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November 8, 2011

Idolatry

Perhaps God is tired of the idolatry that has snuck into some hearts disguised as patriotism
—where the pledge is nearly equated with prayer and an excellent but earthbound document written by men is treated like the word from on high. Maybe he is tired of the idolatry of the parents whose darlings were over-indulged into stupidity, or the idolatry of the consumer who will stand in line overnight for the latest “must-have/already-obsolete” iToy, or the idolatry of mere ideas that trend and pass and carry off with them our charity and our clarity, leaving us more confused and distanced from God and each other, than we were before. Maybe it is the idolatry of our own earthly “power,” that has brought us to this shaky place. --American Optimism is a Strange God | First Things

Posted by gerardvanderleun at November 8, 2011 9:16 AM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.

Your Say

Point taken. I've even caught myself thinking we could grade the next Reagan on a curve, considering how much worse our new Carter has been. But this angle is the very complaint I have with my Evangelical friends and family who seem satisfied with "God is in control. Here is a Bible verse to sooth you." God soothed me a long time ago. It's the American SOUL we are fighting for at this point, not the flag but rather what it represents. Not the Constitution, but rather a document into which God-fearing founders poured their souls. I'm from the south, where heritage means everything. America is our Christian heritage. Perhaps it's ust a Protestant thing. Waving the flag, pledging allegience - these are not signs of idolitry when citizens are reminded from whom their value comes. The US Constitution is simply the best available document, to date, that spells out our God-given liberties and limits federal power. I'm not going down without a fight. Perhaps that's a Southern thing or a Protestant thing. Who cares at this point. I always remind my kids of the tale of the man, who once in Heaven, asked God why he didn't save him from the flood as requested. God reminded him of all the practical rescuers he had sent but the the man had waited for supernatural rescue. I'm instilling more than just patriotism into my kids. I'm teaching them the struggle, including the Protestant Reformation and eventually the plight of the pilgrams and finally the colonists and revolutionists, not based on Manifest Destiny or blind patriotism, but because they need to know. They need to recognize God in the pledge, in the flag, in their heritage.

Posted by: RedCarolina at November 8, 2011 3:19 PM

*allegiance, idolatry - I will concede that it can appear nationalistic - I believe it's not because the flag, the Constitution represents liberty for non-Christians, non-traditionalists. But let's at least define our enemies clearly so we don't have to face God and ask why he let us die only to have him remind us we, like Europe, committed suicide.

Posted by: RedCarolina at November 8, 2011 3:30 PM

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