The flag, the cross, and the sanctuary
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
The United Methodist Reporter has recently covered debates within the church over whether it is appropriate to have an American flag in the sanctuaries of our churches. As you can imagine, feelings are passionate on either side of the debate. For those against the presence of the flag, reasons that are given center around the flag as an idolatrous image unfit for for a sanctuary where Jesus Christ is worshiped as Lord. According to this reasoning, the flag represents a symbol of another lordship - that of country and patriotism.
Those who support the presence of the flag argue that it does not necessarily imply idolatry. For them, the flag symbolizes support for church members who have served in the armed forces, or for the United States as a country that is founded upon "Christian principles."
This story, by Mary Jacobs, outlines the debate that has been going on.
There is a mistake made by many in the flag debate over whether approval or disapproval of the flag is a "liberal" or "conservative" issue. And flinging those labels around is irresponsible. It should be possible to have a considered, theological debate over the use of the flag without resorting to shallow, secular political stereotypes.
I personally believe that any flag is inappropriate for use in a sanctuary. (I would actually include the use of the "Christian flag" that often sits on the opposite side of the chancel from the American flag in that statement.)
The question I would ask of advocates for the flag is simply, "Why is it necessary?" To me it seems that the cross, as the symbol of Christ and of his death, is the one symbol that is appropriate - indeed, necessary - for Christian worship. Placing an American flag, while perhaps not outright idolatry, certainly carries the risk that the wrong message will be received by those who gather for worship. We do not gather out of allegiance to country, but to Christ. We do not gather with permission of the government. We gather out of response to a call to be God's people. And no flag is necessary to demonstrate that fact.
I have worshiped in several churches in Peru in recent years through mission work with the Iglesia Metodista there. It has struck me before that our Peruvian brothers and sisters never seem to see the necessity of displaying Peru's national flag in their sanctuaries. By refraining, I think they safeguard against sending messages of mixed allegiances.
posted by Andrew C. Thompson at 4:32 PM
12 Comments:
Thanks for the way you've handled this, Andrew. And thanks for sharing your experience with the Peruvian Church. I have wondered (including recently) whether having a national flag in the worship space and having a "patriotic" service is uniquely American or if the people of God in other places had similar customs. One wonders about the formative nature of this phenomenon on our ecclesiology, no?
Not American
In Finland we don't put flags in churches. In Estonia they do 'on special days'
whether we put flags or not we all have a duty to pray for our national (and local) leaders ....
what I like about the Finnish flag is that there is a cross on it - and my prayer is that one day that will really mean something again
but my allegiance is to God - it's to Jesus our knees will bow and our hearts and lips (and actions) will confess - He is Lord - and I for one would prefer NOT to have flags and pictures of politicians and royalty in churches.
PS for the record I also think it's unnecessary to have a denomination flag ...or logo IN the sanctuary. I'd have it on the door so people are aware ..
I appreciate your post. What I usually hear is that I can't really be patriotic and I must not love my country if I object to the flag in the sanctuary.
Is it not possible to worship The Lord and respect out great country at the same time? Are you really that easily disillusioned by its presence or just looking for something to bitch about, c'mon be honest.
Another aspect of the situation that provokes my discomfort is some of the patriotic hymnody we use. While we have many non-patriotic hymns that address fellow believers instead of God ('Stand Up Stand Up for Jesus' is an example), it seems very odd to sing a hymn addressing America in a worship context. While I would assume most adults upon singing such a song would not venture that they were thereby worshiping America, it seems mighty close to me.
Clark wrote: "Is it not possible to worship The Lord and respect out great country at the same time?"
Where do you get the idea that he does not respect our country? I didn't get that idea from his post at all.
I do respect our country. The idea that not wanting the flag in the sanctuary is equivalent to not respecting the country is exactly the mindset that I want to avoid. The flag, by its nature, is an extremely political image. Think about images we have all seen of burning the flag; most people have a sense of horror that a symbol so representative of the whole nation would be desecrated in such a way.
But it is exactly the political nature of the flag that makes me believe that it should not be in a place of worship. We already have a very political image that adorns our sanctuaries: the cross. It is "political" in a much wider way than the flag is, of course, but it is still "political" in the sense of having a real bearing on the world.
As I mentioned in the blog post, my belief about the flag in a place of worship simply has to do with the appropriateness of the space. We would not put a cross on the top of a county courthouse. It is not appropriate there. The courthouse is a symbol of government, and our government does not officially endorse any religion. It is perfectly acceptable to put a flag on top of the courthouse, because it is the proper symbol for that space.
To say that the flag represents a certain type of "lordship" that is something other than Jesus' Lordship is not an anti-flag or anti-American statement. Christians are, after all, to be subject to the governing authorities (Romans 13). But for us Christians to really understand how the Lordship of Jesus is different than that of the nation, we need to make a clear distinction about how that Lordship operates. And mixing the flag and the cross, I think, has a real potential of confusing that.
This post has been removed by the author.
I think it is ridiculous that this even an issue...whether for the flag in the church, or against it. It's no wonder we can't reach the people outside of our church walls when we're so worried about what's hanging on them...or the colors of the walls, or whether the ministers are wearing robes, suits, or jeans! Andrew this is no knock aginast your post...as I see it as an intersting topic for debate. It just bothers me that churches are wasting time and effort over something so meaningless. It's reasons like this that I'm glad that I'm not part of a denomination. Not that they're wrong....just too many hands in the pot. While this could be good in many ways(having so many heads to put together) it can also lead to long drawn out fights of opinion that are pretty pointless.
new pastor, new church... ive been inching the us flag and xn flag further and further off the main stage each sunday... its a bit passive aggressive, but so far it works
Johnnie says: "It just bothers me that churches are wasting time and effort over something so meaningless."
The reality, however, is that flags are not meaningless. A flag always symbolizes something. More often than not, flags symbolize real boundaries in our society. The message of a flag automatically separates oneself from those bearing other flags. Just think of a baseball game. When I carry a Pirates flag it automatically sends a clear message to the one with the Reds flag. It places our differnces in the forefront.
I believe that Christ founded the church to knock down the boundaries that have so greatly divided humans against one another.
The cross is the symbol that knows no boundary. It is on the cross that we find true unity. Flags serve to divide us, the cross unites us as one body of Christ.
Post a Comment
<< Home