“ . . . I have been laboring under the belief that America was founded by passionate patriots and that every great advance in the history of mankind was ac complished only by complete dedication to an ideal.” (Dorothy Roe — Chicago Herald-American) The patriot has a deep love for his country. Patriot ism is a Christian virtue. God has always recognized the nations as units in His earthly purposes (Genesis 10). When Christ comes again, He will deal with the nations (Matthew 25:31-32). The Gospel always creates a godly nationalism. Atheism and anti-religion are usually connected with senseless and destructive internationalism (Psalm 14:1-3). The patriot has a holy hatred for all the forces that would destroy his land (Psalm 137:7-8). Our enemies from without are well known today, but few are ac quainted with the enemies within our borders. Lincoln prophesied that if the United States were ever de stroyed it would be from within. The patriot hates irreligion (Psalm 139:21-22). He realizes that our nation is basically a religious nation. Americanism is morally based on Christ; collectivism is based on Caesar. Jesus said, “ Render unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s.” America was founded by godly people on godly principles. The irreligious and anti-religious are the destroyers of our land. The true patriot has God-fearing qualities. Emphat ically, the best American citizen is a regenerated citi zen. He has qualities which the unregenerated cannot know. He has a divinely-guided character. He believes in authority, in the Bible, in the Ten Commandments; he believes in an authoritative God (Mark 1:22). The patriot is a praying citizen (I Timothy 2:1-2). He looks to God and depends upon Him, praying not only for himself but for those in authority — the Presi dent, Congress, governors, and ministers of righteous ness everywhere. The true patriot is a God-fearing citizen (Acts 10:1- 2). We cannot deny that religious men created America. America’s whole coastline from Cape Cod to Georgia was settled chiefly by godly men and women. They were the Pilgrim Fathers of Massachusetts, the Dutch Protes tants of New York, the Quakers of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the Roman Catholics of Maryland, the Covenanters of the Carolinas, the Baptist and Episco palians of Virginia. It was such people who gave char acter to America. In early days the school-books taught Christianity. Sermons were the most read literature of the day, were listened to as responsible, intellectual expressions. Sun day was very generally observed as a day of public worship. Work and amusements were silenced that men might attain the heights of spiritual vision and worship God in the appreciation of His truth. Blessing brought expressions of national thanksgiv ing, and experiences of defeat and tragedy, expressions of humiliation and prayer. In America men universally lived in a two-story world. They never allowed themselves to lack a con sciousness of what was going on in the second story. God’s people must rise up and, in the spirit of Israel of old, say, “ If I forget thee, 0 Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.” Let God’s people be patriotic Americans, be godly Americans. Let the godly people of our churches pray that God will save America and keep her strong in the world of nations in these trying, deluding times of world trouble. God bless America!
bian, Marxian, or the internationalism of the Council on Foreign Relations. In the words of a prominent offi cial, “ The American people have little, if any, need to be alerted to the menace of the cold war.” J. Edgar Hoover, America’s courageous prophet, has said: “ Patriotic endurance is a test of greatness. For our nation, the test began 189 years ago in Philadelphia when 56 American patriots signed the Declaration of Independence. From that historic moment on, the bells of freedom in our land have rung loud and clear — a triumphant message to a troubled world that America is indeed a beacon of hope for oppressed, freedom-loving people. “ There was no diluted patriotism at Independence Hall; nor were there any combat ‘turncoats’ at Valley Forge. These are latter-day by-products of decadent thinking. They represent a compromise of the moral and spiritual issues so vital to our survival. There can be no compromise where the cause of freedom is con cerned.” A Christian should never be ashamed of being a patriot. It is a godly attitude; be deeply ashamed of not being one. Multitudes make no effort to know what it means to be an American. They know only what it is like to live in America and enjoy the rights, privileges and prosperity which our deeply patriotic forebears bought for us at an awful price. What did some of these “ super-patriots” whom the modern internationalists would castigate so vigorously say? Hear them: Thomas Jefferson: “ The patriot, like the Christian, must learn that to bear revilings and persecutions is a part of his duty, and in proportion as the trial is severe, firmness under it becomes more requisite and praise worthy.” Theodore Roosevelt: “ Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the President or any other public official save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the coun try. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country.” Can a man be too patriotic? He can, of course, be a fanatic, but when he is that he is not a patriot. Can anyone be too Christian? He can be a religious fool, but when he stays within the teachings of Christ and the apostles he cannot be “ too Christian.” Recently a Chicago newspaper carried a fine state ment: “When are you a ‘super patriot,’ a ‘sub-patriot,’ or a traitor? . . . How does one go about being just a ‘fair- to-middling’ patriot, which seems to be the currently approved attitude? . . . I was raised in the belief that patriotism is a fine thing and that it was not only "ad mirable but expected that any citizen should be ready to give his life for his country. “ Now it appears from public pronouncements . . . that it’s just as bad to be too patriotic as it is to be too treasonable. If we accept this strange new reasoning, we must conclude that it is all right to be mildly pa triotic, or mildly traitorous, just so we carry no belief to extremes. “ . . . If edited by today’s pundits, Patrick Henry’s famous cry, ‘Give me liberty or give me death!’ would come out something like this: ‘Give me liberty if con venient, but please don’t think I’m opposed to slavery.’ “ George Washington, following the current line, might have counseled his troops at Valley Forge thus: ‘Courage, men, but not too much! Win if you can, but don’t offend the enemy!’
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JULY, 1965
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