Tag: nationalism

Russia as the New Christian Nation?

~ Bob Hayton ~ 2 Comments

RussiaChristianAmerica has long considered herself a Christian nation. She is the “city on a hill” and a “light to the nations.” Presidents have repeatedly framed America’s national missions as Christian ventures. We are fighting the darkness and standing against evil powers.

Most Christians can see through the rhetoric, and understand that policitcal candidates and leaders are using such language to gain acceptance for their ideas. But still, many American Christians do mix patriotism with Christianity. There is a deeply rooted bias to trust American government and American military actions as being somehow divinely favored. God smiles on America, and our wars are His wars.

I have spoken out against this idea, trying to remind us that the Church has no country. Christianity is and always has been, a global reality. See my post America — A Pagan Nation?

With the recent Sochi Olympic games and the American outcry over Russia’s anti-gay propaganda bill, I wonder if the tide is changing. Could Russia actually be the new Christian Nation? Their public stand for biblical morals is greater than America’s at least on this particular issue. And then we have statements like the following, from a piece by David Brooks on Putin and his driving philosophy. This statement comes from one of Putin’s favorite Russian philosophers.

“The West exported this anti-Christian virus to Russia,” Ilyin wrote, “Having lost our bond with God and the Christian tradition, mankind has been morally blinded, gripped by materialism, irrationalism and nihilism.”

Add to this, a new article from Christianity Today: The 160-Year Christian History Behind What’s Happening in Ukraine. Could Russia actually be standing up for Christian values more than America today?

One extra thought. Russia, a neighboring country of Ukraine, has a long history in the Crimean region. America is positioned thousands of miles from that part of the world, yet we feel we can dictate to those countries on how to handle their dispute? Who’s the bully here? It is in the best interests of America for Russia to remain weak and marginalized. That is much less threatening to our safety and security. But what about Russia’s own interests? I bring this up because too often, American Christians don’t think through matters of global politics from a neutral, Christian perspective. We side with our country’s view and advocate anything that protects our own riches. What about the good of all of God’s children?

Now, I will be the first to champion America’s track record on a host of humanitarian and political causes which are in lock-step with a Christian perspective. Often our coutnry aids the oppressed and marginalized victims of dictators. But America is not above scrutiny, and American Christians need to learn to distinguish between devotion to the American Flag, and our Bibles.

American Christianity and the “Martyr Complex”

~ Bob Hayton ~ 14 Comments


A headline from USA Today grabbed my attention this weekend: “Religious family abandons U.S., gets lost at sea.” Yep, you don’t see that one every day. It feeds right into the media frenzy about Christians being crazy freaks. But that isn’t how I was thinking about this news item. Let me quote from the article before I give my thoughts.

A northern Arizona family that was lost at sea for weeks in an ill-fated attempt to leave the U.S. over what they consider government interference in religion will fly back home Sunday.

Hannah Gastonguay, 26, said Saturday that she and her husband “decided to take a leap of faith and see where God led us” when they took their two small children and her father-in-law and set sail from San Diego for the tiny island nation of Kiribati in May….

Hannah Gastonguay said her family was fed up with government control in the U.S. As Christians they don’t believe in “abortion, homosexuality, in the state-controlled church,” she said.

U.S. “churches aren’t their own,” Gastonguay said, suggesting that government regulation interfered with religious independence.

Among other differences, she said they had a problem with being “forced to pay these taxes that pay for abortions we don’t agree with.”

The Gastonguays weren’t members of any church, and Hannah Gastonguay said their faith came from reading the Bible and through prayer.

“The Bible is pretty clear,” she said….

Hannah Gastonguay said the family will now “go back to Arizona” and “come up with a new plan.”

This family’s foolish escapade provides the perfect illustration of the “martyr complex” that seems quite prevalent among American Christians.

Christians think we have it so rough in America. It is unjust that the government permits homosexual marriage or allows abortions. The government requires building permits and safety codes, and encroaches on our liberties in other ways, too. What makes this especially difficult is the perception that America was once a truly Christian nation.

Now, I’m not trying to belittle abortion and the marriage issue. These are important concerns. But do you think that Paul and the early Christians might not have chafed at the treatment they received from the hands of Nero? Were there calls for Christians to vacate Rome? Now, in the face of actual persecution with actual deaths and severe punishments being meted out, I definitely think we have to allow for the “get out of Dodge” option. But American Christians today, for the most part, know nothing of that sort of real persecution.

The mention of persecution, however, brings up a great point. Jesus promised us that in the world we would “have tribulation” (John 16:33). He said we would be “hated by all for [His] name’s sake” (Matt. 10:22). Paul promised us that “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). The word wasn’t to flee for your lives but to stay and “endure to the end.”

It is far easier to set our hopes in a Christian “Geneva,” so to speak. To aim for a “holy huddle till the rapture,” and find solace in a counter-culture society that some might call a cult. It’s easier if everyone you have to interact with thinks like you do, and looks like you do. That’s much nicer than having to deal with the ugly realities of being a light in a dark world. It’s easier to tuck tail and run. But we aren’t called to that. We are called to: “be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom [we are to be shining] as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life” (Phil. 2:15-16).

I don’t have time to more fully develop these thoughts, so I’ll encourage you to read other similar posts on this topic. But while I’m at it, what are your thoughts on this question? Do you feel the urge to hunker down and hide? Is that right or wrong? Am I too harsh on this poor family from Arizona?