A Declaration of Independence and a Pledge of Allegiance

I am someone who is deeply skeptical of nationalism and patriotism.^[10] Affection for one’s local customs and traditions has its place, but I believe that place is not among the virtues at the core of Jesus’ Gospel. Indeed, natural affections and preferences are among those things that often cause disagreements and divisions, which I believe followers of Jesus are called to overcome for the sake of a much larger mission and a much grander purpose than the celebration of ourselves. That is why I have always been uncomfortable with the celebration of the Declaration of Independence as part of worship on the Sunday closest to the Fourth of July, and why I refrain from reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag during religious gatherings. To my mind, these displays of nationalism and patriotism for a particular country—even for one as great as the United States—are in direct competition with Jesus’ invitation to participate with him in the Kingdom of Heaven. Perhaps the simplest way to explain my unease with mixing expressions of nationalism and patriotism with Christian worship is for us to consider the Lord’s Prayer together.

I regard the Lord’s Prayer as a kind of Declaration of Independence—though not for the establishment of any human government—and as a kind of Pledge of Allegiance—though not to any political system devised by flesh and blood. I understand the Lord’s Prayer in this way because when Jesus’ prayer is studied in relation to Second Temple Judaism and ancient Jewish sources it quickly becomes clear that the content of the Lord’s Prayer is not merely spiritual and religious, it is also concrete and practical, with social, political, and economic implications.

• ^[1] The song of Mary in Luke 1:46-55 and the song of Zechariah in Luke 1:67-79 are two expressions of the hope for Israel's collective vindication. ↩
• ^[2] See the discussion in David N. Bivin and Joshua N. Tilton, Lord’s Prayer, Comment to L13. ↩
• ^[3] Cf., e.g., Mechilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, Shirata chpt. 8 (ed. Lauterbach, 1:206-207). ↩
• ^[4] See David Flusser, Jesus (3d ed.; Jerusalem: Magnes, 2001), 105-107; David N. Bivin and Joshua N. Tilton, “LOY Excursus: The Kingdom of Heaven in the Life of Yeshua,” under the subheading “The Kingdom of Heaven in Jewish Literature: Political Aspect of the Kingdom of Heaven.” ↩
• ^[5] For more on the petition for bread, see Joseph Frankovic, "Over and Under-Familiarity with Matthew 6:11." ↩
• ^[6] Members of the early church “shared everything they had…and there were no needy persons among them” (Acts 4:32-34; cf. Acts 2:44-45). ↩
• ^[7] I refer here to Martin Luther's doctrine of the two kingdoms. Wrongly interpreted, Luther's doctrine can be used to justify the living of a double life, one a religious life practiced in the context of the Church, the other a secular life practiced in the context of the world. The dichotomy here is not between public and private life, but in the division of some kinds of acts as "religious" and other kinds of acts as "secular." Such compartmentalization is what allows people who think of themselves as religious to so completely spiritualize concepts like forgiveness, for example, that they do not even consider the possibility that forgiveness must be practiced in social, economic, and political life as well as in the heart. ↩
• ^[8] The competing claims of kingship between Caesar and God was keenly felt by ancient Jews and early Christians, many of whom refrained from swearing oaths of allegiance to Caesar despite the often dangerous consequences to themselves for their refusal. For examples of Jewish resistance to pledging allegiance to Caesar, see Josephus' account of how, when Herod attempted to impose a pledge of allegiance to himself and to Caesar on the inhabitants of his kingdom, over six thousand Pharisees refused to make the pledge (Ant. 17:42; cf. Ant. 15:369). The Essenes likewise refused to make this pledge (Ant. 15:371). Cadbury noted that one reason early Christians refused to take part in military service was the unconditional military oath, which they believed conflicted with their unconditional obligation to God. See Henry J. Cadbury, "The Basis of Early Christian Antimilitarism," Journal of Biblical Literature 37 (1918): 66-94, esp. 81. ↩
• ^[9] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was fully acquainted with the dangers of nationalism and patriotism when mixed with the Christian message from his experiences in Germany, remarked on how odd it was for him to discover, in a country founded on the principle of the Separation of Church and State, the American flag routinely displayed in places of worship. See Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "Protestantism with Reformation," in his No Rusty Swords: Letters, Lectures and Notes, 1928-1936, from the Collected Works, Volume 1 (ed. Edwin H. Robertson; trans. John Bowden; London: Collins, 1965), 88-113, esp. 106-107. ↩
• ^[10] This article is Joshua Tilton’s personal reflection based on his research on the Lord’s Prayer for the Life of Yeshua project. ↩