Pledging Allegiance

Most students in America are taught the Pledge of Allegiance as soon at they start attending public school, before they are even old enough to understand what “pledge” or “allegiance” even mean. Sometimes it even gets recited in church or various clubs. We’re taught that it’s patriotic, just something all Americans should respect and participate in, without question. It becomes a routine, a ritual. As a child, I remember starting every school day with this. Then, one year, there were two girls from my class who were always excused to the hallway while the rest of the class said it. I thought it was odd, and wondered why, to which I later learned that their religious beliefs did not allow it. Other than those girls, I don’t remember any student ever opting out, or any teacher ever actually explaining why we say the pledge and giving students the option to participate or not.

As I’ve discussed in previous writing, I was raised in a conservative, patriotic region with a lot of military service members, including many in my family. Aside from minor griping about taxes and Bill Clinton, I don’t remember hearing much criticism of anything our nation did until later into my teen years. For a long time, I really believed that the United States were always the “good guys” in every conflict, that we were a “Godly” nation, and that anyone who disrespected our flag or spoke ill of our military involvements or leaders were traitors to this great free country and might as well be spitting on the graves of every veteran and ancestor.

For these reasons, I continued to participate in the recitation, and even in leading a chorus of 4- and 5-year-old children in reciting it during our weekly AWANA ministry, all while facing an internal moral struggle for many years. As a teenager, I began reading and studying my Bible a lot, including all the stories about false idols and punishments Israel faced any time they erected one or worshipped it. Was that what I was doing? I questioned internally, but wasn’t brave enough to publicly question the practice, for fear of being labeled un-American.

In recent years, as I’ve grown more interested in history and learned of the many atrocities not only within our nation’s history, but continuing into the present day, I’ve grown more and more uncomfortable with the idea of pledging my allegiance to “The Republic”, or to a man-made government of any kind. Power corrupts the already sinful minds of man, and no matter how much we may try to limit that power and corruption, it still exists. The laws we pass are not God’s laws. Our nation has not been ordained to carry out God’s will, and in fact the actions and decisions of our political leaders are often in direct conflict with the Word of God. Our government has actively participated in property theft, forced relocation, physical torture & murder, induced famine through blockades/ embargoes, and been a party to genocide, and not just historically, but even in the present day. Those aren’t things that I can just overlook, and certainly not anything I want to pledge my allegiance to.

I know that many will argue that the pledge isn’t really to the government, but rather to America itself, its people, and/or the principles found in the Constitution, but that’s not what I hear in the actual language. Let’s look at the definitions of three important words.

• Pledge: A solemn binding promise (American Heritage Dictionary)
• Allegiance: the fidelity owed by a subject or citizen to a sovereign or government; devotion or loyalty to a person, group, or cause (Merriam-Webster)
• Republic: a government having a chief of state who is not a monarch and who in modern times is usually a president; a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law. (Merriam-Webster)

To me, it is clear that the intention of the pledge is for citizens to commit to being loyally devoted to their government. The word “indivisible” near the end also indicates that the intent of the pledge is for citizens to be loyal and compliant, so as to not divide the nation. I’d also recommend this brief history lesson regarding the origination of the pledge:

https://www.thoughtco.com/pledge-of-allegiance-brief-history-3320198

Additionally, as a Christian, I looked to the Bible for guidance on this topic, and I believe the following verses are applicable and support my conviction.

On making promises: You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. — Matthew 5:33–37 But above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you do not fall under judgment. — James 5:12 On whom we should serve: No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. -Luke 16:13

Although in this verse Jesus specifically says, “God and money”, I think you could substitute any other “master,” including government. The point is simply that you can’t serve two conflicting points.

On citizenship: For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even as I weep, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who have their minds on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; — Philippians 3: 18–20

While researching, I found this great sermon by Pastor Tim Keller titled “Arguing about Politics.” Below is an excerpt in which he is analyzing Jesus’ statement in Matthew 22:21, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

From Pastor Keller’s sermon, Arguing about Politics:

“By using the word image, he is implying this: ‘Give to Caesar the things only that have his image on it…but give to God what has his image on it- that’s you!’”…”This was the very first theory of limited government in the history of the world”…”Give Caesar the money because it’s his money-he printed it-but don’t give him the allegiance”…”What Jesus Christ is saying is that you may give Caesar some of what he wants, which is his money, but you cannot give Caesar ultimately what he wants, which is to completely accept his system- his system of coercion, his system of injustice, his system of exclusion. He wants ultimate allegiance, he wants no one to sit in judgement on him, but we can’t give him that.”

For full disclosure, this is the first time I’ve heard of Pastor Keller and the only one of his sermons I listened to, so this is not an endorsement. However, I did enjoy this sermon, and found his message thought-provoking. I particularly loved this analysis on Matthew 22:21, and after thinking about it in relation to other of Jesus’ teachings, I wholeheartedly agree with his interpretation. As Christians, we belong to our Redeemer, God, and our allegiance therefore should be His and His alone. It cannot be divided between God and country.

Originally published at http://lifelibertyandeternity.wordpress.com on July 21, 2021.