For the life of me, I see no point in articles like this. I'm not at all expressing a desire to see curtailment of free speech, thought or expression; nor do I condemn Mr. Sprinkle for having such thoughts.
I just don't understand the thought process; the reasoning or even the desire. On Sun, Apr 2, 2017 at 11:01 AM, MJ <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > *Why I Stopped Pledging Allegiance * America > <https://www.prestonsprinkle.com/blogs/theologyintheraw/?category=America>, > american Jesus > <https://www.prestonsprinkle.com/blogs/theologyintheraw/?category=american+Jesus>, > being biblical > <https://www.prestonsprinkle.com/blogs/theologyintheraw/?category=being+biblical>, > Discipleship > <https://www.prestonsprinkle.com/blogs/theologyintheraw/?category=Discipleship>, > Jesus > <https://www.prestonsprinkle.com/blogs/theologyintheraw/?category=Jesus>, > patriotism > <https://www.prestonsprinkle.com/blogs/theologyintheraw/?category=patriotism> > Preston Sprinkle > > For most of my Christian life, I never questioned it. Even in the last 5 > years, I did it without reservation. As I reflect on why I used to do it, > my reasons were always social, political, and cultural. They were never > theological or ethical. > > So as of a year ago, I stopped doing it.* I no longer pledge my > allegiance to the nation that I’m living it.* And, to be consistent, I no > longer look down upon my African, Asian, European, and Middle Eastern > brothers and sisters in Christ who also find it hard to pledge their > allegiance to the nation they are living in. > > We're all citizens of another kingdom which is fundamentally at odds with > other kingdoms seeking to rule the world, or part of it. *We are outposts > of heaven living as strangers and foreigners among the nations.* And we > need to be reminded of that identity every single day. > > Christians too often ignore questions related to national allegiance, or > they get mad when people raise them. Try blowing up your next Bible study > by asking the question: *Should Christians stand for the national anthem > or recite the Pledge of Allegiance? *You might just start a brawl. > > The first Christians, however, would have gladly wrestled with these > questionsand they did. The early church’s relationship to Rome was a > pressing issue, and Scripture speaks to it with profound clarity. Paul says > that Christians should submit to the State (Rom 13:1-4), obey its laws > (Titus 3:1), and pray for its leaders (1 Tim 2:1-2). Peter says the same > thing (1 Pet 2:13-14), and Jeremiah encouraged Jewish exiles to “seek the > welfare of Babylon” where they were living in exile (Jer 29:7). > > *Christians are to be good citizens. *Christians are also to be > subversive citizens, political prophets who boldly live out a narrative of > weakness, suffering, sacrifice, and death. > > *And this narrative subtlety dismantles all other narratives of > citizenship and allegiance. *The apostles publicly refused to submit to > all other laws when they conflicted with the way of Christ (Acts 4:19; > 5:29), and Israel’s wild-eyed prophets denounced the nationsincluding > their ownfor violence, oppression, and mistreating the marginalized (Amos > 1-2). > > *The fulcrum of the biblical story hinges on a revolutionary peasant-King > who received the death penalty for treason. *It’s no wonder the Roman > authorities felt threatened by the rise of the Christian movement, which > “turned the world upside down” by “acting against the decrees of Caesar, > saying that there is another king, Jesus” (Acts 17:6-7). > > *The Christian proclamation that Jesus is King is an inherent political > protest. It’s a declaration that all other rulers are unworthy of our > allegiance. *There’s another king, a different ruler. And His name is > *Jesus*. > > No one said it as clearly as John in his political tract called “The > Apocalypse of Christ,” otherwise known as the Book of Revelation. It’s > unfortunate that this subversive piece of literature has been hijacked by > contemporary newspaper theologians who use it to predict the end of the > world in bewildering detail. > > The book of Revelation is an aggressive critique of the government, > written by a pastor imprisoned for his lack of patriotism. John boldly > lambasts Rome for its immorality, greed, pride, excessive luxury, and an > addiction to military might that stained the world with blood to secure its > interests (Rev 17-18). > > Rome believed it was the hope of the world, the founder of peace (the pax > Romana), and the savior of those who pledge their allegiance. All of these, > of course, are religious statementsan affront on God’s reign over the > earth. “Come out of her, my people!” cries the angels of heaven, “lest you > take part in her sins!” (Rev 18:4). > > Even one of Rome’s own senators exposed their charade: “To plunder, > butcher, steal, these things they misname empire: they make a desert and > they call it peace” (Tacitus, AD 56 – ca. 117). > > *The Christian identity has always been a quiet threat to the way of Rome.* > Submit to the State? Yes. But submission must come with a confident grin > that a better way, a superior narrative, a crucified empire is peacefully > crashing in on the empires of the world. > > When governments pitch themselves as the hope and savior of the world, > Christians must expose the fraudulent claim, not celebrate it. Our hope is > not in making America great again. It’s in making the name of Jesus great, > regardless of whether we prosper or suffer, live or die. > > *No Christian in the first 300 years after Jesus would have pledged > allegiance to Rome during a church gathering. *Roman flags didn’t stand > next to Christian flags in first-century house churches, and followers of > Jesus viewed themselves as citizens of One: One Lord, One baptism, One > kingdom of sojourners scattered across the earth as colonies of heaven. > Christians in America are more like Israelite exiles living in Babylon than > Jewish kings reigning in Israel. > > While Christians should submit to the State, pray for its leaders, and > render qualified obedience to its laws, to pledge allegiance is a > profoundly religious act. No Christian should simply assume that pledging > allegiance is a good Christian thing to do. Quite the opposite. Pledging > allegiance to anything or one other than Jesus is a religious statement > infused with divided loyalties and borders on syncretism. > > I think the burden of proof rests on those followers of the crucified Lamb > to show that citizens of heaven can truly pledge allegiance to anyone other > than Christ. > > https://www.prestonsprinkle.com/blogs/theologyintheraw/ > 2016/10/31/why-i-stopped-pledging-allegiance > > -- > -- > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum > > * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ > * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. > * Read the latest breaking news, and more. > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "PoliticalForum" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
