The following article was published to give an Anabaptist perspective on the Bicentennial events of 1976. The cautions it gives are still applicable today in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. — Web Editor
Editorial
July/August, 1976
Volume 11, Number 4
The average life of a mighty civilization has been about two hundred years. A number of years ago, Dr. Sorokin of Harvard University said that of the twenty-two great civilizations that appeared on earth’s scene during man’s history, nineteen of them had fallen by the time they reached the moral state already evident in the United States of America.
A century ago when our nation celebrated its Centennial, Americans undoubtedly were confused much like today. The aftermath of the Civil War was still chaotic; slums were a festering problem in the growing cities; remnants of the business panic of 1873 had persisted into 1876; President Grant’s second term was tainted by a scandal among his most trusted advisers. Conditions in 1876 were not all worthy of glowing reports, but today we have reason for increasing alarm regarding the plight of our nation.
National morality is at an all time low. We will spare readers the pain of reading statistics on the increasing rates of crime, divorce, and drug use. Sabbath-breaking is on the increase. The nation is reading obscenity. Dishonesty is growing in business and in politics. Every one of the major causes of Rome’s fall (listed by the historian Edward Gibbon) exists in America today. Our nation is being swept downstream in a swirl of humanistic thought and moral decay. Spiritually, morally, and economically, the United States is nearly bankrupt. No president can save us. Short of turning to God, America could be celebrating her last centennial.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is our only hope. Those who are disciples of Christ need to magnify righteousness and to stigmatize sin. We should resolve to be the kind of citizen who lives above the law of the land. We must seek to build healthy, stable, moral, and godly families. False religious leaders who have been rejecting biblical absolutes and accepting the conclusions of Darwinianism, need to repent and make a right-about-face.
The feature article in this issue of the BRF Witness presents a balanced view of what the believer’s attitude toward the Bicentennial celebrations should be. It cautions against a kind of Caesar-worship, and yet there is an expression of appreciation for the blessings of the land in which we live. We must remember that the Christian’s chief concern is not national survival, but the survival of the faith. God is not primarily concerned with the preservation of nations and civilizations. His primary concern is to accomplish the purpose for which Jesus Christ came into the world to reconcile men and women from all nations unto himself. Let us resolve to make this duty our primary task.
Cautions for the Bicentennial
by James F. Myer
For a number of months there has been great excitement over the idea of a bicentennial celebration. Most of us, at least to a degree, enjoy the excitement of a birthday party. Little children especially look forward to such an event. Often when asking a little child how old he is, he will raise a little hand with two fingers pointed upward. A birthday fascinates him. The bicentennial is a time for all of us to say “Happy Birthday” to the United States of America. An article in Reader’s Digest recently said that the Bicentennial is the biggest, longest, most elaborate and spirited national commotion since the California gold rush. You know how people packed their bags when they heard that there was gold to be found in the little streams of California. As we note the upsurge of interest, maybe the observation in Reader’s Digest is correct. As Christian citizens of this country, it is right for us to ask, “How should the Bicentennial affect us?” Should we put our nose in the air and act like we’re not interested and pretend that we don’t care about our country? Or, should we jump head-over-heels into a frothy celebration for the event? You will notice that the thrust of this message is not necessarily against, nor is it for participation in the celebration. The concern we share is one of caution, and that is why the article is specifically entitled “Cautions for the Bicentennial.”
It is true that more tourists are planning to come to the eastern part of our country this year than ever before. Conference centers from Ohio eastward for the most part are already taken, because all large conferences are heading to the East so that a participant can also go to Philadelphia while he is in the area. Even the Church of the Brethren’s Atlantic Northeast District has had for some time a Bicentennial Committee planning to have guided tours in the Germantown area. In fact, I discovered that they are also considering how much it would cost to outfit the guides in plain suits. This is about the only time many people are interested in such attire.
The word for the Bicentennial is “caution.” Do not ignore it, but do not get unduly steamed up over it either, because we’re celebrating the birthday of a mere earthly government. Our caution is primarily geared to benefit those of us who believe in the clear doctrine of separation of church and state, and the doctrine of biblical nonresistance. Such people should find themselves having attitudes similar to the three young Jews that are described in the third chapter of Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar had set up a great image no doubt to pull together a strong spirit of nationalism and to gain attention for himself. The Jewish boys refused to bow. We get a similar feeling today, as people are getting ready to celebrate the Bicentennial. When we look at America, which is often known as the home of the brave and the land of the free A caution about the Bicentennial is in order, We in u at not get caught up in admiring a great big political image with which God in Heaven may not be entirely pleased.
Before we list some specific cautious, we do want to take time to express appreciation for our country. I love my country, and though I had no choice as to where I should be born, I would choose the United States if the choice were mine to make. Let it be known that, in spite of all the critics, the United States of America is still a country to which many people are trying to come and from which few are trying to depart. In fact, the whole matter of amnesty (which has been in the headlines recently) is a matter related to those who have denounced the country and left it, and are now meekly trying to get back into the country. We realize that America has its faults (and we want to be aware of them) — but we believe that today we are privileged to enjoy more day-to-day freedoms than are possible in most countries. For this we are most grateful.
1. THE BICENTENNIAL FOCUSES ON A MILITARY VICTORY
The Bicentennial focuses on a military victory, and being a victor in a military event, also means that there is a loser. Jesus was more readily identified with those who were oppressed than with those who were the winners. In fact, the Bible says He was oppressed and He was afflicted. Jesus was not the one to campaign for a military victory. He could have had a military victory rather than a crucifixion. The Bible says he had within His power the ability to call forth twelve legions of angels.
America’s national anthem begins with the words, “O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light, what so proudly we hailed, at the twilight’s last gleaming? Whose broad stripes, and bright stars through the perilous flight.” You see, we have a military victory because the nation was involved in a fight. The song continues, “O’er the ramparts we watched,” or “over the forts we watched.” Notice, too, the phrase, “And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.” The fact that our flag was still there indicates that someone else’s flag was not there any longer. “O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave, o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?” The anthem actually arose out of the War of 1812, but it clearly indicates some of the heartbeats of our country. The Revolutionary War focused on a military victory.
Jesus clearly said that His kingdom is not of this world; that is why His servants do not fight. It would seem that if it is wrong for Christians to fight in warfare, then it is inconsistent for us to get all excited about celebrating a military victory. We are supposed to be pilgrims and strangers. We’re ambassadors, and an ambassador is one who functions for the best interests of his country, and is subject to call at any time. Therefore he does not get tied up too deeply in the affairs of his homeland. Our first caution is that the Bicentennial event focuses on a military victory, and this is difficult to square with our belief in biblical nonresistance.
2. THE BICENTENNIAL ENCOURAGES AN IDOLATRY OF AMERICANISM
Caution number two is that this event tends toward making an idol of Americanism. The Bible very clearly tells us that our God is one who despises every form of idolatry. That is one of the reasons why Nebuchadnezzar had his seven years under the stars eating grass like an ox. His claws grew like eagle’s claws because God was not happy with the image that encouraged idolatry. God wishes us to have a single eye of devotion to Him. He thundered down from Mt. Sinai, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Many religious people get caught up in a bicentennial event, and it tends to encourage idolatry toward one’s own country. The image is not as visible as Nebuchadnezzar’s was, but it is almost as obvious. We need to be careful to understand that God is not as much interested in observing Christianity as it is seen in America, as in seeing Christianity as it is taught in the Bible.
Many churches will be presenting a God-and-country platform. Even now a lot of churches have a flag on the pulpit to at least mildly encourage the idea of God and country. Religious groups will be presenting patriotic programs. Sometimes they leave the impression that being a dedicated American (and being a dedicated Christian) are almost the same thing. It is not the same thing. There have been Christian bodies down through the years who have (in the name of God and country) thought it was all right to go out and murder the enemy. Some churches have special services to honor military men for their bravery and valor in defending the country.
We believe that God is unhappy with the God-and-country combination. I am reminded of a little illustration about a saloon in a certain city that sold its building to a local congregation, and they hurriedly made preparations to have church services in the saloon. In their haste they forgot to take out a parrot that had made his home tip in the rafters. When the first service came along (the saloon was now a church meeting place), the preacher went into the pulpit and the parrot said, “New proprietor.” When the gospel group got up arid sang a hymn the parrot leaned down from the rafter and said, “New floor show.” Then a bit later lie looked back over the congregation and the parrot leaned down from the rafter and said, “Same old crowd.” The point is that God’s people should not be the same old crowd doing everything that the world is doing.
The early church said we must obey God rather than man. ‘This does no, mean that it is all right for us to be filled with a hateful disrespect for government leaders. in whatever country we find ourselves, we arc under biblical authority to express honor arid respect for the leaders of that land (even in countries where atheism prevails). God is bigger than any atheistic country or leader, and sometimes He uses heathen, godless leaders to bring Christians in other countries to their sense of responsibility. A strong spirit of nationalism tends to obscure the fact that God is universal. Such people often leave the impression that God is only interested in the ways of America or what happens to the United States. Let us not forget that Jesus had a world-view when He said, “Go ye therefore and teach all nations.” ‘The Bible says in Acts 10:35, “In every nation, he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is accepted with him.” The Bible also says in Matthew 25 that on the day of judgment God is going to gather all nations together and out of that great company will be those who are separated on the right and on the left, not according to national lines, but according to faithfulness in service to God.
It is good to note too that we cannot revere the founding fathers of our country so much for spiritual things as for national things. Early American leaders were brilliant men when it came to writing down a Constitution, a Declaration of Independence, and setting the basic motions in order that a country might be born and that laws might be established and that a government might exist which would give freedom even to the poorest people. Our founding fathers were not the spiritual giants that some people want to make them. The facts are that Ben Franklin arid Thomas Jefferson were Unitarians. They did not believe the biblical doctrine of the trinity. ‘They believed in God, but as far as Christ and the Holy Spirit and personal salvation were concerned, there is no evidence that these men were really born again, Spirit-filled men. Thomas Jefferson was a deist, believing that God was the Creator, but that God is completely beyond the realm of human experience. Let us not forget that even though we like to talk about George Washington and his honesty, still he was a military general. He was not a regular Sunday-go-to-meetin’ kind of person. He was out to get the enemy. We can have respect for these men only from a national, governmental standpoint, not from a spiritual standpoint.
When we observe people’s veneration for the founding fathers, we wonder how God likes it, because it may show some idolatry. Let us be cautious. The fact is, the revolutionary period was a time of severe testing for the Anabaptist groups in Pennsylvania. ‘These little colonies needed to muster all the strength they had to get the guns bursting in air. Those of Anabaptist background were not inclined to be involved in the Continental Army. They were not inclined to give money and goods for its cause. As a result, their homes were subject to confiscation and to harm. Some of them fled to Canada for refuge. In fact, when someone gets too high on the bicentennial theme, it might be a good thing to remind him that our Canadian brethren did not fight any revolutionary war, and they are still part of the British commonwealth and yet they are enjoying many of the same types of freedom we enjoy. That is a notable fact to remember.
3. THE BICENTENNIAL TENDS TO OBSCURE A DECLINE IN MORAL STANDARDS
The third caution we mention is that the bicentennial event tends to obscure the deterioration of morality and spirituality of the country. After all, a birthday party is a time to be a well-wisher, not a time to be a fault-finder. We need to observe the caution that while many people are celebrating the birthday of our country, the deteriorating morals of our own nation arc not improving, and we might very well soon be attending its funeral. No nation can afford to take the chance of deteriorating morality like our country is taking, and get away with it. The “bicentennial image” may have feet of clay, and when those feet of clay begin to crumble, the big image is going to come down.
Last year we had in our country an eleven percent increase in prison inmates. This was the largest annual increase of prisoners in our nation’s history. Some prisons arc so crowded that they have prepared temporary quarters it) tents and in trailers. During the year 1975, there were one hundred thousand more abortions performed than in 1974. One out of every five women who live in New York City has had a legal abortion. Crime statistics in “the era of the 70’s” reveal that something has happened to make crime mushroom in our generation. So while a lot of people are getting excited about the Bicentennial, a valid caution is that we not let this celebration gloss over the reality of deteriorating morals in our country.
Billy Graham stated a number of years ago that unless there is a change in moral direction, our country is doomed. Yet it seems that we become calloused and assume that all will be well–everything is going to keep on going endlessly. Sometime there will be an end. Let’s not get used to our country’s decline in moral stability. I read not long ago about a certain housewife who was a careless housekeeper. She didn’t keep the house clean and failed to dust the furniture. One day she finally got the idea to clean things up, and when her husband came home in the evening, he shouted from the inner room, “Where is the dust that was on this table? I had a telephone number written in it.” We might get so used to things being dirty that it becomes the status quo. We believe that national liberty and spiritual liberty are not the same thing. Freedom from sin is not mentioned in the Constitution of our country. We have the symbols of freedom — the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Bell, and the flag. But when we see the crime statistics, it seems evident that while we may have the symbols of liberty and freedom, we have the reality of bondage, which is not a good note.
July 4, 1976, falls on a Sunday. The National Association of Evangelicals has called for all fireworks and parades to be put off until Monday so that this bicentennial-year Sunday can truly be a day of worship. Maybe this little turn of events focuses on something that symbolizes our real need. When the time comes for the big celebration, may the focus not be on our country, but let the focus be on turning back to the God of our fathers. It is one thing to have “The Spirit of 76”, but it is more important to have “The Spirit of Jesus Christ.”
Basically, the Christian has four duties to the Civil Government. He is to obey the laws (when not in direct conflict with God’s Word); he should pay taxes; he is to pray for authorities; and he is to honor and respect governmental leaders (because their office and function is ordained by God). Being a good Christian does not mean that we should be bad citizens. But being a good citizen does not mean that we are Christians. As Christians we should revere the lordship of Jesus Christ above the rulership of Caesar. Our citizenship is in Heaven. Praise the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! He rules in the kingdoms of men.