Wednesday, May 11, 2005

No king but King Jesus

Wes posted an item on the pledge of allegiance so I thought I'd add my two cents.

I was quite sure that I had posted on this beforebut I cant find it so I will sum it up. The Pledge was written by a socialist who wrote it to indocrinate children into the socialist way of thinking. Those words were not written by a patriotic man, nor a Christian. One thing most people do not know is that the hand over the heart is not the way it was to be recited. Rather, the original Pledge was recited while giving a stiff, uplifted right hand salute, which was criticized and discontinued during WWII. Nazis used the same salute, only palm down. And the "under G-d" bit was added by President Eisenhower in 1954.

So where does the Christian's allegiance lie? To Christ and Christ alone.
Mark 12:30 "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this [is] the first commandment."
Deuteronomy 6:5 "And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might."

This is where our founding fathers placed their allegiance. On April 18, 1775 John Adams and John Hancock were at the home of Rev. Jonas Clarke, a Lexington pastor and militia leader. That same night Paul Revere arrived to warn them of the approaching Redcoats. The next morning British Major Pitcairn shouted to an assembled regiment of Minutemen; "Disperse, ye villains, lay down your arms in the name of George the Sovereign King of England." The immediate response of Rev. Jonas Clarke or one of his company was: "We recognize no Sovereign but God and no King but Jesus."

If one must say a pledge, perhaps the some Ray Boltz lyrics would work
"I pledge allegiance to the Lamb
With all my strength
With all I am
I will seek to honor His commands
To the Lamb of God who bore my pain
Who took my place, who wore my shame
I will seek to honor His commands
I pledge allegiance to the Lamb
"