Pledging Allegiance in the Assembly?
A friend of mine told me how perplexed she was that in a Christian assembly where she was visiting last Sunday morning they said the Pledge of Allegiance. I kid you not.
The Christian assembly is the place where we remember that there is only one ultimate allegiance, and it is to Jesus Christ. It is where we remember that any other ultimate allegiance is idolatry.
The early church didn’t pledge allegiance to Rome. They confessed Jesus as Lord — which was a political statement over against the confession that Caesar is Lord.
Aren’t we to be good citizens? Of course — whether we live in Mexico, Chile, Vietnam, Afghanistan, or the United States. No one nation is God’s nation. He is working in visible and (often) hidden ways in all countries.
There are settings where I say the Pledge of Allegiance. I’m thankful to be a citizen of this country; I deeply appreciate the sacrifices that have been made; and I do see my Christian obligation to be a good citizen. (I’ve written before about the need I sometimes feel to tell people that I’m not talking about the deepest allegiance of my life. Countries come and go; but the kingdom of God keeps encroaching!)
But historically, the Christian assembly has NOT been the place where people pledge their allegiance to a flag or a country. It’s not a place where they celebrate patriotism. Rather, it is a place where they remember that Jesus Christ alone is Lord. It is where they remember the words of Jesus: to come follow him, to turn the other cheek, to love enemies, to have only one Master, to serve one another, to go into all the world, etc. The assembly has been a place where we remember our status as “aliens and strangers” in this world whose true citizenship is in heaven.
You can find earlier blogs that are related here . . . and here.
Steve,
yet he works through nations to do his will (Acts 17:24….). I do not see the good that comes from bashing America or the Church as a whole. And I think it is dangers to imply that those who died for us are in Satan’s armies.
I hope I did not imply that Paul was political. It is easer for a rich man to go through the eye of a needle than for a politician to enter the kingdom of heaven. God never intended for his people to be a nation (1 Samuel
Bpd,
“One more thing: being Jewish is the religion. It is not a nationality.â€
“He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation,†John 11:51
John may disagree with you but what does he know.
1 Samual eight is cool
Bpd sorry bpb
Late to post here….
No saying the pledge during worship service. No, no, no. Neither should we, say, pause to advertise a really good restaurant during worship services. No.
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Now, a personal reflection.
I try to be very honest in whatever I say. Sometimes I don’t sing a line of a hymn (or I change the words) because I’m not comfortable saying somethign I don’t believe.
I do not say the pledge to the flag. Because if I did, I’d be lying.
I do NOT pledge (promise) my allegience (absolute loyalty) to the FLAG. No way. That flag might do many things I do not support and I would never dream of joining in on.
And as far as the comparisons between the pledge ceremony and the wedding ceremony, big difference. Husbands, how would you feel if your wife asked you, every day at breakfast, to stand up and recite the following: “I promise, my dear wife, that I will be faithful to you today, that I will not lust after any other woman, that I will love and serve you and be the best husband I can.” Now, you might mean every word there, and you might actually say some of those things now and then. But to be expected to say it every day… Wouldn’t that make you a bit… uncomfortable?
I can see taking the vow once… or renewing on a special occasion… but not a daily loyalty oath.
The sight of a classroom or auditorium full of kids reciting the pledge, hands over hearts, reminds me of Maoism or Soviet Pioneer clubs. Yikes! Making kids stand up and recite a loyalty oath every schoolday… Not my idea of a free society.
The great thing about our country, which I do love (even though I don’t “pledge allegience” to it) is that we value freedom and individual choice. For a new citizen or a person entering government service, some sort of affirmation of good citizenship and patriotism would be appropriate.
But no loyalty oaths for me at this point. And certainly not an oath made explicity to a FLAG first and only secondarily to the country “for which it stands.” That’s way too weird.
Mike, I took the girls to VBS today at a wonderful church where our good friends attend. They started the day with the pledge of allegiance. Then they did some kind of pledge to the church flag. I’m not sure what the order of the two communicated to the kids, but I nearly fell out!
No, Judiasm IS a religion. There are Americans Jews, there are Russian Jews, there are German Jews.
I attended the service that is mentioned and it never once entered my mind that we were idolizing our country. The service had two parts: the first being our typical Sunday service. We then had a small service to honor those in our church who had served the country. I thought it to be a nice way to show them appreciation.
Patently- O has links to other coverage, and the clearest description of the events at issue in the Ward v. Frenkel lawsuit, which involves the filing date of the ESN v. Cisco lawsuit. ( link ) If this is defamation… I don’t even know where to begin. Ward files patent infringement lawsuits one minute after the stroke of midnight, and then sues when people think he filed a day too early? Obviously, this could have been cleared up without a lawsuit, but Ward Jr. hasn’t been too communicative (he’s never…
Not only do we display the flag in Ft. Smith Ar, We display the admirality flag (the American flag with the golden fringe around the border. Anyone who has served in the military knows that means we are court martialing someone. I always ask the elders who is being court martialed today? Maybe it is I!