guard ourselves with Scripture and the Spirit of God.
I do think that it is unfair to state that a Christian, who happens to be voting for McCain and waves a sign with the slogan “Country First” is an idolater. Now if McCain was suggesting that we worship America, then I would say to wave his sign would be participation in his idolatry. But I am not convinced that is the case.
Anyway, we are in agreement on that issue.
i think obama should hit right back with a message that really matters at present: Economy First.
I hear what you are saying Gentry. Although I think it is absolutely laughable to think that the Dems win on the economy. They are like helicopter parents who refuse to let their kids grow up. Instead they put up walls around their kid and give them whatever they need at the expense of their own freedom and development.
It’s interesting that you bring up the phrase Economy First however. Which is more opposed to the Kingdom?Country first or economy first? Hmmm. Maybe neither. Maybe both.
well, i’m not assuming that economy trumps the kingdom, but i think we need to do something about our current economic crisis.
i’m no economist, but i think that rescinding bush’s tax cuts for everyone and getting the hell out of iraq would be a good first economic step. of course, obama doesn’t completely agree with me on the former (though mccain did, before he surrendered maverick status and started whoring to his base), but we sure see eye to eye on the later.
whether you’re a republican or democrat, common sense indicates that we can’t afford to stay in iraq until 2012 and i’m pretty sure that’s exactly what mccain will do.
Taking back tax cuts is just plain stupid. Economic growth has never been initiated by taking more money from the people – and yes, even the most wealthy among us who also by the way pay the most taxes create the most jobs and expose themselves to the most risk. I do agree with you on Iraq, although it would still be irresponsible to remove our troops before Iraq is proven capable of complete self-governance.
I think Jim Wallis agrees too:
http://blog.beliefnet.com/godspolitics/2008/09/fact-checking-and-faith-first.html
I’m more and more convinced however that neither party understands the contemporary economy – at least if they do understand it they aren’t saying so publicly. McCain and Rommney have come the closest by at least acknowledging the reality that certain jobs will NEVER come back home, so a better strategy is retraining for untouchable jobs rather than expanding the welfare state. If you read The Earth is Flat it will totally change the way that you look at global economics both present and future. We are being lapped by other countries right now because our educational system focuses more on therapy than achievement, our families have allowed a lazy reliance on the government to strip us of ambition, and our politicians (on both sides) are too busy pandering with platforms of obstructionism which amount to little more than empty words since globalism is an unstoppable force – no matter our rhetoric. We’ve got to have politicians wise to the emerging global marketplace rather than wasting our time on things like steroids in baseball, building a bridge to nowhere, and countless other trivial tasks. On the other hand, it is probably a good thing to keep the politicians busy making empty promises – as long as they leave the real people to do the real work that matters.
And no, I know what at least one of you might be thinking – I am not voting for Ron Paul.
I’m not saying that a Christian who votes for McCain is an idolater, I simply find it odd that a Christian would wave around a sign like that. Perhaps I did miss something at the beginning of the convention that explained the entire “Country First” slogan… I did watch a lot of it though and I wasn’t picking up on any sort of explanation other than the straight forward “Country First” from the “straight-talking” party.
I agree with Rags assessment on the difference between nationalism and patriotism… I do fear that as a country we’re moving more towards nationalism than anything else and it’s becoming evident in many of our churches…
BTW – I’m sure Wallis is a really good guy, but he is a political con-man – a Democrat posing as an enlightened independant (as most independants like to think of themselves). How convenient that he can identify exactly how a Christian should view a wide spectrum of political issues – He is the Left’s version of Dobson.
Why do we get upset when politicians are partisan? Wouldn’t we get pissed if all of a sudden Monts started trying to reach out to Cardinals fans by adopting some of their positions? Wouldn’t it be offensive if Gentry all of a sudden started wearing a Cubs hat to show that he can reach across the National League divide? Give me a break. I expect my leaders to be passionate about their positions to the exclusion of the opposition. This doesn’t mean that arrogance or ad hominen arguments should be the rule of the day, but they should be courageous enough to offer the public conviction that I am right and they are wrong.
i will read the earth is flat. thanks for the recommendation.
again, i’m not an economist, so i’m not sure whether rolling back the tax cuts would be a long-term solution for revenue. i do know, however, that republicans have left us with enormous deficits over the past twenty-five years that have had to be resolved by other parties.
i would like to think that i would be more open to the republicans if they were actually competent in regards to economics and less cynically populist in regards to their social policy.
i love talking to you rags, but i hate talking politics (though, admittedly, what i want to do i do not do and that which i do not want to do i do…) so i’m going to shut up now.
“we can’t afford to stay in iraq until 2012 and i’m pretty sure that’s exactly what mccain will do.”
This is very true, but on the other foot, a 1,000+ new govt programs that have no money to fund them will bankrupt us too. Its a lose, lose situation.
Why cant one of them simply come out and state we have to stop spending and printing money that is backed by nothing. But they are too into the war for mccain, and hearing himself speak in Obama.
More govt will lead to more taxes will lead to more of a mess. More war leads to yet more billions/trillions we have to borrow.
Bring ALL the troops home now, not just Iraq, everywhere. Build our defense here, open up free trade and let states handle these issue every president seems to want to make into federal matters. I believe in less than a year we could turn our debts into surplus if we did simple things like this.
[...] 6, 2008 by Adam Lehman Aaron Monts writes a great article about the idea of “country first” and if that idea can be aligned with [...]
And I wonder which country they’re putting first-Israel?