Then Peter began to speak: ‘I now realise how true it is that God does not show favouritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.’

ACTS 10:34–35 

‘As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: “John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.” So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?’

ACTS 11:15–17 

We lament that some Christians have looked to the state rather than the gospel as the key means for bringing about God’s intentions for the world. This takes an especially regrettable form when wed to nationalism – here defined as the belief that every state should have a single, national culture and no other … This is a great evil in our world. We lament that many Christians have been sadly complicit in it, as well as in the claims of ethnic and racial supremacy it fosters. Against this, we assert that no modern state is able to claim or will ever be able to claim to be the special agent of God’s saving rule.

The Fourth Lausanne Congress, ‘Seoul Statement’, article 85

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When the US Vice President, a Tory podcaster, and the late Pope debate nationalism, it’s worth a second look.

It’s January 2025. JD Vance, an outspoken Catholic, defends ‘America First’ with a theological twist – ordo amoris. Love must be ordered: family first, then neighbours; citizens first, then strangers.

Common sense? Maybe. But Rory Stewart shot back, quoting Jesus’ call to love sacrificially (John 15:12–13). Triaging love looks ‘less Christian and more pagan tribal’. Pope Francis gave the final word, pointing to the Good Samaritan as the true vision of love – a ‘fraternity open to all, without exception’.

With nationalism making a global comeback, it’s time we asked: is it godly to love your country? Can we reimagine healthy British patriotism?

Enter Peter and Cornelius. A Jew and a Gentile, drawn together by a vision of God’s inclusive mission. In this biblical story, we see nationalism’s good and bad – and its better.

The good? National identity gives us roots. God made all people in his image, graced to cultivate the world in community. Peter rightly loved his lineage, stretching back to Abraham. Distinctive laws and customs weren’t bad – they were markers of mission. Cultures are gifts from God and preserving them isn’t inherently wrong.

The bad? When ‘us’ becomes ‘us first’. Nationalism turns toxic when it narrows identity to bloodlines and borders, starting with folk dancing and ending with razor wire. Cultural pride morphs into exclusion. It’s Babel revisited, where unity becomes uniformity, bowing to golden statues when the flag waves and anthem resounds (Daniel 3). Strangers are scapegoated. Neighbour-love is confined to our tribe.

But there’s a better way. The biblical story shows that God’s chosen people were blessed to be a blessing to other nations (Genesis 12:1–3; Acts 15:14–18). True patriotism is measured by power leveraged to care for the vulnerable – the widow, orphan, immigrant, and poor (Deuteronomy 10:10–22). At the Gentile Pentecost, the Holy Spirit fell on Cornelius’s household without requiring cultural assimilation. The gospel went global – every tribe gathered around Jesus (Revelation 7:9–12).

So yes, godly patriotism is possible. It honours heritage and seeks communal flourishing. But it resists the selfishness that distorts love into protectionism. Instead, it channels national identity toward a bigger love – one that stretches across borders and blesses others without losing itself (Galatians 6:10).

Like Peter, we’re called to embrace ‘them too’, imagining a state that reflects the justice and mercy of God for all.

Dr Dave Benson
Culture and Discipleship Director, LICC

How might you imagine a godly patriotism where we love the good, challenge the bad, and pursue the better?