The Bible and “Patriotism”
By L. A. S.
The following propositions on patriotism were recently published in the New York Evening Post and the Yonkers Statesman (N. Y.). The author, Mr. John C. Havemeyer, of Yonkers, states that after having for years “carefully studied the popular idea of patriotism, both as a sentiment and as a practical truth,” he feels prompted “at this time of special patriotic fervor” to put forth these statements as his conclusions on the subject, the error of which he challenges any person to prove. He appeals to the Bible as the standard of truth, which should be the accepted standard of all persons calling themselves Christians. He says:— There is not in any part of the Bible even a sentence that requires or justifies “patriotism.” The usual definition of patriotism is “love of country.” The man who seeks to learn what this phrase means, and to carry out its teachings in his life, attempts a hopeless task. It is an exaggerated form of selfishness, and is one of the devil’s most successful devices to deceive and mislead the human race. It is, in fact, a delusive method of inducing a violation of the sixth commandment,—“Thou shalt not kill,”—and is practically in opposition to the spirit of the other nine. Ministers and others who teach the co-ordinate obligation of religion and patriotism have no warrant in reason or Scripture, and the practice largely accounts for the diminished moral tone and tendency to skepticism among the people. The religious organization which sends missionaries to foreign nations to preach the gospel of peace and good will and the duty of self-surrender and obedience to God, and rests its claims for support on the value of the human soul, and at the same time approves of, and advises its members to enlist for, war, occupies a position so absurd as to be essentially grotesque. No man has a right to risk his own life, which is a trust for which an account must be rendered, except in the effort to benefit his fellow men. The claims of the state are inferior to the claims of God, and should be regulated by our relations and obligations to him. The continued life and prosperity of nations depend primarily and indispensably upon righteousness. No government has a right to make a training for war a fixed employment for its citizens, and every man who thus devotes his life violates divine law, and jeopardizes his happiness for eternity. The maintenance of a navy, except for police purposes, such as may be required to suppress piracy or other open violations of human and divine law, can not be justified. It follows that the study of the art of war in military and naval academies has a demoralizing influence, and that the tendency is to blunt the moral perception, and unfit men who pursue it for useful lives. It is a disgrace to Christian people that men who have excelled in the deceptive arts and brutal destruction of life, limb, and property involved in war should be hailed as benefactors, treated with exceptional honor, and often placed in high official positions. This high estimate of the merit and proper reward for military service disparages self-denying men and women who consecrate their lives to the effort to lift up and save their fellow men, and makes a false standard of excellence. It places brute force above moral worth, fosters worldliness and low ideals, and ignores the fact that a man is to be judged by mind and heart, and that what he thinks and how much he loves is the true test of worth. The teaching of “patriotism” in public schools is illogical and harmful, and will lower the tone of citizenship with the coming generation. The salutation offered the flag is a form of idolatry. The true patriot interprets “love of country” to signify love for the people who are in it. He will express this feeling by a special interest in their welfare, and by an effort to make them the purest, noblest, and happiest among the nations of the earth. This love will necessarily expand into a world-wide love; for all men have a common origin, need, nature, and destiny. For Christians, the only patriotism should be Christian patriotism, which is love of the Christian’s country and its laws—that country sought by Abraham and other faithful worthies who confessed that as regards this earth they were strangers and pilgrims. L. A. S.