I am disappointed as a Christian and especially as an Episcopalian to see a bulletin insert featuring the US flag. It is inappropriate because it conflates Christianity with patriotism; a dangerous concept. This conflation has allowed this country to justify war and violence against other countries throughout much, if not all, of our history. This tendency has been extensively documented in a tome of a book, Sword Of The Spirit Shield Of Faith: Religion In American War And Diplomacy by Andrew Preston who teaches American history and international relations history at Cambridge University. In his preface to the book the author says, "Through the summer and fall of 2002 and into the new year, the Bush administration and its supporters made several arguments for war, from national security to democracy promotion and much else in between.
Including faith. ... Bush consistently framed the crisis in terms of religion. ... But according to news reports ... the president believed he was spiritually motivated by an obligation to God and that God directed his actions and protected America in its time of crisis." Unfortunately this is the most recent reflective action of this type in time of war.
What are we as Christians, to think about this. John Dominick Crossan addresses this question in his book God & Empire. He quotes Jesus from the Gospel of John where Jesus says, "My Kingdom is not of this world..." Crossed makes five points in the preface to the book in the exchange between Pilate and Jesus. "First Jesus opposes the Kingdom of God to the kingdoms of this world." In point three the author says in part, "Your Roman Empire Pilat, is based on the injustice of violence, but my divine kingdom is based on the justice of nonviolence." In the last paragraph of his preface Crossan says, "... I raise three questions in this book for ... Christian Americans. Since the Old Roman Empire crucified our Lord Jesus Christ how can we be his faithful followers in America as the New Roman Empire? ... a second question ... Is our Christian Bible ... actually for or against Jesus' nonviolent resistance to 'this world'? ... Is Bible-fed Christian violence supporting or even instigating our imperial violence as the New Roman Empire?" Crossing makes the point in his book that the old model of Empire conquered other lands and occupied them for the purpose of extracting money and goods for them to sustain their luxurious Roman lifestyle. The US does not generally occupy other countries (although we have in the past) but we also extract wealth from other lands as an economic empire to sustain our luxurious lifestyles. The US is 5% of the total world population but uses vastly more of the world's resources.
I say all of this to indicate that when we walk through the door (a red one for many of us) of our churches we are walking out of the Kingdom of this World into God's Kingdom where attitudes and ideas about power and violence are or should be turned on their heads. It is a place where the last are first, where we are told to turn the other cheek and to pray for our enemies. This is far different than the Kingdom of the World where might makes right and military power is used to dominate; where the strong get the most and the weak and powerless receive little, usually the "crumbs under the table". All this says to me that a US flag in a church bulletin insert is completely inappropriate.
