Monday, January 14, 2008

I pledge allegiance...

I’m taking a few more classes of seminary this semester. Striving towards the finish line of the MDIV… it awaits only a few years off. I’m taking a class called “Celebrating Diversity and Embracing Unity.” I wasn’t all that excited for the class – but one of the texts we are using for the class is really challenging my thinking. The book is called, “The Exclusion and the Embrace by Miroslav Volf. The work is truly brilliant. Volf is a Croatian and his family was heavily involved in the Bosnian-Serbian war. He writes on forgiveness and reconciliation from both a theological standpoint, but also brings in a ton of personal experience. His family suffered greatly at the hands of the Bosnians.

One of the statements that he makes is that in order for true reconciliation and even the desire for it to take place, our allegiance must be to the Kingdom of God above all else. If this is not the case, than restoration, forgiveness and reconciliation are impossible. This got me thinking about churches that display US flags in the sanctuary. I wonder what message this sends. Isn’t it true that Christianity is often tied up and encompassed by a western mindset? If our allegiance is truly to the Kingdom first, should we fly flags in the church?

I also got to thinking about elementary school. Remember in elementary school when we had to say the pledge of allegiance? The pledge starts out, “I pledge my allegiance to the flag…” Is that true? Do we, as followers of Christ, pledge our allegiance to the flag (a country) or do we pledge it to a crucified savior who purchased us with his blood? Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I am unpatriotic, it’s just that I think we need to be careful who and what we align ourselves with as followers of Christ. I’m grateful to live in the US. My brother in law fought in Iraq. I understand what our freedom has cost and I am grateful for it, but that doesn’t mean that my highest devotion goes to a country. My highest devotion is directed at a God who paid everything to purchase me… and it’s to others who are followers of His, no matter what country they live in. I’m not sure that I’ll say the pledge of allegiance anymore, not because I’m ungrateful to live in the US, it’ just that I am pledging my allegiance to a cause much greater than a country and to a people far more encompassing than US.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this post.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Ryan,
This is an interesting if not thought provoking perspective. I wasn't going to reply to your blog, but then the more I thought about it I felt led to write something of a response. I believe yes, we are of the western mindset in our patriotism, but that doesn't meen that when we say "I pledge allegiance to the flag" that our spiritual allegiance is to our country. Yet, if you continue on in the the pledge to our flag "and to the republic for which it stands: ...ONE NATION UNDER GOD, indivisible (why? because it was founded on biblical principles) with liberty (the freedom in our country to worship God) and justice for all." I have been reading a book on the first pilgrims and have been brutally reminded of the sacrifices that they made to escape the oppression of the king and the lack of being able to engage in "their allegiance to God." That's why they came here, so that they (and we) could worship God freely. So, I totally get what you are saying, but, based on what our country was founded on, and the godly men who wrote the original consitution, I don't have a problem with stating my "political allegiance" to the U.S. on basis of what the pledge stands for, knowing that we may not have the freedom to be able to worship freely if these men and women of not so long ago didn't sacrifice even their own lives so that I can (not to mention the men and women today who continue to do so). No matter what country we as believers are from, our first alignment/allegiance is and must always be to God and His Son Jesus Christ. I guess because I know that and believe it, I don't see it as a bad thing to honor the flag that represents a country that was founded for the very purpose of being able to do just that...aligning ourselves with Christ! Thanks for causing me to think deeper. :)

WorshipNotes said...

I'm with you - I get bothered by US flags in church and by a connection between God and country that is over-emphasized sometimes. God isn't American (or of one particular party) any more than He is Russian or Brazilian or French.

I think we can pledge allegiance to a lot of things at the same time. When it comes to footbsll, my allegiance is to the Broncos. In business, my allegiance is to my employer. In relationships, my allegiance is to my family. The tricky part is when we are forced to choose between our allegiances when their goals/principles clash. Then we find out what our ultimate allegiance is. For Christians it should ultimately be to the Kingdom of God and the King of Kings.