God v. Country?

In the past, I've been frustrated with conservative critics who disparage Muslims' ability to assimilate into the United States. From their own interpretation of the Koran and the theology of Islam, these critics determine that Muslims cannot possibly be loyal Americans, because their ultimate allegiance is to Allah and Mecca (never mind that there is virtually no religious hierarchy in Mecca, or most anywhere else). Many of these conservative critics would also claim Christianity as their religion of choice, or at least a familiar American version of it.

So why am I frustrated? People who criticize Muslims for proclaiming ultimate allegiance to Allah over the State need to ask themselves a simple question: "Am I a Christian?" If the answer to that question is "yes," then at the end of the day, it is implied in the very nature of being Christian that your ultimate allegiance is to the God of the Old and New Testament, the One Triune God of Father, Son and Holy Spirit -- not to the United States.

If this sounds shocking (I can hear the shouts of "theocracy!" now), I suggest you ask yourself if you are serious about your allegiance to God (that's a hard statement, and I feel some conviction coming on). After all, any country, even the most righteous, will deviate from God's will from time to time. True, these two allegiances are most likely rarely mutually exclusive. Indeed, our goal as Christians is to bring the two into as close of alignment as possible (i.e. the will of God and the actions of America, in all of its many spheres of life).

To illustrate the point, I like to pose this plausible hypothetical: The scene is 60 years into the future. The U.S. has drifted into a thoroughly secular, anti-Christian culture. This secular, anti-Christian culture is pervasive in society, making the America of the early 21st century look like a Great Awakening. Christians are an increasingly persecuted minority -- churches must register with the federal government if they want to worship freely, and all sermons and readings must be cleared by bureaucrats in Washington. The soft persecution of the 2020s is rapidly developing into overt and state-sanctioned suppression of American Christians. Our children and grandchildren are feeling the brunt of Washington's heavy hand.

As America becomes godless, China booms with Holy Spirit-fueled fervor. The Communist Party crumbles under the weight of 1 billion Chinese Christians, whose decades of peaceful protests culminate in assuming seats in a newly elected democratic government in Beijing. China is the largest Christian nation on earth, and its economic and military power are preeminent.

Enter Taiwan, which the U.S. has for decades sworn to defend against any Chinese aggression. Taiwan, unlike the Great Dragon to the north, has gone the way of Europe and North America -- toward a godless, secular culture hostile to Christians in particular. After a few years of China attempting to exert greater control over Taiwan, the Taiwanese army decides to pick a fight, knowing it has Uncle Sam at its back. War commences between Christian China and atheist America.

Who do you want to win this war? Are you a patriot, or a Christian?

All this to introduce one of the most intriguing columns yet by anonymous Spengler:

"Christianity Finds its Fulcrum in Asia."

Read it twice.

BC