Some time ago, I wrote a brief post about Pastor Greg Boyd's book, The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power is Destroying the Church. Since that time, Boyd has been discovered by the mainstream media in a big way, landing on the front page of The New York Times this past July. A recent article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune also contains a lengthy article on Boyd.
In his book, Boyd makes a powerful and needed statement against fusing the Christian cross and the American flag. I disagree with some other aspects of his book, but I'm grateful for Boyd's important contribution to the public debate, and I have tremendous respect for his courage.
Here's one of my favorite sentences from Boyd's book: "[W]hen we associate Jesus with America, even in the most remote ways, we legitimize the widespread global perception that the Christian faith can be judged on the basis of what America has done in the past or continues to do in the present."
For a host of reasons, no country should attempt to embody and promote Christianity or any other faith. For example, as Boyd's statement suggests, when we fuse the cross and the flag and America stumbles, the gospel stumbles as well. It's something Christians ought to bear in mind, particularly these days.
(Thanks to Faith in Public Life for the lead on the Star-Tribune article.)
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