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.

For I wear the earth

Our earth is wounded.

Her oceans and lakes are sick.

Her rivers are like running sores.

The air is filled with subtle poisons.

And the oily smoke of countless hellish fires blackens the sun.

Men & women, scattered from homeland, family, friends wander desolate and uncertain,

scorched by a toxic sun.

In this desert of frightened, blind uncertainty, some take refuge in the pursuit of power.

Some become manipulators of illusion and deceit.

If wisdom and harmony still dwell in this world,

as other than a dream lost in an unopened book,

then they are hidden in our heartbeat.

And it is from our hearts that we cry out.

We cry out and our voices are the single voice of this wounded earth.

Our cries are a great wind across the earth.

My heart aches to know this wonderful creation more.

My heart aches for others to experience her as well.

I was formed by the same hands as that notorious black widow spider.

I was formed by the same hands of that enchanting monarch butterfly.

I was formed by the same hands as the whispering willow tree.

I was formed by the same hands as the slithering snake.

I was formed by the same hands as the mighty lion.

I was formed by the same hands as the bacteria invading my rotten yogurt.

And the unity of us all.

Our reliance on one another is undeniable.

Within this one planet God has given us so much.

All the nutrients our body needs.

And we have the hands and the breath that so much of creation needs.

Our homes are given to us by the trees.

And we must build homes for trees, for it's challenging from them to plant themselves.

I am clothed by the cotton that grows in fields.

And my hands are made to plow and cultivate it's growth.

The unity of us all.

I don't want to miss it.

I don't want to live out of step from it all.

I don't want to live outside of the rhythm of this wonderful home God has made.

I don't want you to miss it either.

I want us to love this place we call Earth.

And I want Earth to love us too.