The Lamb, the Dragon, and the Ballot Box

That’s a false choice. Adventism has never lived comfortably in either camp.

From the beginning, Adventists warned against fusing spiritual authority with political power—not because we’re indifferent to the fate of nations, but because we know how easily a “lamb-like” country learns to speak like a dragon. Early Adventists didn’t shy away from criticizing the United States for its moral failures—from slavery to legislative hypocrisy—and they made clear that faith had a role in public life.

The lesson is clear: faith can guide civic engagement without merging with partisan politics. Our pioneers spoke out, defended religious liberty, and named injustice when they saw it. They just refused to confuse moral courage with partisan loyalty.

From this vantage point, patriotism isn’t loyalty without limits; it’s the willingness to love a country while insisting it live up to a higher standard. Adventists are uniquely positioned to engage, critique, and participate because we know how easily power can corrupt and conscience can be silenced.

So the real question isn’t whether we care about our country—it’s how. You can keep one eye on the prophetic horizon and still fix the potholes on your street. You can resist empire while voting, organizing, and speaking up. That isn’t political compromise—it’s faithful action, with conscience intact.