Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Mercy Not Sacrifice

Home
About
My Book
Archives
More
- Theology
- Culture
- Politics
- Sermons
- Bible
- Devotions
- Daily Office
- Podcast

Home
Progressive Christian
When It Became My Duty Not to Stand for the National Anthem

When It Became My Duty Not to Stand for the National Anthem

Last updated on: September 27, 2017 at 7:33 am by Morgan Guyton

When It Became My Duty Not to Stand for the National Anthem 2017-09-27T07:33:10-05:00 Morgan Guyton

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I’ve really tried to avoid writing about Donald Trump on this blog because I believe that obsessing over his every latest outrage is spiritually toxic. He normally doesn’t make me mad because I expect him to say everything that he does. But something about this latest rant against professional football players who kneel for the National Anthem is hitting me a different way. And responding seems more like prophetic duty than impulsive reactivity. As I’ve reflected and prayed throughout the day, I’m realizing that God is not going to let me stand for the National Anthem again until black people tell me that it’s okay to do so.

“Get that son of a bitch off the field!” Part of me has always realized that professional sports are a black minstrel show for rich white people. But never before has the president of the United States flaunted this reality so openly and viciously. Never before has the president of the United States showed complete contempt for the one freedom that is supposed to distinguish our nation from every other nation. This one freedom is the only reason that it makes sense at all to stand with your hand over your heart when the National Anthem is being played. There is not a greater blasphemy of everything America is supposed to be about than for our National Anthem to be used as a means of crushing freedom of speech.

The Second Commandment in the Bible says, “You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth” (Exodus 20:4). Why is idolatry prohibited? It’s not inherent that using a physical object to represent God means you’re worshiping something other than God. The Greeks and Romans didn’t believe that they were literally worshiping statues, but rather the gods represented by the statues.

The reason for the Second Commandment reveals itself in a speech in Acts 19:25-28 made by an Ephesian silversmith Demetrius to other silversmiths whose chief trade was manufacturing silver statues of the goddess Artemis:

“Men, you know that we get our wealth from this business. 26 You also see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost the whole of Asia this Paul has persuaded and drawn away a considerable number of people by saying that gods made with hands are not gods. 27 And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be scorned, and she will be deprived of her majesty that brought all Asia and the world to worship her.”

Through this speech, Demetrius started a riot that almost resulted in the lynching of the apostle Paul and his fellow missionaries. The danger of idols is that they can be manipulated by people who want to make money. The Israelites had a unique recognition of this danger among ancient civilizations. A God who is not made into an idol is a God who cannot be manipulated and exploited by the priests who control the idols or the artisans who make them.

The American flag is performing the exact same function for NFL spectators that the Artemis statues performed for the people of Ephesus. The National Anthem is being used as a pious hymn that turns the spectacle of male gladiators beating each other up into a legitimate religious ceremony. The early fathers of the Christian church would have zero ambivalence about our duties as Christians to declare Jesus as Lord in the face of obvious idolatry. When they chose to nonviolently kneel rather than hailing Caesar’s statue, they were thrown to the lions. No early Christian would stand for our national anthem.

The gift that Trump has given to American Christians is to reveal what is at stake in our nationalist idolatry. The symbol that is supposed to represent our freedom is being used to crush the freedom of black people. This is exactly the kind of manipulative power game that idolatry creates, which is why the Bible condemns it.

I had not realized before that the Second Commandment forbade me from standing for the National Anthem, but now I cannot pull back from that realization with any integrity. To stand up and hail Caesar is not only to spit on the freedom of black NFL players, but to spit on the sacrifice Jesus made for me on his cross, because if he really is my Lord and savior, then I shouldn’t be singing hymns about how my salvation comes from the rockets’ red glare and the bombs bursting in air.

So I will not be standing for the National Anthem again until it becomes clear that the wickedness of our nationalist idolatry and its underlying white supremacy has been brought into complete repentance. As long as white people are using the American flag as an idol for the manipulative purposes that make an idol sinful, it remains a sin for me to condone this practice even if the flag is not inherently an idol for me. This is precisely what the apostle Paul argued to the Corinthians about the sin of affirming the idolatry of sacrificial meat. So I’ll close with his words.

What do I imply then? That food sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Or are we provoking the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? [1 Corinthians 10:18-22]

Previous Post

September 16, 2017

40 Bible Verses for 40 Years of Life

Next Post

September 26, 2017 Our 8 coolest ministry moments so far this year

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Advent Beauty Will Save the World Bible Big Picture: Ephesians Bloggers Book Christian salvation and the Beautitudes Culture Daily Office Danceable Homiletics Deadly Sins Deep Roots: Genesis Devotions Dominican Republic May 2011 El Principio Misericordia (The Mercy Principle) Five verses God tattooed on my heart Fundraising FutureGospel Good Biblical Words Henri Nouwen Interview Jennings' Christian Imagination Jesus inside the beltway Jesus Is My Candidate Jesus vs the Pharisees Jesus vs. Plato Journey to Eternity Looking Back on 2012 Love Actually Monday Merton Monday Merton Music Occupy the manger On Earth As It Is In Heaven Original Sin Podcast Poetry Politics Prayer Psalm 119 Radical Jesus 101 Reviews Sermon on the Mount Sermons Spanish Bible study Special Series Spiritual but not religious Synchroblog Theology Things that made me think Thomas a Kempis Ugliness Into Beauty Uncategorized Viaje Dominicano 2013 Walking in the Valley (Lent) Welcome: It's More than a Mat Wild Goose 2013 Wrestling

Select a Month March 2022 January 2022 December 2021 September 2021 April 2021 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was Deborah's military commander?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Jephthah Gideon Samson Barak