When Kneeling is Standing

Not surprisingly, the CWA understanding of “patriotism” is as different as it is predictable. When I shared some of these thoughts on social media recently, one of my friends—a kind, godly woman whose views I otherwise have nothing but respect for—spoke for many when she responded,

"I stand and I still stand as one nation under God regardless. Enjoy your division and hate for the sociopath. [Trump] You being a Christian man should know everything is God filtered. My suggestion is that you pray for our president and stand under God's reign and trust his purposes."

I don't hate Trump—my apologies if I sound like I do. But Jesus didn't hate the Pharisees either, and last time I checked, that sure as hell didn't keep Him from calling them out for exactly what they were—an evil brood of vipers (Matt. 12:34) who tithed from their wealth while neglecting justice and the love of God (Luke 11:42). Again, note the word justice in that verse. It matters too. Apparently, Jesus thinks love doesn't turn a blind eye to injustice in others. If I'm to follow in His steps, I fail to see how doing likewise to a man like Donald Trump—who is, in fact, a sociopath, a fascist, a misogynist, & a bully—constitutes "hate".

I don't "enjoy division" either. At least, no more than the disciples did. Of the twelve, the only one who wasn't martyred for his faith was John, & he was boiled in hot oil twice for it. But what their secular and religious persecutors considered "division", the world remembers as discipleship. There's a reason why no churches today are named after the Sanhedrin or Pontius Pilate but plenty are named after the disciples, and I'm here to tell you... it has nothing whatsoever to do with "hate" or "[enjoying] division".

That said, my friend is right. As a Christian man, I should know that everything is "God filtered", and I do. But after 40+ years of being one, I also know that those filters begin with His Church. For the life of me, I just can't find anything in the Bible that says, or even implies, that "God filtered" doesn't begin with me choosing to take up a cross and follow Him, and in so doing, be salt and light to my nation and world (Matt. 5:13-16). Today I stand redeemed because He was crucified by religious and secular authorities who thought He "[enjoyed] division" as well. If anyone can explain to me how I could authentically follow Him without embracing His kind of "division", I'm all ears.

As for "[praying] for our president", my friend is right again… I should be. But there are many kinds of prayer, and they aren't all equally authentic. During WWII for instance, the German Church & Dietrich Bonhoeffer both prayed for their nation and its leader. But unlike the Church’s, Bonhoeffer's prayers were vocal, public, and no more afraid of "division" than Jesus' were. As he once said,

"We must finally stop appealing to theology to justify our reserved silence about what the state is doing — for that is nothing but fear. 'Open your mouth for the one who is voiceless' — for who in the church today still remembers that that is the least of the Bible’s demands in times such as these?"

On Apr. 8, 1945 the Fuhrer he was praying for responded to his "enjoyment" of "division" by having him publicly stripped naked and hung slowly from a slaughterhouse meat hook with piano wire. His death is thought to have taken at least half an hour. His last prayer for said Fuhrer was made kneeling at the foot of the gallows before climbing the steps to his execution (Bonhoefferblog, 2009).

It's funny, don't you think, how often things turn out badly for those who have the audacity to think that "[standing] under God's reign" doesn't include blind nationalism and remaining silent in the face of liberty and justice only for some?

The difference between the German Church's prayer and Bonhoeffer's speaks for itself. Through theirs, the Church trusted God’s purposes silently from a safe distance, whereas through his, Bonhoeffer became the vehicle of those purposes. It’s little wonder that history remembers him differently as well. Once again, that has nothing whatsoever to do with "[enjoying] division and hate".