Flags in the Church - Is this (unintended?) Idolatry

INTRODUCTION

I grew up Southern Baptist -- twice a day on Sunday in church (Sunday School and then morning worship with Church Training [originally Training Union so you can see how old I am] followed by the evening service on Sunday pm). We were also in church every Wednesday night for Prayer Meeting, as well as, for a large part of my childhood, again in church on either Tuesday evening or Thursday evening for “Visitation” (going out with our Sunday School teacher to visit prospects or backslidden [i.e., hadn’t been in church in a while] members. I say all this simply to cite my SBC credentials.

What’s funny is that in my childhood and youth, I don’t remember flags in the sanctuary (with some exceptions such as VBS and perhaps Memorial Day weekend, and maybe the 4th of July or Veterans’ Day -- special occasions). During VBS, if was a semi-elaborate opening ceremony. Older kids would carry the 2 flags and the bible. We pledged allegiance to the Flag of the USA, the Christian Flag, and the Bible [1]. My point, however, is that only during VBS and certain other occasions were the USA and Christian flags present in our sanctuary. Some time later, however, these flags became present ALWAYS in many SBC churches.

I now see these flags in the church in which I worship, and I believe it to be idolatrous (unintentional, but idolatrous). I don't like saying it. I attend an unintentionally idolatrous church; a church that has placed, in symbolic form, the USA flag in a more honored place than the Christian flag (never mind that the idea of a Christian flag is itself, somewhat incongruous to the Kingdom of Christ).

GIVING CREDIT TO THOSE WHO HAVE HELPED SHAPE MY THINKING

First, I need to cite an article I read, which helped me solidify my thinking on this. To write this post, I dug into the Internet Monk archives to find his post from years ago. I believe that much of what I am saying is directly taken from Michael’s thinking. [2]

I want to be clear, I don’t think now, nor did I think then, that saying the USA pledge along with a pledge to the Christian Flag and the Bible was idolatry (although I come closer to thinking that than I previously did -- perhaps as a result of the caricature of Christianity which now is prominent in the current day -- say since 2016? [3] ). However (there is always a however…). I remember one year (maybe in Bible School or maybe in RAs — a military member of our church (my church was in a very military city and we had many, upstanding military men who were faithful and wonderful examples for us) gave us a talk about flag etiquette — specifically how ALL other flags will be lowered when the USA flag is leading the procession, and how the place of prominence on the Right Hand Side of the platform (facing out) is where ONLY the USA flag will sit (I’m certain that this man got details right that I may be saying incorrectly from memory here, but you get the just of what I am saying I hope). Perhaps this flag etiquette lesson happened more than once, but I remember specifically making a connection one time — a disconnect in my mind that today I’m writing to express in words. I connected, in my mind (I don’t think I asked out loud), what a disconnect it was that we put the USA flag in the place of prominence OVER AND ABOVE THE CHRISTIAN FLAG (this is at least symbolically true). Today when I see a church (the church I currently attend) with the American Flag on the platform, I always see it in the place of honor and the Christian flag in the place subservient to it. I cannot unsee it.

Michael Spencer, referenced above, says: "Flag etiquette is clear that this is proper, but for Christians, it is symbolically blasphemous.… Another problem arises with the fact that, even when simply passively present, the flag identifies the congregation with the nation of America in a way that, at least visually, takes clear precedence over other loyalties. My Chinese friends, who understand patriotic symbolism very well from their culture, would never look at the flag and assume that its presence means Jesus is Lord and America is not. It will appear to them that the claims made in the church all happen under the permission and watchful eye of the state. That’s the wrong message.… Symbols convey a message. Our message should always be Jesus Christ: King and Lord, with no competition from any other loyalty."

I don’t remember flags in church except VBS and other special occasions until sometime in my adulthood. When did it become that flags were in the sanctuary all the time? My context is SBC. Have similar changes happened in other evangelical churches? (Were those flags there every Sunday in my childhood, and I just forgot?).

THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

While on this topic, should Christians (or free-minded people) say the pledge of allegiance at all? It’s a government loyalty oath written by a communist (he considered himself a Christian communist or some sites call him a socialist Christian; links to information provided below). This topic could be a post on its own. I am simply going to provide links, and I am asking this question. [3]

I have been a public-school teacher for the last 28 years. I have, for much of that time, said the pledge with a class every day at the beginning of the day. I do not object (this is a completely different topic from the rest of this post, wherein I question patriotism/flags in church). During my last few years of teaching, I began to not say the pledge (though I modeled respect). In my school, the pledge was over the loudspeaker, and I had large classes. I still put my hand on my heart and faced the flag (I wish to model proper respect, etc., though I believe America is great because we honor dissent). I simply did not say the words of the pledge, but instead I generally meditated on how lucky I am to be an American (I love this country). I meditate on how, even though I seek to be a good citizen of this country, my loyalty is to a higher kingdom. I’ve had a short answer ready if a student asks (Something like this: “I’m a Christian. I love this country and thus place my hand over my heart. I stand and honor the flag. I think of how I honor this country and how I am and wish to be faithful to this country. Yet, I don't recite the words to the pledge because my highest allegiance is to an eternal kingdom which is not of this world”).

A PROPOSAL FOR VBS

I could do a range of proposals, and in some of them, I might not have the pledge to the USA flag at all; I would replace it with just a patriotic moment, but not a pledge. But this proposal still allows for a pledge to the USA flag (I have some reservations about this).

But I’m not fully hardened in my belief that we should not say the pledge to the USA flag — in a limited context. At best, I would like to see the flag removed from the sanctuary and placed in the foyer of the church (though I confess I would definitely prefer removing the national flag completely from the church) [4].

First, have all the students march in together. (Ceremonies are good; is it still done this way? I confess that my memories of VBS are quite old). After the student enter, have the American flag brought in from the foyer, and with reservation I think it could be acceptable to have the whole group say the pledge -- as long as something was said about patriotism and Christianity (and that our patrotism is subservient to our allegiance to Christ). The leader should lead into this by saying how blessed we are to be citizens of the freest country in the history of the world. We could also say how other Christians may be citizens of other countries. Perhaps those in other countries say a similar pledge or have some other ceremony to celebrate their citizenship but we and those other Christians from other countries share an eternal and more important citizenship in the Kingdom of God. All citizens of all countries should examine their Christianity and their temporal citizenship and strive to be good citizens where they live on this earth, as well as good citizens of the eternal Kingdom. (Perhaps also say that some Christians are not so lucky and must perhaps worship in secret; it is our duty to pray for them).

When the pledge is complete, by all means, exit the flag from the sanctuary and place it back into the foyer. While the flag is making its way out, have the leader of the VBS say words about how we can be loyal citizens and we can serve our country; our tradition has always had many people faithfully serve our country, and we see no conflict with serving our country while recognizing our ultimate citizenship is to an eternal kingdom. It is imperative that the leader state clearly that Christians must have their ultimate loyalty to a higher authority.

After saying the USA pledge, and after the American flag has exited and the short words about eternal citizenship vs temporal citizenship are complete, then the leader could lead the whole group of students in saying the Apostles Creed together. We should do this in place of the pledge to the Christian flag. We could state that, as Baptists, saying creeds is unusual, but God’s People have often worshiped using the Apostles Creed since at least the year 300 CE. We know that since the year 300, some people in the early church, after accepting Christ, had to know and recite and understand the meaning of the Apostles Creed as a prelude to Baptism [5]. So this is a tradition we share with other Christians from all nations going on for 1700 years.

Finally, instead of a pledge to the Bible, the leader could lead in reciting together select verses from Psalm 119 (key words used in the old pledge to the Christian Flag). The leader should explain how the 119th Psalm is acrostic, and we will learn and say together the Beth — ב section. Beth is the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet (when you learn Hebrew, you first learn the Hebrew Aleph-Beth [alphabet]). In the acrostic Psalm, the theme is hiding God’s word in our hearts. (One VBS extra-curricular challenge could be to challenge students to memorize the entire Psalm 119 during the course of the summer, and reward them for accomplishing this.)

THE TEXT OF PSALM 119:9-16 (Beth ב section) (NRSV)

How can young people keep their way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
With my whole heart, I seek you. Do not let me stray from your commandments.
I treasure your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against you.
Blessed are you, O LORD! Teach me your statutes!
With my lips, I declare all the ordinances of your mouth.
I delight in the way of your decrees as much as in all riches.
I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.
I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.

SUMMARY

The proposal allows for all the elements of the VBS opening ceremony as I remember them (including deference to to our nation and dedication to the cause of Christ), and yet it provides the opportunity to instill higher, eternal citizenship values. In addition, this proposal minimizes or leaves out the hidden meanings that are present when we follow proper USA flag etiquette and also place a Christian flag to place next to the American flag — these things, which, I propose, conflict with what we actually believe (and are, in fact, idolatrous).

Footnotes:

[1] I remember a wording change in the pledge to the Christian Flag -- "one brotherhood uniting all mankind" was changed to "one brotherhood uniting all Christians." I presume someone detected a universalist sentiment and changed the wording? I don't really remember when or why the wording changed, and I see this as evidence that the Apostles Creed would be a superior way to instill the faith into our children.

[2] Spencer, Michael. (2007, May 28). “What about the flag in the sanctuary? (or how to get fired really fast.)”. The Internet Monk Archives. https://imonk.blog/2007/05/28/what-about-the-flag-in-the-sanctuary-or-how-to-get-fired-really-fast/. Sadly, Michael is not with us anymore. He died in 2010 of Cancer. I discovered The Internet Monk Blog in about the year 2000. Until his death, Michael wrote faithfully and with great insight. Chaplain Mike continued his blog for a timeand maintains these archives found at https://imonk.com/blog.

[3] Note this should not matter. If it was idolatrous to mix national symbols with Christian symbols when we had an honorable president, it's only more noticeable when the current president has a character which Christians support even though his lifestyle, much of what he says, and his ethics are antichrist.

[4] Why Patriots Shouldn't Pledge Allegiance https://starkrealities.substack.com/p/why-patriots-shouldnt-pledge-allegiance. Should Christians Recite the Pledge of Allegiance , which is a small part of Greg Boyd’s book, The Myth of a Christian Nation. See also, Boston Review at this URL, https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/jack-david-eller-pledge-allegiance/. Finally, see this entry from the Independence Institute, “Rethinking the Pledge of Allegiance: News: The Independent Institute” https://www.independent.org/news/article.asp?id=1281&gclid=EAIaIQobChMInq-smfHh_wIVxgCtBh02uwzcEAMYASAAEgK12fD_BwE. Here are more notes on the Pledge of Allegiance: https://theologyintheraw.com/why-i-stopped-pledging-allegiance/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pledge_of_Allegiance> I provide these as food for thought for the Christian.

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostles%27_Creed Should anyone have difficulty with the Apostles Creed in a Baptist Church, see the following book (Mohler, Al, Jr, (2019). The apostles’ creed: Discovering Authentic Christianity in an age of Counterfeits. Nelson Books, an imprint of Thomas Nelson). I am not advocating for Baptists to become more creedal, but I do think we should teach the ancient creeds (particularly, Apostles and Nicene). Nevertheless, it is possible to use a statement of faith without it becoming a creed to be enforced as a “we must believe this way” document (see the preamble to the Baptist Faith and Message) https://bfm.sbc.net/bfm2000/.