#0156 What Does God Think About Patriotism? Nationalism? - Further. Every. Day.

#0156 Christianity, Patriotism vs Pacifism

Introduction: In a country where politics have become more and more heated, should the Christian join in the fray? Or should we sit back with a resignation that simply waits for the return of our Savior? Should we as Christians be involved with the political system? If so, how much or how little should our involvement involve our relationship to Christ?

Segment 1: Does God Condone Patriotism?

Does the Christian have a role in the modern politic? Should we be involved in the issues of our day? Let's take a look via the Chair of Theology to see what Christ did, as well as what God commanded in the Old Testament.

First off, to answer this question, we should understand some cultural context. Who were the Sanhedrin? From Wikipedia:

The Sanhedrin (Hebrew and Middle Aramaic סַנְהֶדְרִין, a loanword from Koinē Greek: Συνέδριον, romanized: synedrion,[1] 'assembly,' 'sitting together,' hence 'assembly' or 'council') was a legislative and judicial assembly of either 23 or 71 elders, existing at both a local and central level in the ancient Land of Israel.

There were two classes of Rabbinite courts called sanhedrins: Greater and Lesser. A lesser Sanhedrin of 23 judges was appointed to sit as a tribunal in each city. There was only one Great Sanhedrin of 71 judges, which, among other roles, acted as a supreme court, taking appeals from cases that lesser courts decided. In general usage, the Sanhedrin without qualifier usually refers to the Great Sanhedrin, which was presided over by the Nasi, who functioned as its head or representing president, and was a member of the court; the Av Beit Din or the chief of the court, who was second to the nasi; and 69 general members.

In the Second Temple period, the Great Sanhedrin met in the Temple in Jerusalem, in a building called the Hall of Hewn Stones. The Great Sanhedrin convened every day except festivals and the sabbath day (Shabbat).

After the destruction of the Second Temple and the failure of the Bar Kokhba revolt, the Great Sanhedrin moved to Galilee, which became part of the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In this period, the Sanhedrin was sometimes called the Galilean Patriarchate or Patriarchate of Palaestina, the governing legal body of Galilean Jewry. In the late 200s CE, to avoid persecution, the name Sanhedrin was dropped and its decisions were issued under the name of Beit HaMidrash (house of learning). The last universally binding decision of the Great Sanhedrin appeared in 358 when the Hebrew calend