My Pledge of Allegiance

Can I just say that this 'deer' (representing the deer species) does not belong to America, but to God. America did not create it, God did. Maybe I'm reading into this a bit too much (which is very possible) but this image irritated me a bit.

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and for the republic for which it stands"

No, I do not.

I cannot.

My allegiance is to the only Son of God.

And I would be a hypocrite to either America or Jesus if I continued to say this pledge.

So for the sake of both, I must stop.

As Greg Boyd says, this country follows the "religion of American democracy."

And I am a Christian.

"Like all religions, the religion of American democracy has its own distinctive, theologized, revisionist history (for instances, the 'manifest destiny' doctrine whereby God destined Europeans to conquer the land.) It has its own distinctive message of salvation (political freedom), its own 'set apart' people group (America and its allies), its own creed ('we hold these truths to be self-evident'), its own distinctive enemies (all who resist freedom and who are against America), its own distinctive symbol (the flag), and it's own distinctive god (the national deity we are 'under', who favors our causes and helps us win our battles.)"

This does not make me anti-American.

I love America.

I would die for the people of America, but I will not kill for them.

I would die for the people of Afghanistan, but I will not kill for them either.

It is just that I cannot serve two masters.

I am a Christian.

And the love and life of my Savior looks radically different from what America is portraying.

And because of this, God has made me a missionary to America.

At least for now.

I do not plan to overthrow the American government.

I simply plan to love and to live on the margins of American life.

To bring awareness the way the prophets did.

In complete absurdness and weirdness.

After all, I am a Christian.