We evangelicals in America have an amazing tradition of missing the point. We allow all of our attention and energy to be focused on a particular tree, not noticing the forest just behind us. We love to fight about peripheral issues while completely missing the real problem.
For example, take the whole "keep Christ in Christmas" thing. Certain retailers were telling their employees to say "happy holidays" to customers rather than "merry Christmas", because of the not-unreasonable assumption that while "merry Christmas" might offend non-Christians, "happy holidays" wouldn't offend anyone. Guess how that worked out?
Millions got into an uproar about how this constituted an attack on Christ himself. They were encouraged in this by "Christian" radio, television, and publishing, who know that tempests-in-teacups make for big paydays if you play them right. In all the sound and fury, though, few people seemed to be asking whether Christ actually was in Christmas.
After all, the way Americans celebrate Christmas essentially boils down to spending ourselves into terrible debt, feeling nostalgic (mostly about things we've never actually experienced), and listening to certain songs over and over. Where is Christ in that? Where is anything he taught or demonstrated? I know I'm oversimplifying, but I hope you see my point. We're zealous to keep certain letters in the name of a holiday, but less so when it comes to the One those letters represent.
Now consider the title of this post. It's clearly derived from the first line of the Pledge of Allegiance, which I, like every other public school kid in the last 70 years or so, said every morning at the start of class. At the time I didn't think about what I was saying. What kid does? The last ten years or so, though, I've become increasingly uncomfortable with both the words and with the entire concept of pledging allegiance to a country. What's changed? I became a Christian.
You may think, "So what? Christians all say the Pledge. In fact, they're the ones who insisted that the words 'under God' be added, and get all upset when someone talks about taking them out." Every vacation Bible school I've ever ben a part of has started with three pledges of allegiance: to the American flag, to the "Christian flag", and to the Bible, with the latter two pledges obviously modeled after the first. Let's face it: evangelicals love the Pledge of Allegiance.
But should we? Jesus is pretty explicit in Matthew 5.33-37 that his followers aren't to take oaths. There are any number of interpretations of this passage, of course, and some are no doubt worthy of consideration, but if you read my post a few days ago, you know that I'm a fan of what might be called the Hermenetic of What it Actually Says in Black and White. Jesus says don't swear an oath, which is what saying the Pledge is.
Another problem is that this republic we're supposed to swear allegiance to is not only not the Kingdom of God, but is in many way directly opposed to the Kingdom as depicted in Scripture. Despite what we've all been told, this isn't a "Christian nation" and never has been. A nation simply can't be Christian in any meaningful sense. Neither can music, literature, or anything else that isn't an actual human being. Since only a human being can be a follower of Christ, only a human being can be a Christian. A nation may be full of Christians, but it can't be one itself.
All that said, it could still be argued that the United States is a nation made up of Christians, and is thus Christian in its orientation and worthy of our allegiance. But look at our history. Look at the things that our country has done -- and not just the ones we accept as bad today, like slavery -- and compare them to the picture of a Christ-follower found in Scripture.
Lying, theft and murder are grievous sins, yet professing Christians did all these things and more in their dealings with the native tribes. Hatred is a vile sin, equated by Christ himself to murder, yet stirring up hatred for the enemy has been standard procedure every time our nation goes to war. Throughout our history, we have behaved ... well, like every other nation that's ever existed.
So much of the attention of professing Christians has been focused on keeping "under God" -- a late addition -- in the Pledge. Very little seems to be given to considering what the Pledge as a whole means, and whether it's consistent with faith in the kingdom and kingship of Christ. I humbly propose that it isn't.
Don't get me wrong; I don't hate America. I'm thankful to have been born and raised here, and I appreciate the freedoms and opportunities that have been available to me as a citizen of the United States. But that gratitude doesn't mean that I can give it my ultimate allegiance. It doesn't mean that I can turn a blind eye to the evils done in its name and at its hands, and I can't pledge to follow it wherever it leads.
I urge all of us who profess faith in Christ to consider prayerfully what the Bible has to say about following him. I hope you'll think deeply on what it means to pledge your allegiance to any human government, and whether even the best can truly be worthy of praise when compared to the kingdom Christ inaugurated. I welcome any comments, questions, or suggestions; if you think I'm wrong, don't be shy about saying so. Just be reasonable.
Grace and mercy on us all.
No comments:
Post a Comment