A Rebuttal of a Pastor’s Letter Defending the Pledge

A friend introduced me to an article written by a pastor defending the church’s right to say the pledge of allegiance to the flag in a church service.   Below I have offered my own response to the arguments made in that letter.   It is by no means exhaustive and much more can be said, but this is a start and I hope one that will encourage dialog between myself and others, both who agree and disagree.    I would welcome the opportunity to flesh this out some more with others.  May we all be sharpened because of it and grow in the image of Jesus Christ through it.    If you would like to read the entire letter you can find it HERE.     And thank you to my friend for sending it to me!  I cherish your heart for Jesus!

I salute the flag that stands for the Republic, under God, with liberty and justice for all. I appreciate the emphasis that the Christian Founding Fathers gave us: freedom to worship God, freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, freedom of movement plus many other freedoms.

To be clear, pledging allegiance to anything goes beyond a mere “salute.”  Allegiance means to give one’s “loyalty or commitment” to someone or something.  A “salute” simply means “a gesture of respect, homage or polite recognition.”   A salute does not imply ones abiding loyalty.

It is one of the great myths of our country to say that our founding fathers were “Christians,” at least in the way we think of Christians.   The majority of the founding fathers were Deists, which meant they believed in a God who stood apart and outside of history, sort of like a great watchmaker who “wound” up the world and just let it go.   This was not a God who was “Immanuel” (God with us) but was aloof and distant.   Thomas Jefferson, for instance, took a pen and scissors to his Bible and cut out all the sections of the New Testament that spoke of miracles.  Why?  Because God does not intervene in human history in such ways.

Furthermore, we must question whether these freedoms:

freedom to worship God, freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, freedom of movement plus many other freedoms

Are essentially “Christian” freedoms.  These are not freedoms promised us by God.  While it is a blessing to be given the privilege to worship without persecution we must also admit that this means all religions are equally free to express themselves.   This is good, but let us not fool ourselves into thinking that we are a “Christian” nation simply because we are allowed to worship.   Israel was not a democracy in that it allowed freedom of worship.   If you were part of the nation of Israel than Yahweh “would be your God and you will be God’s child.”  If you did not like that than you had a choice to make along with Joshua’s clan:  ”Choose this day whom you will serve.  As for me and my household we shall serve the Lord.”   Israel knew very well, through personal experience, that they belonged to a jealous God, one who did not like to share allegiances.

So these freedoms are not exactly “Christian.”  They are democratic, yes, but not rights that are guaranteed anyone who decides to “pick up their cross” and follow Jesus.    We shouldn’t confuse the two.

I believe that government is meant, according to St. Paul, (13) to oppose evil, punish the evildoer, insure the safety of its citizens, fight for the rights of others who are oppressed, secure justice or remedy injustice, secure peace and protect the innocent as much as possible.

The pastor here has taken some great liberties with Romans 13.  The only thing in the litany above that is even partially hinted at by Paul is that the government will punish those who do wrong.   A rather obvious fact in Paul’s day who is writing to Christians subject to persecution while living in Rome, the center of the empire.

And despite what governments are meant to do (and whether or not they carry it out well enough), Paul’s point is that all are subject to the sovereignty of God.   In the end, ALL nations and kings will bow before the true Lord of heaven and earth.   Paul’s point, as the end of the chapter shows, is to encourage the faithful to remain loyal to Christ, to “clothe yourselves with Christ” and in love for the end is near.   The nation that persecutes you answers to God, whether they know it or not.

I accept, in this fallen world, that there will always be “war or rumors of war” until Jesus returns. But until that day comes, strength is the insurer of peace. As Martin Luther said, “Without armaments peace cannot be kept; wars are waged not only to repel injustice, but also to establish a firm peace.”

Again, the pastor is taking some liberties with the text.  In neither Matthew 24 nor Mark 13 does it say there will “always” be wars and rumors of wars.   In fact, just the opposite.  Jesus says that this will occur but these are just “birth pangs” giving way to what will one day be the fulfillment of the Kingdom.

In any event there is absolutely NO insinuation that Christians will be part of any of this.   Sure there may be wars and rumors of wars but our part (the Church) is to “remain alert” and to stay faithful to the one who transcends all of that – Jesus.

As for Martin Luther, well, he was wrong here (and elsewhere).   This is what Walter Wink calls the “myth of redemptive violence.”  Our culture is obsessed by it.  We cannot imagine any other way to bring about peace and to stop injustice other than through war.  This is a lie all of us have bought into, even the Church.   However, it is not the story Jesus brings.   Jesus, the Prince of Peace, accomplished a “firm” peace not through war or violence but by laying down his own life.   The way of Jesus is not the way of the world.   How much do we trust that?  How much are we willing to give our allegiance to that?   I confess, it is terrifying.   Perhaps we might all pray, “Lord, I believe.  Help my unbelief.”

I know that Jesus taught non-retaliation in the Sermon on the Mount, saying, “I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also” (Matt. 5:39) But He was referring to personal non-retaliation, not national defense.

Again, the pastor is taking liberties with the text (this seems to be a common theme).    When people reduce Jesus’ words to nothing more than personal holiness they strip Jesus of his message of the Kingdom of God.  Jesus is not talking solely about how we should behave in our personal relationships but is giving us a glimpse into what life looks like in the Kingdom of God.   Yes, it may be an ideal to live into but nevertheless it is the Church’s place to shoulder this ideal and do all that we can by the grace of God to live up to it.

“War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight—nothing he cares about more than his own safety –– is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.”

What is more ugly that war?   Not only are the casualties of war, both military and civilian, a crying shame but those are only the tip of the iceberg.  What of the countless widows and orphans made by war?   Two of my children were made orphans because of war and their mother a widow.  What of the immense damage done not only to homes and towns and cities but to God’s good earth?  What of the psychological trauma felt by all involved that lingers for years?

Thus far in this pastor’s response there has been nothing to justify pledging one’s allegiance to something or someone other than Jesus.   So far this has been an attempt to justify war and those who fight in wars.  That is another issue altogether.    The next portion of the letter tries to address the issue of bringing the state into the church.

Sad to say, some have tried to make this a secular nation (against all historical evidence) by omitting God from public life.

This may be the case.  But how is colluding with the state within our sanctuaries an answer to this perceived problem?    For the record, and as I stated above, it is a myth that our nation is “Christian.”    For a good read on this I would recommend Greg Boyd’s Myth of a Christian Nation. But all of this is beside the point.   We, the Church, are not to be the tail wagged by the dog which we name “Christian.”   Our citizenship, Paul tells us, is not of this world or of any nation in this world but is in heaven.   We do not look to the nation to take our spiritual pulse but we look to God’s revelation to us through Scripture and most importantly Jesus Christ.   The Church’s ethic (way of being) is going to be far different from that of the world (or it should be).   Where we look alike we must hear the words of the Apostle John in Revelation 18- “Come out!”   Jesus prayed in John 17 that we would be “in the world” but not “of the world.”   We are to be a beacon of light in a sea of darkness.   How can we justify pledging our allegiance to a flag of a nation of which the Bible tells us we are not citizens?   How do justify bringing the “world” (a nation) into our very sanctuaries which are meant to be “set apart” for doing the work of the Kingdom, a Kingdom established not by a sword by the blood of a slain Lamb?

They were building a new nation, under God. The pledge to allegiance honors both our history and our present attitude (which is like a prayer) that we believe that God is the Lord of this nation and we want to honor this fact with both our lips and our lives.

This pastor seems to not be aware of the history of our pledge.  The original pledge, written in 1892, reads as follows:

“I Pledge Allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.”

Notice there is no mention of God or “under God” in the pledge.   The words “under God” were not officially added to the pledge until 1954, in part to make a distinction between us and communist nations whom were deemed to be nations apart from God.    One of the unforeseen fall-outs of such an addition, I would argue, is that it became easy to assume that what was good for America was good for God.   God and country became inseparably linked, for better or worse.

To conclude, we confess as Christians that we serve a God who is the God of ALL nations, tongues, peoples and tribes.    In Christ there is no Jew or Gentile, male or female, slave or free.   In Christ there are no national boundaries.   While we are blessed at this present time to live in a country that grants us many freedoms we recognize that these are not Christian freedoms nor are they promised us by our God.   They are for the moment blessings for which it is right to give thanks.   But giving thanks is more like a “salute” than it is a pledge of allegiance.    God is a jealous God and demands from us our all.   To bring a flag into a church and pledge loyalty to it is to announce to the world that we serve two masters – Christ and the State.    Is this how we wish to be viewed?

grace and peace.

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