The Idol of Americianity

 Here is the most complete and most damning essay on Christian Nationalism I have read yet.
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/breathingspace/2022/04/the-idol-of-americianity/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Best+of+Patheos&utm_content=57&lctg=4579935&rsid=

 This part in particular hit me. Growing up Southern Baptist in Missouri, I remember many years of VBS where we had to pledge allegiance to the Bible, American and "Christian" flag. It makes me sick to think about now.

Pledging to the Bible and Christian Flag

At the beginning of Vacation Bible school, children march forward as if they were in the military, carrying the American flag, the Christian flag, and the Bible. Maybe you remember the drill: “Attention, salute, pledge!”  After the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag comes the parallel: “I pledge allegiance to the Christian flag, and to the Savior for whose kingdom it stands: One brotherhood, uniting all mankind, in service, and in love.”  Then, “I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God’s holy word. I will make it a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. I will hide its words in my heart, that I may not sin against God.”

It’s hard to know where to get started as to why this is wrong. Maybe I’ll start with the militarization of the church–“Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war” has nothing to do with the peaceful kingdom of Christ. Or I could discuss the problem with having a Christian flag at all, since flags are national symbols and Christianity isn’t a nationality. Or maybe I’ll point out the difficulty with pledging allegiance to symbols of God, rather than to Actual God. Or I might highlight that making these pledges to the Christian flag and the Bible, at the same time as the American flag, elevates the national symbol to the same level as the symbols of faith. Christians have always been called to be anti-nationalists–but if you can’t do that, you should at least put God first.