“god bless america” is not the doxology
Worship as Higher Politics – Christianity Today Magazine
I was pointed to this article while checking out another Christian blog. It is well worth reading.
There is a Christian politics, which is to say that following Jesus must lead us to care about the political decisions, the law-making and law-enforcement, the policies of war and economics and international relations that impact people’s lives in profound ways.
But it is a politics of Jesus. When we wed a Christian politics too closely to the aims of one particular political party or to one particular political entity — e.g a particular nation! — it is not a politics of Jesus any more.
Followers of Jesus are first and last citizens of the kingdom of heaven.
2 thoughts on ““god bless america” is not the doxology”
I understand what you are saying. I cannot however stand silently by while the citizens of this country are being lied to, deceived and blindly lead down a white-washed path. As Molly Ivins stated in a column this week in the Courier….what the Administration is doing today makes Nixon and Watergate look like a “walk in the park”. God bless America and forgive her. What would the men who signed the Declaration of Independence think of the situation we find ourselves in? As for me, the sparklers will have lost a great deal of shimmer this 4th. America is not on God’s side!
Whether any government is good, bad, or indifferent, as Christians our primary loyalty is to God. As Jesus put it, give caesar what is due caesar and God what is due God. Our nation deserves our support, our participation, our investment in steering it into paths of justice and peace, but God deserves our trust and our loyalty, the wholehearted commitment of our whole selves.
And that is why I can say the Pledge of Allegiance or sing the Star Spangled Banner in good conscience, but do not put my hand over my heart, because I pledge my heart only to God!