No Flags in Churches by Kaiser Leib

I’ve written before on the meaning of Romans 13, that chapter of the Bible which includes the admonition to “render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s.” That chapter does not mean that Christians are to be ultimately beholden to their governments. In context, it is an indictment against violence, and a statement about the duties of government.

But today’s church ignores this. Today’s church is often a cheerleading platform for the state and the military as much as for God and for charity. The clearest examples of this are the flags which often stand behind the pulpit: the stars and stripes of the united states, and the Christian flag developed in the late 19th century. This represents a dangerous conflict of interest: are we to regard our allegiance to God as equal with our allegiance to the government?

The traditional separation of the church from the state in this country serves not only to keep religious law from interfering with the laws of the land, but also to protect religions from the state. Remember, the early Puritans, the ‘Pilgrims’ of the Thanksgiving story, fled England to escape the British crown’s oppression of their faith. While kings and governments are ordained and permitted by God, our universal submission to them is not; witness the children of Israel, resisting Pharaoh, and King Herod’s fear and persecution of Jesus.

When we stand the battle flag of our country in a church, we endorse an unholy union between the church and the state. No longer can we say “Go ye therefore unto all the world;” no, we say “Worship the government of this country.” We endorse all the wars and taxes and evils committed in the name of the state, claiming that they are done in the name of God as well.

The Bible tells us that we are in the world, but not of the world (John 17), and that man cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). When we place the flag of any nation in our churches, we make a statement that we are of the world, and that we choose that state as a master, not only for ourselves but for our entire church.

So fly the flag, if you wish, in your home. Place a flag bumper sticker on your car. But by flying the flag in church, you set up another master as equal or superior to God, and you must be wary of that.

8 thoughts on “No Flags in Churches by Kaiser Leib”

  1. Separation of church and state goes both ways.

    This was another of the many things that finally made me wake up and realize Christianity (and all superstition) were not worth my time. I knew The State was a very bad thing, and I saw (over and over and over) churches revering it; putting it and its paid murderers on a pedestal. It made me sick. (Of course, there were a lot of other things, too.)

    I don’t care what others believe as long as they don’t use their beliefs as justification for violating anyone’s rights. “Laws” based upon religious beliefs are Sharia Law, and it matters not whether it is Islam or Christianity used to justify it. It is evil.

  2. Why is flying the flag of a state wrong ONLY when flown in a church? If your are a Christian, are you a Christian ONLY when you are in church? Are you not also a Christian when you are in your home and driving your car? Christians should not be flying ANY state flags ANYTIME, nor ANYWHERE! If you only serve one master, you are only serving one master EVERY TIME, EVERYWHERE!

  3. I find it absurd to have to display state “icons” everywhere the eye lands. It has never been a problem for me to know which country I happen to occupy so being constantly reminded is at best simply irritating.

  4. I agree with Roger Young and Mot. I also don’t like it to see an Israeli flag in a church knowing that those people don’t belong in that land and reading daily about how it is the Jews that are taking this world into chaos and murdering innocents just to get their way. I wanted to scream when I heard a visiting minister telling the congregation that God was going to protect Israel when they are the ones that are, as I said, causing all of the trouble worldwide. We were almost told to worship the Jews because they are supposed to be the chosen of God. Well, its not the Jews from Europe that the bible is talking about. Those are converts and their descendants are just that; descendants of converts and not lineage Hebrews. Big difference.

  5. @roger young& @jamesat17
    The flag is a victory symbol that represent ideas and the sacrifices and progress made by the believers of those ideas and allows the ideas to be visibly represented for all to see from a distance.

    The allegiance to the US flag, representing “…one nation, under God…” is why the flag & the pledge of allegiance (The act of binding yourself to a course of action) is necessary.

    Posting a national flag in a church places that church under the powers of the state, remember it is a victory symbol.

    The cross is also regarded as a symbol of ideas, to represent to its believers, the sacrifices and progresses of those ideas. Worship is to the teachings of Christ and not the cross.

  6. Never underestimate the useful idiots who call themselves Christians. If I read one more article suggesting that Trump was God-sent I’ll scream. Sure, why not include Christianity as another scapegoat along with Trump.

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