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To the Point:
- When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross. Sinclair Lewis
- "My country, right or wrong" is a thing no patriot would ever think of saying except in a desperate case. It is like saying "My mother, drunk or sober."
G. K. Chesterton
- Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all others because you were born in it.
George Bernard Shaw - I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually. James Baldwin
- Patriotism is proud of a country's virtues and eager to correct its deficiencies; it also acknowledges the legitimate patriotism of other countries, with their own specific virtues. The pride of nationalism, however, trumpets its country's virtues and denies its deficiencies, while it is contemptuous toward the virtues of other countries. It wants to be, and proclaims itself to be, "the greatest," but greatness is not required of a country; only goodness is. Sydney J. Harris
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Thinking Aloud:
The Flag in Church
by Loren Seibold
A few years ago, after we moved into our new
church, one of the saints asked me, "Pastor, where is the American flag
that we always displayed on the platform for so many years?"It
was in a storage room, and I confess I'd tried to forget it there. It
isn't that I dislike my country. I love my country. But I'm not sure I like displaying the flag in church. When I grew up in
a country church in Cleveland, North Dakota, virtually everyone in
church was born and raised here. We all spoke English as our first
language. We were all middle class white people.
And yes, we had an American flag on the platform, along with a
Christian flag. No one ever objected. As I look around my
church today, I see faces of every human shade. I hear at least a dozen
languages. Quite a number of the people worshiping with me each week
are in the United States for financial reasons, but their hearts (and
families) are in Africa or Latin America or Asia, where they plan to
return someday.Politicians fight about whether they should be
here, but here they are. And I doubt any of us would reject them as
brothers and sisters in Christ because they don't feel as deep an
allegiance to our flag as they may to another. When we're in church,
shouldn't national distinctions fade? It seems to me we ought to
worship not as Americans, but as citizens of God's world.One of
the things I'm most proud of about my church is our century-long
defense of the separation of church and state. In my lifetime, I've
seen the separation whittled away by Christians whose theology isn't
entirely unlike mine. I'm willing to count other evangelicals as my
siblings in Christ, but I'm not quite willing to concede to them that faith should be allowed in bed with government. Having the flag
up in front doesn't make us complicit, but it suggests we are Christian
Americans, rather than Christians who happen to be Americans. Perhaps we forget what Christ said about the location of his kingdom.The flag is back
in place on our platform. It is a fight I've chosen not to pick, as too
costly to relationships for what I'd win. But if our Adventist
eschatology proves correct, we will someday be forcibly reminded that
the bonds of faith are more significant than the bonds of citizenship. Comments on faith and patriotism? Write BestPractices@ameritech.net |
Cutting Edge Book
Point: Evangelism can mean just being yourself
Key word: Lost, a controversial word Christians use of everyone else that more accurately describes too many Christians futile attempts to connect with anyone not already Christian
Pros: You don't have to become someone you aren't
Cons: You do have to pay more attention to the people Jesus misses most
Why you should read it: This isn't another program or pitch. It's a handbook on how to make real connections with the people formerly known as "lost"
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Bits and Pieces
for sermon or newsletter
Recipe for a Good Marriage
To keep your marriage brimming
With love in the wedding cup,
Whenever you're wrong, admit it;
Whenever you're right, shut up.
--Ogden Nash
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