Faith and the Fourth of July

Jul. 1—There's nothing wrong with Christians celebrating the Fourth of July, says the Rev. Steve Goyer, interim pastor of St. Simons Presbyterian Church. There are a lot of good things about America to celebrate, within reason.

"I think we're called to celebrate like everyone else, as long as we keep it in perspective," he said.

That perspective is the time period in which America was founded.

"Our founding fathers and mothers were getting hammered by the union of church and state in England — the Anglican Church — and the Catholic Church in Spain," Goyer said.

The founding stock of America was rife with products of the Protestant Reformation — Lutherans, Calvinists, Methodists and Presbyterians, among others. It's unsurprising, then, that the country's founding documents were heavily influenced by the faith of these people.

That's obvious in the First Amendment to the Constitution, which states, in part: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

"Our first allegiance is to Christ, and then whatever nation we are encamped in we're called to support, and we can call that patriotism," Goyer said.

He's fine with that term, "patriotism," but it's important for Christians not to get caught up in nationalism, he said.

"We are in this world, but not of it," he said. "We are called to support our country unless it is completely unjust."

Goyer doesn't think America is completely unjust, and he and his wife always celebrate the Fourth, starting with a reading of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. It's had some trouble along the way, but the 14th and 19th Amendments, the Civil Rights Act, and others went a long way toward setting the score straight.

"We're getting there. That's the vision our country was built on, which goes back to Genesis, God creating us in the image of God," Goyer said.

For Christians, these documents simply recognize the human right "to worship God in freedom and liberty, and not to be coerced." They aren't a guarantee of anything more, and they aren't inherently Christian.

As far as what constitutes nationalism versus mere patriotism, Goyer quoted the late Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart — "I know it when I see it."

Drew Thompson, lead pastor of Union City Church, notes some passages of scripture that supported that point.

The first was Romans 13:1, which states: "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God."

Another is 1 Timothy 2:2, which calls on Christians to pray "for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way." He also quoted 1 Peter 2:17, which says Christians should "Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor."

But he also pointed to the book of Philippians, which reminds Christians "our citizenship is in heaven, and from it, we await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ."

There's a "tension," between Christianity and any government or nation, he said. Christians also stand to gain something from working for the "peace of the city," which, in the book of Jeremiah, was referring to Babylon — a place no God-fearing Israelite wanted to go.

"Love your city, love the place you're in because you will benefit," Thompson said.

"As a person of faith, it's great to live in America, but it's really important to remember that Jesus isn't American. Most followers haven't been American, and the kingdom of God will live well after America is gone," Thompson said.

America's founding principles are closely aligned with Christianity, he said, which causes many to conflate American values with Christian values. That's a pitfall that believers should be aware of at all times. He, like Goyer, said it's a hard thing to judge.

"I tend to think the line is very, very tricky," Thompson said.

There at many examples at the national, state and local level of government policy departing from Christianity, but an easy one for most Brunswick residents to grasp, he said, is the homelessness situation.

Brunswick City Commissioners voted in April to temporarily close a daytime shelter for the homeless amid a crackdown on homeless in the city. New restrictions on homeless shelters and service providers were among the actions taken by the city. This includes a ban on "urban camping" and sleeping in public spaces and a $50,000 expenditure on boarding dilapidated and abandoned buildings.

The city has an interest in keeping the streets safe and promoting business growth, Thompson acknowledged.

"But, at the same time, Jesus was clear that marginalized people matter to him, and matter a great deal. We're supposed to be very considerate in how we treat them. How we treat them is how we treat him," Thompson said.

That isn't a reason, necessarily, not to be patriotic, though. On July 4 — as the church is supposed to be dedicated to the worship of God and not in recognition of any nation — Thompson said he's going to be outside the church saluting the flag, singing the anthem and barbecuing with other patriots.