In Defense of Christian Patriotism

Since when does praying to Jesus, loving America, and saluting the flag make you an extremist?

Patriotism isn't optional for Christians. It's essential. In Defense of Christian Patriotism explains that God gave us a country, and with it, a duty to love it. So why do cynics act like Christians ought to be burning flags, desacralizing churches, and disdaining our national history?

In this deeply-researched walkthrough of political theology and history, Daniel Darling defies the statue-toppling spirit of our age to recover a lost tradition of patriotism. He lays out why Christians should revere flags and civic heroes, that it's OK to believe in American exceptionalism, and what it really looks like to bring Jesus into politics (spoiler: it's not theocracy). You may be called a fascist. That's OK. When insanity is normal, the normal are deemed insane.

The Left claims Christian political engagement will produce a "real-life Handmaid's Tale," "the Afghan Taliban," and a "Christo-fascist future." In fact, the opposite is true. The Salvation Army and the Southern Baptist Convention run the second- and third-biggest disaster relief organizations in the country. Seventy-three percent of American substance abuse treatment programs include spiritual elements. Evangelicals are five times more likely to adopt than the average adult. This is a tradition to be proud of. So why aren't we?

In Defense of Christian Patriotism is Darling's joyful response to the cynics: stop lecturing the faithful. Instead, equip them. The book is a guide arming ordinary Christian patriots to fight back against the Left's false narrative with an upbeat, robust defense of how Christians make America better.

Daniel Darling is a pastor and the author of several books, including Agents of Grace, The Dignity Revolution, and The Characters of Christmas. He currently serves as the director of the Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and is a fellow at the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. He is also a columnist for World and a contributor to USA Today.