Posted on 09/30/2001 8:41:49 PM PDT by Utah Girl
Our current national crisis has refocused attention on both God and country. After the tragedy of Sept. 11, churches, synagogues and mosques swelled with Americans who came to pray for victims and to seek comfort and hope for themselves.
When Americans have been polled about their religious beliefs, many say, "I'm spiritual but not religious," implying a lack of interest in organized religion.
Yet during this national crisis, many Americans have turned to the traditional centers of worship as outlets for channeling emotions of grief, despair, confusion and anger.
Religion has long been recognized as a powerful force for good. We have watched organized religion at its best in recent days.
However, patriotism, the natural expression of love for our country, has crept into the worship of religious institutions in ways that may be unhealthy and even dangerous. A mosque, synagogue, or church is fundamentally a place of worship, not a place to excite feelings of patriotism or to foster nationalism.
When does the line between religion and patriotism get blurred? When religious beliefs, language and symbols are used to promote civic goals, the line has become blurred. When we confuse our loyalty to America with our loyalty to God, the line has become blurred. When God is made the guardian and guarantor of our national goals and interests, the line has become blurred.
Since the suicide attacks in New York and Washington, many congregations have included patriotic songs in their worship services. "God Bless America," "The Star-Spangled Banner" and other songs that are usually reserved for the public arena have been sung with great emotion in worship services.
I have no doubt about the sincere motives of those who use these hymns in religious worship. At the same time, there is the danger that religion will become a propaganda tool for reinforcing national policy.
Let's take two examples. "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" is a call for God's wrath to be set loose on God's enemies. "Onward Christian Soldiers" uses the imagery of a crusader going to war, led by the banner of the cross. The enemy is described as "Satan's host."
Language is important, whether communicated in songs, prayers, or holy writings. When the Taliban refers to America as the "Great Satan" and calls for a jihad, Americans are rightfully outraged.
Yet we, too, must pay attention to what our language communicates when we sing or speak in worship about crusades and going to war. In either case, religion and patriotism converge in ways that solicit divine sanction for political causes.
To pronounce one's political enemies as God's enemies is especially troubling. It mirrors the fallacy of the suicide hijackers who believed that by carrying out their terrible actions they were fulfilling the will of God. When we demonize our political enemies through religious rhetoric, the logical conclusion is that by destroying the enemy, we are serving God.
Religious faith expresses our ultimate commitment to God. Our American citizenship expresses our commitment to the values and principles of this country. Being a patriotic American and being a loyal Jew, Christian, or Muslim is not the same thing.
We can take our patriotism seriously without taking it ultimately. Only God deserves and demands ultimate loyalty.
Over the centuries, religion has been used to justify oppression, slavery, violence, and, most recently in our country, terrorism. Yet religion remains a powerful motivator for good, but only when it stays centered on its purpose: to lead us to God.
In the Bible, one of the early followers of Christianity speaks these words: "I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him."
Belief in God transcends national boundaries. God cannot and should not be co-opted for national goals
Our president has said that we are at war. During this crisis, go to a mosque, church, or synagogue. Pray, meditate, worship. Thank God for the freedoms and opportunities we have in this country.
Practice responsible citizenship, and love your country. But let's not turn God into a cheerleader for our war effort or our national policies.
If I didn't like you so much, UG, I'd tell you to stop posting these articles! They're making my blood boil!
As for this piece:
When Americans have been polled about their religious beliefs, many say, "I'm spiritual but not religious," implying a lack of interest in organized religion.
I have come to learn that these people are neither religous or spiritual.
Church is for worship, and its space is sacred precisely because it's consecrated to God's service exclusively. That's what "sacred" means. Patriotism is a good thing (and the SSB is a fine anthem; my favorite in fact), but the natural unity of patriotism is healthy only when it's understood as a reflection and analogue of perfect human unty in Christ. When it becomes a competing value (IOW, when it neglects to reference God and understand itself as a steppingstone and derivation of man's need to be joined to God) it threatens faith, and has no place in the Church.
The only thing more bizarre than this man's article is his name: Wilburn T. Stancil. He's criticizing people for going to church and singing praise to God AND their country. Imagine that?!
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassion'd stress
A thorough fare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness.
America! America!
God mend thine ev'ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law.
O beautiful for heroes prov'd
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life.
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness,
And ev'ry gain divine.
O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears.
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.