Posted on 03/14/2003 8:03:57 PM PST by LalahLand
I am curious to find out why some of my fellow Christians still recite the pledge of allegiance. When you "pledge your allegiance" to an inanimate object you are basically worshipping that object. Am I missing something here? Why do some of us choose to salute and break one of the most important commandments? Shouldn't our pledge of allegiance be to God, and not a piece of cloth? The pledge of allegiance to the flag basically states that we will (blindly) support the flag and the actions of our government without question. That is the very essence of what idolatry is all about! Please check out the attached article.
idol SYLLABICATION: i·dol PRONUNCIATION: AUDIO: dl KEY NOUN: 1a. An image used as an object of worship. b. A false god. 2. One that is adored, often blindly or excessively.
idolatry SYLLABICATION: i·dol·a·try PRONUNCIATION: AUDIO: -dl-tr KEY NOUN: Inflected forms: pl. i·dol·a·tries 1. Worship of idols. 2. Blind or excessive devotion to something.
Oh no!!!!!! You believe in Hell, too?????
Next, it is IMPOSSIBLE , to have an " intelligent debate/conversation/discussion with someone ( Y-O-U ! ) who is not intelligent. Hope this explination helps, dear. Now, get lost troll.
Funny. The left is Jewish right before an election, but when a Republican gets close to a major freedom victory, they become Christians!
Here's to the red of it--There's not a thread of it, No, nor a shred of it, In all the spread of it, From foot to head, But heroes bled for it, faced steel and lead for it, Precious blood shed for it, Bathing in Red!
Here's to the white of it--Thrilled by the sight of it, Who knows the right of it, But feels the might of it, Through day and night? Womanhood's care for it, Made manhood dare for it, Purity's prayer for it, Keeps it so White!
Here's to the blue of it--Beauteous view of it, Heavenly hue of it, Star-spangled dew of it, Constant and true; Diadem gleam for it, States stand supreme for it, Liberty's beam for it, Brightens the Blue!
Here's to the whole of it--Stars, stripes and pole of it, Body and soul of it, O, and the roll of it, Sun shining through; Hearts in accord with it, Swear by the sword for it, Thanking the Lord for it, Red, White and Blue!
LOL!
IN SO MUCH AS ** GROOM ** AND ** BRIDE ** HAVE CONSENTED TOGETHER IN HOLY WEDLOCK, AND HAVE WITNESSED THE SAME BEFORE GOD AND THIS COMPANY, HAVING GIVEN AND PLEDGED THEIR TROTH, EACH TO THE OTHER,AND HAVING DECLARED SAME BY THE GIVING AND RECEIVING OF A RING,
I PRONOUNCE THAT THEY ARE HUSBAND AND WIFE.
Imagine that! Christians married by the Church are idolaters!
Thanks for your concern for our spiritual health. However, when you claim that pledging one's allegiance to an inanimate object is identical to worshipping that object, I believe you are mistaken.
Allegiance simply means loyalty; to pledge is to promise. Therefore, to pledge one's allegiance to a flag is to promise that one will be forever loyal to it -- and, since a flag is a symbol (the piece of cloth itself isn't the symbol, just one expression of it; a flag can be printed on paper, etc.), one implicity promises one's loyalty to the entity "for which it stands" -- in our case, the United States of America. That's not idolatry; that's an expression of affection, directed at a symbol of the country we love. And that's certainly no sin.
Let's use a photograph of a loved one as an example. If one kisses a photo of a loved one (as people often do when they are separated from their loved ones), one obviously is not expressing one's love for the photograph itself! The photographic print being kissed is only emulsion printed on paper; obviously, no one in their right mind loves such a thing! No, when one kisses a photograph of a loved one, one expresses one's love for the person the photograph represents; in other words, the photograph is only a symbol of the real, beloved person.
(This explains why we Catholics -- along with Christians going all the way back to Apostolic times -- kneel before, bow towards, and kiss crucifixes, ikons, and statues of saints, . We're obviously not expressing our veneration for a plaster statue, a doll on a wooden cross, or a painting on wood -- we're expressing our veneration of the real, living person the image represents, just as a person might kiss the photo of a loved one. So much for the claim that we Catholics "worship idols"!)
Therefore, when one pledges one's allegiance to our flag, one is merely making a public profession of loyalty to the real thing our flag stands for -- "one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." The physical banner itself is inconsequential.
I suspect that much of the confusion at the heart of this matter lies in the definitions. A flag is a real thing. All real ("substantial") things are composed of substance (the thing itself) and accidents (the thing's reality expressed in terms of its physical attributes -- height, weight, etc.) In the case of a courthouse or schoolroom flag, for example, the substance of the flag is the symbol itself; in other words, the thing we mean when we say "flag" is really nothing more than the specific arrangement of stars and stripes that we define as being the symbol of our federal republic. The accidents of a given flag consist of what it's physically made of in any given case: canvas or silk and thread (in the case of a banner), thread and dye (a flag patch), paper and ink (a printed picture of a flag), etc. In each case the accidents are different, but each is a flag in substance.
Finally: there is a crucial difference between loyalty and worship. Loyalty, which simply means true love and support, is all a citizen can be asked to offer his country -- but even that loyality has limits; there are some things a just man will not do even for his country, namely, violate the laws of God. ("Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's, and unto God that which is God's.") Worship is just another word for honor ; certain public officials in England are referred to as "Your Worship" -- in other words, "Your Honor" -- so technically one can worship (honor) a thing or person without crossing any moral line so long as one's honor for that thing or person is limited to its proper level. Adoration, that action which we direct to God and God alone, is on the other hand an all-encompassing, unlimited loyalty, honor, praise, and respect, a loyality without reservation, which no one in their right mind would have for anyone but God.
To sum up: We are loyal to our country; we adore our God.
Again, thanks for your brotherly concern.
Yours in Christian fraternity,
B-chan
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