Do you agree with this reverend`s ideas about flags in churches?
A leader in the United Methodist Church equated the U.S. flag to the Nazi swastika, drawing the criticism of a watchdog organization that calls it an example of the church`s `contemptuous` attitude towards the nation and its heritage.
The comments came from Rev. Clayton Childers, of the Washington-based United Methodist Board of Church and Society, who said, `The presence of a national flag in worship can imply endorsement of national policies which often run counter to the teachings of Jesus Christ and our Christian faith. … One need only recall the way the swastika flag was displayed prominently in German churches during the Nazi era.`
The gentleman wasn't equating the US with Nazism, he was arguing for the seperation of church and state.
He's saying that the presence of the flag (any nation's flag) in a place of worship implies endorsement of that country's policies by God. He also feels that many of the policies might not, in fact, be endorsed by God.
The pledge: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
Obviously he didn't read the 'under God' part. The swastika flag is different. It represents a group of people, and the American flag represents a country.
I've never heard of a member of the church advocating seperation of church and state. It's refreshing. I certainly think there are nuggets of truth in what he said, but I think his example was extreme
I agree with Wanderer, he wasn't equating the two, he wasn't saying that the U.S. is anything like the Nazis. He's simply saying that the Church stands apart from the government, and can and should criticize the actions of the government whenever they run counter to Christian morals (and yes, that can happen no matter how hard we yell that the US is a "Christian nation"). He's simply protecting the autonomy of Christian belief.
On 6/30/2007 12:09:38 PM yeahrightt_ wrote: The pledge: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." Obviously he didn't read the 'under God' part.
Actually, the original pledge never stated "under god". It was "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." There were two revisions after that first adding "the United States of America" and second adding "under god". According to the writers daughter, he would not have approved of the changes.
On 5/22/2007 10:49:08 PM cszulins wrote: This guy looks like a dork. And I can't believe he would equate our flag with a swastika. Our nation was founded under God.
On 6/30/2007 12:09:38 PM yeahrightt_ wrote: The swastika flag is different. It represents a group of people, and the American flag represents a country.
The Swastika may have represented a group, but many Germans then said it was a representation of their country. The point that Rev. Childers is making (and that you pretty much made for him) is that separation of church and state is necessary. The American flag yes represents an entire country, but the Methodist Church (or any particular church for that matter) cannot represent every individual in the country or support every bill passed by congress. A church would be more likely to display a flag representing a "group" (as the swastika was defined) that bases their ideas off a religious belief or community acknowledgment than that of a country who will send a drug traffic-er to jail for right under 7 years but rape only gets 6 and manslaughter only 3.
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