Posted on 05/23/2014 2:19:59 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The “Pledge of Allegiance” is one of those issues that surfaces in the news consistently– usually regarding debate over the line “under God”. Conservative Christians want to fight to keep “under God” in the pledge, while secularists and others prefer it be removed, thus restoring the pledge to its original state.
Because the pledge has been recited at the start of every day in nearly every school across the country, questioning this practice has been something that Christians on a large scale have failed to do. As a result, it has become so ingrained in our culture that recently a teacher in NJ who was not having her students recite the pledge was accused of “indoctrinating” them (which is odd– refusing to participate sounds like the opposite of indoctrination to me.)
However, I think we’re having the wrong discussion on this issue entirely. Instead of a constant cultural debate over the wording of the pledge, I think a better question is:
“Should a Christian recite the pledge of allegiance at all?“
Admittedly, I never once asked myself this question until the last year or two. Once I really started to consider the issue from all sides, I was actually really disappointed that it had taken me so long to actually see this issue for what it was. In the end, I have become convinced that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance is something that a Jesus follower probably shouldn’t do.
First off, the word pledge means “A solemn binding promise to do, give, or refrain from doing something”, which in and of itself should raise some concerns. In Matthew 5:34 Jesus teaches his disciples that followers of his should not take oaths at all– that we should simply let our “yes mean yes and no mean no”. While one might debate whether or not a “pledge” is the same thing as an “oath”, I think in reality they most certainly are. While pledge is defined as “a solemn binding promise”, an oath is defined as “a solemn, formal declaration or promise to fulfill a pledge, often calling on God, a god, or a sacred object as witness.”
Personally, I don’t see how making a pledge is any different than taking an oath– and on that matter, the teachings of Jesus seem pretty straight forward when he said, “But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all.”
Secondly, I think it is important to ask “What or who are we making a pledge to?”
In the Pledge of Allegiance, we are making a solemn, binding promise of loyalty “to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands”.
This means, first we are taking an oath– something Jesus taught us not to do, and secondly, as we take this oath we are not swearing our loyalty to Christ but instead to an earthly kingdom.
So the question becomes: how can a follower of Jesus swear their loyalty to anything or anyone other than Jesus himself?
While I love my country, I can no longer in good conscience swear my loyalty to her– because my loyalty is solely with Christ and his Kingdom. I will be a good and supportive citizen in the country I live, so long as those aspects are consistent with the Kingdom Jesus came to bring to earth. But the moment those two no longer line up? My loyalty is to God’s Kingdom– even if that means I must be disloyal to the earthly kingdom I find myself in. As such, there is simply no way that I could in good conscience “pledge my allegiance” to this earthly kingdom, knowing that I very well will eventually have to break that solemn oath.
Jesus warned us that it simply is not possible to divide our loyalties. When using the example of money, Jesus taught that it is impossible to “serve two masters because you will love one and hate the other”. And, Jesus was right about this principle– pledging our loyalty to two different entities is simply not a tenable thing one can do. Trying to be loyal to two things which are not identical, is a practical impossibility.
Now, many Christians may read this and say “I don’t have a problem saying the Pledge of Allegiance, but I agree– if I have to choose to be loyal to God or country, I’ll always choose God”. If this is the case, the third problem that arises is that such an individual, when making the Pledge of Allegiance, is actually being dishonest. If one is not prepared to actually give their solemn allegiance to the country “for which it stands” above all else, then one should not make that commitment in the first place. While Jesus clearly seems to forbid oath taking, if one were going to do so anyway, it seems it would at least be good and right to only do so in situations where one could actually fulfill that solemn promise.
Since I am a “citizen of heaven” as scripture states, I cannot in good conscience pledge my allegiance to an earthly kingdom. Not this kingdom, not any kingdom.
If you’ve never considered this issue before, I hope you’ll give it some thought and take time to consider the implications of pledging one’s allegiance to a kingdom that is not at all aligned with the Kingdom of God, and that we’ll begin teaching our children from an early age the truth:
Our allegiance should be pledged to the ways of Jesus, and nothing else.
Aside from theological concerns, how persecutory and unconstitutional do the conditions in the country become before anyone here would reject the pledge. FEMA camp stage or before?
OHHHH..PUHLEEZE..
Give unto ceasar what is Ceaser’s///
And Christians have the “opt out” clause of conscientious objection.
One is in control of what one says, what one says is not in control of them.
People worry too much that words are going to control them like a demon possession.
The Libs, Socialists, Communists, and Statists in power know full well that as long as the gibsmedats have their Mercedes on lease, big screen TVs, smartphones with unlimited minutes, and EBT cards filled with cash, no one is going to rise up.
Americans have proven to be an overly-tolerant people, even as the heat is turned up. As the saying goes, “The Founders would be shooting by now.” Wars have been fought for less than with what we’ve been yoked.
I have had discussion in the past where in FReepers stated their theological concerns about the country’s founding be a rebellion and rebellion against recognized civil authority being non-Biblical.
Was this article written in 1955??
I guess Benjamin here has never gotten married.
He’s pretty worked up over this “pledge” business. If the only pledge, promise, oath, whatever ... he can make is to God only, then he doesn’t understand the God ordained pledge a husband makes to his wife.
Maybe the writer has never been in a court of law where you do have to take an oath to tell the truth.
There is a saying that “rebellion against tyrants is obedence to God?”
So no joining the military either? . . . since you take an oath to defend the Constitution. Or run for office. Etc.
Really?
Seems like “straining the gnat to just swallow the camel” ... Literally taken, a Christian couldn’t then assume ANY position of public trust that requires an oath.
I am committed to the Pledge of Allegiance, to the United States that was, and is and shall remain in my heart. It is not the fault of the pledge that destroys us, but those who have abandoned the Pledge, it’s meaning, and the country.
God once had His hand on this country, because He was the foundation of her people.
RE: Maybe the writer has never been in a court of law where you do have to take an oath to tell the truth.
Well, traditionally it meant you are ultimately responsible to GOD for the truth ( and traditionally it meant the God Christians worship because you swear by the WORD of God ).
However, this means nothing today because anyone can simply AFFIRM that he/she is telling the truth.
That option is hardly new; it is in the U.S. Constitution.
Its not the government you are pledging allegiance, it’s the country as an entity. As a Christian conservative, there is no conflict. “Render unto Caesar what is Caesars” etc. ad nauseum
As long as our nation is under God, I’ll recite the pledge.
This is just so much nonsense. I listened to Mike Church rant on and on about this for about ten minutes, have never listened to his show again
bleeech...some folks suffer from any form of intelligence or logic
The left are getting so desperate that they’re now trying to use their limited understanding of the Christian faith to try and stop Christians from defending the pledge. Pathetic.
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