67 Sermon Illustrations on Patriotism

The citizen on great occasions knows and obeys the voice of his country as he knows and obeys an individual voice, whether it appeal to a base or ignoble, or to a generous or noble passion. “Sons of France, awake to glory,” told the French youth what was the dominant passion in the bosom of France, and it awoke a corresponding sentiment in his own. Under its spell he marched through Europe and overthrew her kingdoms and empires, and felt in Egypt that forty centuries were looking down on him from the pyramids. But, at last, one June morning in Trafalgar Bay there was another utterance, more quiet in its tone, but speaking also with a personal and individual voice: “England expects every man to do his duty.” At the sight of Nelson’s immortal signal, duty-loving England and glory-loving France met as they have met on many an historic battle-field before and since, and the lover of duty proved the stronger. The England that expected every man to do his duty was as real a being to the humblest sailor in Nelson’s fleet as the mother that bore him.

— GEORGE FRISBIE HOAR

See WAIT AND SEE; WAITING.

PATRIOTISM

The spirit of Lincoln, who struck hard blows at the Southern cause but always spoke charitably of the Southern people, is embodied in this poem:

The foe that strikes thee, For thy country’s sake Strike him with all thy might; But while thou strikest, Forget not still to love him. (Text.)

--His Majesty the Emperor MUTSU HITO of Japan. Translated by ARTHUR LLOYD.

See FIDELITY; HOME WHERE THE HEART IS; SYMBOL, POWER OF A.

PATRIOTISM, DISINTERESTED

A rather refreshing sight for this year of our Lord would be a repetition of the office seeking the man as in “Saul’s” case, where it was said, “They sought him (to make him king) but he could not be found.”

It is said of Abraham Lincoln that, fully expecting, owing to the meager success of the Union armies up to that time, that he would fail of reelection as President, he resolutely set about putting the governmental departments in order for his successor. He took special pains that as little inconvenience as possible (and detriment to the country’s interests) should be experienced in the transfer of power. How differently he might have acted but for his distinguishing patriotism! Washington once said: “It is of little consequence that my closing days be embittered if only the liberties of my country be conserved.” (Text.)

Fourth of July sermon. "HEALING OUR NATION" 2 Chronicles 7:14

I. The United States is in troubled times.

II. The solution to our problems.

A. The right political leader.

B. Giving power to the people.

C. Changing the people.

III. The teaching of 2 Chronicles 7:14.

A. Context: dedication of Solomon's temple.

B. Limits on its application to America.

IV. What America needs to do:

A. Humble itself.

B. Pray and truly seek God.

C. Repent - turn from evil ways.

V. What God will do:

A. Hear.

B. Forgive and heal.

In 1894, when Congress was considering a tax of 2 percent on incomes of more than $4,000 (1 percent of the population), a wealthy New Yorker threatened to leave the country. A Nebraska congressman, William Jennings Bryan (The Great Commoner), said:

“Of all the mean [miserly] men I have ever known, I have never known one so mean [miserly] that I would be willing to say of him that his patriotism was less than two percent deep … If ‘some of our best people’ prefer to leave the country rather than pay … we can better afford to lose them and their fortunes than risk the contaminating influence of their presence.”

Senator John McCain tells this story from his days as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam:

In the final years of our imprisonment, the North Vietnamese moved us from small cells with one or two prisoners to large rooms with as many as 30-40 men to a room. We preferred this situation for the companionship and strength we could draw from our fellow prisoners. In addition to moving us to new quarters, our captors also let us receive packages and letters from home. Many men received word from their families for the first time in several years. The improved conditions were a result of public pressure put on the North Vietnamese by the American public.

In our cell was one Navy officer, Lt. Commander Mike Christian. Over time Mike had gathered bits and pieces of red and white cloth from various packages. Using a piece of bamboo he had fashioned into a needle, Mike sewed a United States flag on the inside of his shirt, one of the blue pajama tops we all wore.

Every night in our cell, Mike would put his shirt on the wall, and we would say the pledge of allegiance. I know that the pledge of allegiance may not be the most important aspect of our day now, but I can tell you that at the time, it was the most important aspect of our lives.

This had been going on for some time when one of the guards came in as we were reciting our pledge. They ripped the flag off the wall and dragged Mike out. He was beaten for several hours and then thrown back into the cell.

Later that night, as we were settling down to sleep on the concrete slabs that were our beds, I looked over to the spot where the guards had thrown Mike. There, under the solitary light bulb hanging from the ceiling, I saw Mike. Still bloody and his face swollen beyond recognition, Mike was gathering bits and pieces of cloth together. He was sewing a new American flag.

________

Copyright(c) 1998 by the author or Christianity Today, Inc./Leadership Journal. Fall 1998, Vol.XIX, No. 4, Page 67

From a speech that John McCain made before the 1988 Republican National Convention.

====================

Another version from Don Johnson:

From a speech by U.S. Senator John McCain:

As you may know, I spent five and one half years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. In the early years of our imprisonment; the NVA kept us in solitary confinement or two or three to a cell. In 1971 the NVA moved us from these conditions of isolation into large rooms with as many as 30 to 40 men to a room. This was, as you imagine, a wonderful change and was a direct result of the efforts of millions of Americans on behalf of a few hundred POWs 10,000 miles from home.

One of the men who moved into my room was a young man named Mike Christian. Mike came from a small town near Selma, Alabama. He didn’t wear a pair of shoe until he was 13 years old. At 17, he enlisted in the US Navy. He later earned a commission by going to Officer Training School. Then he became a Naval Flight Officer and was shot down and captured in 1967. Mike had a keen and deep appreciation of the opportunities this country, and our military, provide for people who want to work and want to succeed. As part of the change in treatment, the Vietnamese allowed some prisoners to receive packages from home. In some of these packages were handkerchiefs, scarves and other items of clothing. Mike got himself a bamboo needle.

Over a period of a couple of months, he created an American flag and sewed it on the inside of his shirt. Every afternoon, before we had a bowl of soup, we would hang Mike’s shirt on the wall of the cell and say the Pledge of Allegiance. I know the Pledge of Allegiance may not seem the most important part of our day now, but I can assure you that in that stark cell, it was indeed the most important and meaningful event.

One day the Vietnamese searched our cell, as they did periodically, and discovered Mike’s shirt with the flag sewn inside, and removed it. That evening they returned, opened the door of the cell, and for the benefit of all us; beat Mike Christian severely for the next couple of hours. Then, they opened the door of the cell and threw him in. We cleaned him us as well as we could. The cell in which we live had a concrete slab In the middle on which we slept. Four naked light bulbs hung in each corner of the room.

After the excitement died down, I looked in the corner of the room, and sitting there beneath that dim light with a piece of red cloth, another shirt and his bamboo needle, was my friend, Mike Christian. He was sitting there with his eyes almost shut from the beating he had received, making another American flag.

He was not making the flag because it made Mike Christian feel better. He was making that flag because he knew how important it was to us to be able to pledge our allegiance to our flag and country. So the next time you say the Pledge of Allegiance, you must never forget the sacrifice and courage that thousands of Americans have made to build our nation and promote freedom around the world.

You must remember our duty, our honor, and our country.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America; and to the Republic, for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

My appreciation for George Washington stems in large measure from the quality of his Christian character and the wisdom he espoused as the leading Virginian and American of his generation. As usual, space does not allow for a full exploration of his virtues, but a few particularly meaningful quotes may offer us a glimpse at his greatness. We would do well to ponder the wisdom of his words when he said in 1796:

"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political

prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports. In

vain would that man claim tribute of Patriotism, who should labor

to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest

props of the duties of Men and Citizens. Let it simply be asked,

Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if

the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the

instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice. And let us

with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be

maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the

influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure,

reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national

morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."

--George Washington's final public

speech, Sept. 17, 1796

[Dick's Note: George Washington is my Uncle - six generations removed. His sister married Col. Fielding Lewis. His picture hung on the schoolhouse wall when I attended school. Now only our kindergarten children hear of him. I trust my children will continue to remember their uncle, and his precepts. A great American, but a great Christian first.]

"If you will help run our government in the American way, then there will never be danger of our government running America in the wrong way."

-- Omar N. Bradely

- _Instant Quotation Dictionary_, p. 60.

Submitted by Jim Preston

drjpreston@juno.com

Not serried ranks with flags unfurled,

Nor armored ships that gird the world,

Nor hoard wealth, nor busy mills,

Not cattle on a thousand hills,

Not sages wise, nor schools nor laws,

Not boasted deeds in freedom's cause -

All these may be and yet the State

In the eyes of God be far from great.

That land is great which knows the Lord,

Whose songs are guided by His Word.

Where justice rules 'twixt man and man,

Where love controls in art and plan,

Where breathing in his native air,

Each soul finds joy in praise and prayer.

Thus may our country, good and great,

Be God's delight - man's best estate.

Alexander Blackburn

Submitted by: Stacey Sings

Email - StaciSings@aol.com

Twas the night before Christmas,

He lived all alone,

In a one bedroom house

made of plaster and stone.

I had come down the chimney

with presents to give,

and to see just who

in this home did live.

I looked all about,

a strange sight I did see,

no tinsel, no presents,

not even a tree.

No stockings by the mantle,

Just boots filled with sand,

on the wall hung some pictures

of far distant lands.

With medals and badges,

awards of all kinds,

a sober thought of valor,

came through my mind.

For this house was different,

It was so dark and dreary,

I found the home of a soldier,

Once I could see clearly.

The Soldier lay sleeping,

so silent and alone,

Curled up on the floor

In this one bedroom home.

The face was so gentle,

the room in such disorder,

not how I pictured

a United States Soldier.

Was this the great hero

of whom I’d just read?

Curled up on a poncho,

the floor for a bed?

I realized the families

that I saw this night,

Owed their lives to these soldiers,

who were willing to fight.

Soon ‘round the world,

the children would play,

and grownups would celebrate

a bright Christmas Day.

They all enjoyed freedom

each month of the year,

Because of the soldiers,

Like the one lying here.

I couldn’t help wonder,

how many lay alone,

On a cold Christmas Eve,

In a land far from home.

The very sad thought,

brought a tear to my eye,

I dropped to my knees

and started to cry.

The soldier awakened,

and I heard a rough voice,

“Santa, don’t cry...

This life is my choice.”

“I fight for freedom,

I don’t ask for more.

My life is my God,

My Country, My Corps.”

The soldier rolled over,

and drifted to sleep,

I couldn’t control it,

I continued to weep.

I kept watch for hours,

so silent and still

and we both shivered greatly,

from the cold night’s chill.

I didn’t want to leave,

on that dark, cold, night,

This guardian of Honor

so willing to fight.

Then the soldier rolled over, with a voice soft and pure,

whispered, “carry on Santa,

It’s Christmas Day, all is secure...”

One look at my watch,

and I knew he was right.

“Merry Christmas, my Friend,

and to all a good night!”

In December, 1775, an American colonist (believed by many scholars to be Benjamin Franklin), noticed the increasing use of a symbol throughout the colonies, stamped onto barrels and other items, depicting a coiled rattlesnake with the words “Don't Tread On Me” written below the snake. And he wondered about how the symbol of a rattlesnake could be a symbol of the American desire for freedom?

He wrote the following words:

“...the Rattle-Snake is found in no other quarter of the world besides America. She never begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders: She is therefore an emblem of magnanimity and true courage. ... she never wounds 'till she has generously given notice, even to her enemy, and cautioned him against the danger of treading on her.”

________

Christian Voices, http://www.christianvoices.org

*

[Original illustration at this number was added to HolwickID #2842]

Plymouth Rock -- Plymouth, Massachusetts

Thus out of small beginnings greater things have been produced by

His hand that made all things of nothing, and gives being to all

things that are; and, as one small candle may light a thousand,

so the light here kindled hath shone unto many, yea in some sort

to our whole nation; let the glorious name of Jehovah have all

the praise!

-- Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation, p. 236

With these words, Governor William Bradford summarized the beauty and greatness of the Pilgrim vision. It is my contention that no vision of the modern Christian era was more brilliantly conceived, more blessed of God, or enjoyed a more far-reaching effect on humanity, than that which was conceived in a little church in Scrooby, England, transported on a vessel called the Mayflower, birthed in a township called Plymouth, and matured into a distinctively Christian nation called America.

From the beginning their message was simple: Let the Bible be a man's guide for worship and life. Remove your children from evil influences and train them to think generationally. Be willing to lose everything, even one's own life, for the mere opportunity to be a "stepping stone" for Christians yet to be born. (See page 21, OF PLYMOUTH PLANTATION).

How could Bradford have imagined the depth of God's blessing on this vision?

Could he have dreamed that 382 years after he and his compatriots landed, descendants of the original MAYFLOWER families could be found in the Pilgrim congregation still gathering on the plot where the original church met? Could he have foreseen that from the fifty-two intrepid survivors of that first harsh winter of 1620, more than twenty million descendants would arise to populate a great new nation? Could he have hoped for a day when the core principles articulated in the Mayflower Compact would inspire the very charters undergirding the law system of a nation destined to spread the Gospel to the world?

THE SYMBOL of SYMBOLS

=====================

Then there is the rock. That controversial, but glorious slab of stone around which patriots plotted, Presidents proclaimed peace, and orators overwhelmed audiences with polemics and prose. Notables like John Quincy Adams, Edward Everett, Daniel Webster, and Calvin Coolidge would each visit Plymouth Rock on Founder's Day to proclaim its enduring significance as America's symbol of symbols. Could Bradford have really contemplated a day when the very rock upon which Mary Chilton, that first pilgrim to disembark from the Mayflower's shallop unto the New World, would become a national icon to independence and a relic to religious freedom?

It was in 1741 that a ninety-five-year-old man would plead with his town folk to carry him to the rock. Before he died, the man insisted, he needed to once more visit the spot where his father had taken him as a boy and urged him to think generationally. Now, in the twilight of his own life, it was his turn to exhort the people to remember the rock as a symbol of the great covenant between God and the Pilgrim fathers. His name was Thomas Faunce, the esteemed elder of the Pilgrim congregation. Edward Winslow, Jr. recorded the event:

"...It was represented to Elder Faunce that a wharf was to be

erected over the rock, which impressed his mind with deep

concern, and excited a strong desire to take a last farewell of

the cherished object. He was then 95 years old, and resided

three miles from the place. A chair was procured, and the

venerable man conveyed to the shore, where a number of the

inhabitants had assembled to witness the patriarch's benediction.

Having pointed out the rock directly under the bank of Cole's

Hill, which his father had assured him was that which had

received the footsteps of our fathers on their first arrival, and

which should be perpetuated to posterity, he bedewed it with his

tears, and bid to it an everlasting adieu."

THE PILGRIM'S REGRESS

=====================

For more than two centuries, the grateful spirit of Elder Faunce lived on. Plymouth Rock would stand as a testimony to this vision of William Bradford and his heroic brethren. But in recent years, both the vision of Bradford and the rock which symbolized the blessing of providence have been reduced to little more than a quaint children's story; and the very story of the Pilgrims has been subject to a spate of radical historical revisionism bent on de-Christianizing the story of the Pilgrims, or simply interpreting their activities in light of Marxist social welfare theories. The new historians assure us that the nobility of the Pilgrim cause is simply myth. They proclaim the prejudice of past generations of preachers and patriots, even as they insist on the enlightenment of modern historians, a class of interpreters finally free from bias, misogyny, and, above all, Christian religious bigotry. There seems no end to the creativity with which they rewrite the Pilgrim story. Sadly, even Plymouth has been affected.

Last year we reported on the desecration of the Plymouth monuments by political radicals, and of the blackmailing of the town of Plymouth to erect historical revisionist monuments describing Thanksgiving as a "national day of mourning," and linking the Pilgrims to genocide.

This year we can report that visitors to Plymouth who board the MAYFLOWER II will learn that the Pilgrims came to America, not for reasons of faith, but purely out of financial motives; and those strolling through the museum in the visitor center of Plymouth Plantation will learn about the "myth of Thanksgiving." Even so, there is great hope...

PROGRESS for PILGRIMS

=====================

With thanks to God, I am pleased to report that the tide is turning in the battle for "America's Home Town." God has blessed the prayers and supplications of those who still believe that our history is worth defending. This year, the Vision Forum Ministries Faith & Freedom Tour returned to Plymouth to proclaim the truth of America's past. More than 150 of us gathered at Plymouth Rock, beside the great stone sarcophagus housing the remains of the Pilgrims who did not survive the first winter, at the colossal eighty-one-foot statue to Christian liberty called the Forefather's Monument, and by other beloved sites. We gathered to remember, to proclaim truth, but also to stand as witnesses to one of the most remarkable providences of God to come to Plymouth in more than a century: The restoration of Plymouth's past by the spiritual progeny of William Bradford.

*

"It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their own independence upon the overruling power of God ... and to recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proved by all history, that those nations only are blest whose God is the Lord."

-- Abraham Lincoln

"The hour is fast approaching, on which the Honor and Success of this army, and the safety of our bleeding Country depend. Remember officers and Soldiers, that you are Freemen, fighting for the blessings of Liberty -- that slavery will be your portion, and that of your posterity, if you do not acquit yourselves like men."

-- George Washington, General Orders, August 23, 1776

"I sought for the greatness of the United States in her commodious harbors, her ample rivers, her fertile fields, and boundless forests -- and it was not there. I sought for it in her rich mines, her vast world commerce, her public school system, and in her institutions of higher learning -- and it was not there. I looked for it in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution -- and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great!"

-- Alexis de Tocqueville, French writer, after visiting America in 1831

"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labour to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens."

-- George Washington, in his Farewell Address of 1796.

SOURCE: William J. Bennett. Our Sacred Honor: The Spirit of America. NY:

Simon and Schuster, 1997, page 365.

"America has meant to the world a land in which the common man who means well and is willing to do his part has access to all the necessary means of a good life."

-- Alvin Saunders Johnson

"America, thou half-brother of the world;

With something good and bad of every land."

-- Philip James Bailey

"America has believed that in differentiation, not in uniformity, lies the path of progress. It acted on this belief; it has advanced human happiness, and it has prospered."

-- Louis D. Brandeis

"Americans never quit."

-- Douglas MacArthur

"I was born on July 4, 1776, and the Declaration of Independence is my birth certificate. The bloodlines of the world run in my veins, because I offered freedom to the oppressed. I am many things, and many people. I am the nation. I am 213 million living souls--and the ghost of millions who have lived and died for me."

-- Otto Whittaker

"If there is one word that describes our form of society in America, it may be the word--voluntary."

-- Lyndon Baines Johnson

"For this is what America is all about. It is the uncrossed desert and the unclimbed ridge. It is the star that is not reached and the harvest that's sleeping in the unplowed ground."

-- Lyndon Baines Johnson

"Let our object be our country, our whole country, and nothing but our country."

-- Daniel Webster

"America is the country where you buy a lifetime supply of aspirin for one dollar and use it up in two weeks."

-- John Barrymore

"I was born an American; I live an American; I shall die an American."

-- Daniel Webster

"The metaphor of the melting pot is unfortunate and misleading. A more accurate analogy would be a salad bowl, for, though the salad is an entity, the lettuce can still be distinguished from the chicory, the tomatoes from the cabbage."

-- Carl N. Degler

"A citizen of America will cross the ocean to fight for democracy but won't cross the street to vote in a national election."

-- Bill Vaughan

"America lives in the heart of every man everywhere who wishes to find a region where he will be free to work out his destiny as he chooses."

-- Woodrow Wilson

"In the field of world policy, I would dedicate this nation to the policy of the good neighbor."

-- Franklin Delano Roosevelt

"If she [America] forgets where she came from, if the people lose sight of what brought them along, if she listens to the deniers and mockers, then will begin the rot and dissolution."

-- Carl Sandburg

"If there is a country in the world where concord, according to common calculation, would be least expected, it is America."

-- Thomas Paine

"I would rather see the United States respected than loved by other nations."

-- Henry Cabot Lodge

"America is a large, friendly dog in a very small room. Every time it wags its tail, it knocks over a chair."

-- Arnold Joseph Toynbee

"The surface of American society is covered with a layer of democratic paint, but from time to time one can see the old aristocratic colors breaking through."

-- Alexis de Tocqueville

"But America is a great, unwieldy Body. Its Progress must be slow... Like a Coach and six--the swiftest Horses must be slackened and the slowest quickened, that all may keep an even Pace."

-- John Quincy Adams

"America is the only nation in history which miraculously has gone directly from barbarism to degeneration without the usual interval of civilization."

-- Georges Clemenceau

"The country's honor must be upheld at home and abroad."

-- Theodore Roosevelt

"Our country is still young and its potential is still enormous. We should remember, as we look toward the future, that the more fully we believe in and achieve freedom and equal opportunity--not simply for ourselves but for others--the greater our accomplishments as a nation will be."

-- Henry Ford II

"Ideals are the 'incentive payment' of practical men. The opportunity to strive for them is the currency that has enriched America through the centuries."

-- Robert E. Hannegan

"Why is it, whenever a group of internationalists get together, they always decide that Uncle Sam must be the goat?"

-- Bertrand H. Snell

"I believe that we are lost here in America, but I believe we shall be found. And this belief, which mounts now to the catharsis of knowledge and conviction, is for me--and I think for all of us--not only our own hope, but America's everlasting, living dream."

-- Thomas Wolfe

"I see America, not in the setting sun of a black night of despair ahead of us, I see America in the crimson light of a rising sun fresh from the burning, creative hand of God. I see great days ahead, great days possible to men and of will and vision ..."

-- Carl Sandburg

"Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans."

-- John Fitzgerald Kennedy

"America... It is a fabulous country, the only fabulous country; it is the only place where miracles not only happen, but where they happen all the time."

-- Thomas Wolfe

"It may be that without a vision men shall die. It is no less true that, without hard practical sense, they shall also die. Without Jefferson the new nation might have lost its soul. Without Hamilton it would assuredly have been killed in body."

-- James Truslow Adams

"If the American dream is for Americans only, it will remain our dream and never be our destiny."

-- René de Visme Williamson

"America is a country of young men."

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Every time Europe looks across the Atlantic to see the American Eagle, it observes only the rear end of an ostrich."

-- H. G. Wells

"The interesting and inspiring thing about America is that she asks nothing for herself except what she has a right to ask for humanity itself."

-- Woodrow Wilson

"Our country, right or wrong. When right, to be kept right; when wrong, to be put right."

-- Carl Schurz

"There is a New America every morning when we wake up. It is upon us whether we will it or not."

-- Adlai E. Stevenson

"Americanism means the virtues of courage, honor, justice, truth, sincerity, and hardihood--the virtues that made America. The things that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any-price, peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of soft living and the get-rich-quick theory of life."

-- Theodore Roosevelt

"The less America looks abroad, the grander its promise."

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Wake up, America."

-- Augustus P. Gardner

"Intellectually I know that America is no better than any other country; emotionally I know she is better than every country."

-- Sinclair Lewis

"America is not merely a nation but a nation of nations."

-- Lyndon Baines Johnson

"I am certain that, however great the hardships and the trials which loom ahead, our America will endure and the cause of human freedom will triumph."

-- Cordell Hull

"America ... a great social and economic experiment, noble in motive and far-reaching in purpose."

-- Herbert Hoover

"For the American people are a very generous people and will forgive almost any weakness, with the possible exception of stupidity."

-- Will Rogers

"We defend and we build a way of life, not for America alone, but for all mankind."

-- Franklin Delano Roosevelt

“To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”

-- Theodore Roosevelt , U.S. President and Nobel Peace Prize winner, said

during World War I, when Woodrow Wilson was president.

"Our civilization cannot survive materially unless it is redeemed spiritually. It can be saved only by becoming permeated with the Spirit of Christ and being made free and happy by the practices which spring out of that Spirit."

-- Woodrow Wilson, 1923

"We have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined that all things were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God who made us."

-- Abraham Lincoln

"I have now disposed of all my property to my family. There is one thing more that I wish I could give to them that is the Christian religion. If they had that and I had not given them one shilling, they would have been rich; and if they had not that and i had given them the world, they would be poor."

-- Patrick Henry, author of "Give me liberty or give me death," from his will

"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it."

-- Mark Twain

"America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination, and unbeatable determination to do the job at hand."

-- President Harry S. Truman

"Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men; and so it must be daily earned and refreshed -- else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die."

-- President Dwight D. Eisenhower

"The real democratic idea is not that every man shall be on a level with every other, but that every one shall have liberty, without hindrance, to be what God made him."

-- Rev. Henry Ward Beecher

[A critical view of the Pledge of Allegiance.]

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America;

and to the republic, for which it stands, one nation, under God,

with liberty and justice for all.

How did this Pledge of Allegiance to a flag replace the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights in the affections of many Americans? Among the nations in the world, only the U.S.A. and the Philippines, imitating the U.S.A., have a pledge to their flag. That begs the question: Who institutionalized the Pledge as the cornerstone of American patriotic programs and indoctrination in the public and parochial schools?

In 1892, a socialist named Francis Bellamy created the Pledge of Allegiance for Youth’s Companion, a national family magazine for youth published in Boston. The magazine had the largest national circulation of its day with a circulation around 500 thousand. Two liberal businessmen, Daniel Ford and James Upham, his nephew, owned Youth's Companion.

Before the turn of the last century the American Flag was rarely seen in the classroom or in front of the school. Upham changed that. In 1888, the magazine began a campaign to sell American flags to the public schools. By 1892, his magazine had sold American flags to about 26 thousand schools(1). The market for American Flags existed because state’s flags held the staff of honor, not the military flag of the United States that currently hangs in classrooms and courtrooms across America. [Holwick: I don't think the Star Spangled banner can be construed as a military flag. Some nations have a military version of their flag but America has a single version.]

In 1891, Upham had the idea of using the celebration of the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' discovery of America to promote the use of the flag in the public schools. The same year, the magazine hired Daniel Ford's radical young friend, Baptist minister, Nationalist, and Christian Socialist leader, Francis Bellamy, to help Upham in his public relations work. Bellamy was the first cousin of the famous American socialist, Edward Bellamy. Edward Bellamy's futuristic novel, Looking Backward, published in 1888, described a utopian Boston in the year 2000. The book spawned an elitist socialist movement in Boston known as "Nationalism," whose members wanted the federal government to nationalize most of the American economy. Francis Bellamy was a member of this movement and a vice president of its auxiliary group, the Society of Christian Socialists(2). He was a Baptist minister and he lectured and preached on the virtues of socialism and the evils of capitalism. He gave a speech on "Jesus the Socialist" and a series of sermons on "The Socialism of the Primitive Church." In 1891, he was forced to resign from his Boston church, the Bethany Baptist church, because of his socialist activities. He then joined the staff of the Youth’s Companion(3).

By February 1892, Francis Bellamy and Upham had lined up the National Education Association to support the Youth’s Companion as a sponsor of the national public schools' observance of Columbus Day along with the use of the American flag. By June 29, Bellamy and Upham had arranged for Congress and President Benjamin Harrison to announce a national proclamation making the public school ceremony the center of the national Columbus Day celebrations for 1892(4).

Bellamy, under the supervision of Upham, wrote the program for this celebration, including its flag salute, the Pledge of Allegiance. His version was,

"I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the Republic for which it

stands -- one nation indivisible -- with liberty and justice for

all."

This program and its pledge appeared in the September 8 issue of Youth’s Companion(5). He considered putting the words "fraternity" and "equality" in the Pledge but decided they were too radical and controversial for public schools(6).

The original Pledge was recited while giving a stiff, uplifted right hand salute, criticized and discontinued during WWII. The words "my flag" were changed to "the flag of the United States of America" because it was feared that the children of immigrants might confuse "my flag" for the flag of their homeland. The phrase "Under God," was added by Congress and President Eisenhower in 1954 at the urging of the Knights of Columbus(7).

The American Legion's constitution includes the following goal: "To foster and perpetuate a one hundred percent Americanism." One of its major standing committees was the "Americanism Commission" and its subsidiary, the "Counter Subversive Activities Committee." To the fear of immigrants, it added the fear of communism(8).

Over the years the Legion has worked closely with the NEA and with the U.S. Office of Education. The Legion insisted on "one hundred percent" Americanism in public school courses in American history, civics, Geography and English. The Pledge was a part of this Americanism campaign(9) and, in 1950, the Legion adopted the Pledge as an official part of its own ritual(10).

In 1922, the Ku Klux Klan, which also had adopted the "one hundred percent Americanism" theme along with the flag ceremonies and the Pledge, became a political power in the state of Oregon and arranged for legislation to be passed requiring all Catholic children to attend public schools. The U.S. Supreme Court later overturned this legislation(11). Proving, once again, that the Constitution is the underlying strength of our political and judicial system.

Perhaps a team of social scientists and historians could explain why over the last century the Pledge of Allegiance has become a major centerpiece in American patriotism programs. A pledge or loyalty oath for children was not built around the Declaration of Independence -- "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal...." Or the Gettysburg address -- "a new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal..."

Apparently, over the last century, Americans have been uncomfortable with the word "equality" as a patriotic theme. In 1892 the nation began its second century with the Pledge of Allegiance. Perhaps, and this is meant with no disrespect to the brave men and women who have given their lives for all the flag represents, the time has come to see that this allegiance should be to the U.S. Constitution and not to a piece of cloth.

_________________

1. Louise Harris, THE FLAG OVER THE SCHOOLHOUSE, C. A. Stephens Collection, Brown University, Providence, R.I., 1971, p. 69.

2. Margarette S. Miller, TWENTY-THREE WORDS, Printcraft Press, Portsmouth, VA, 1976, pp 63-65.

3. Ibid, pp. 55-65.

4. Ibid, pp. 105-111.

5. Ibid, p. 123.

6. Ibid, p. 122.

7. Christopher J. Kaufmann, KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS, Harper & Row, NY, 1982, pp. 385-386.

8. Raymond Moley, THE AMERICAN LEGION STORY, Duell, Sloan, and Pearce, NY, 1966, p. 7.

9. Ibid, p. 371.

10. Miller, p. 344.

11. NEW CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA, Washington, D.C., Catholic University of America, 1967, Vol. 10, p. 738-740.

*

Our church has found a new way to say the Pledge of Allegiance. When we get down to "one nation under God," we literally shout the last two words. I confess here and now it feels good to do it that way. If atheists have the right not to say those words -- and they do -- then the rest of us have the right to emphasize them.

We are indebted to a fellow in California who brought the suit about the pledge and to a couple of oddball San Francisco judges for unifying America. When is the last time the Senate voted 99-0 on anything? A national poll says 87 percent of the American people want the words "under God" to remain in the pledge. Americans have drawn a line in the sand that says "this far and no farther."

It's been pointed out about 800 times in recent days that every allegiance-pledger has his or her own interpretation of "under God." Here is mine.

When I say "one nation under God," I mean we are indebted to Almighty God for America and the privilege of living here. No one now living hammered out the freedoms and safeguards which make America distinctive among the nations of the world. She was already great when we arrived. We salute the flag and applaud our service men and women and pray for our leaders, but somehow it just doesn't seem enough. It feels like we ought to thank Someone. And so we give honor to the Father in heaven, who for reasons of his own chose to bless this nation above all nations of the world.

When I say "one nation under God," I mean that no matter how much we bend over backward to accommodate citizens of all religions and no religion in this country, this is still a nation of believers, of people who take God seriously and pray to him. Millions call the president's name in prayer every day. The heart of America is not a government building somewhere, but a child kneeling by the bed at night saying his prayers. The strength of America is its churches. The hope of America is the people who turn their hearts toward heaven and worship Almighty God.

When I say "one nation under God," I mean God is the sovereign ruler of the universe, that he is in charge and we are accountable to him. Every nation of the world will someday stand before God and give account. This is the fact; it's not an opinion or denominational doctrine or debatable. It's not up for a vote and nothing the polls say changes anything. All nations are "under God."

Saying "one nation under God" means I for one am determined that Almighty God shall not be ignored or denied or impeached. He cannot be voted out of office or evicted from his throne. The courts of this land get it right sometimes and miss it altogether at others, but no decision they make will change my loyalty to God and this country. I will pray to my Heavenly Father and will exercise my constitutional freedom to worship and speak out publicly and witness to my neighbor about Jesus Christ. I am registered to vote and I do, even when nothing monumental is on the ballot and most voters find other things to do. I donate money to candidates I have confidence in. I will support elected leaders who lead us faithfully and work to oust any who betray our trust or lead us astray.

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation UNDER GOD! indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." Amen.

*

America's awareness of world events certainly is heightened as many throughout the land have watched close friends and beloved family members ship out for military service overseas. In many church and civic gatherings, mention is often made of soldiers or their families who are being remembered in prayer. A Sunday afternoon drive through most any town will reveal patriotic banners, waving flags and yellow ribbon-wrapped oak trees -- all of which serve as reminders of those who are serving so sacrificially. Indeed, the groundswell of American patriotism among young and old alike is encouraging.

Christians in America have every reason to be patriotic. The United States of America is a wonderful nation that has undoubtedly experienced the providential blessings and divine favor of God Almighty.

People all over the world are envious of the opportunities afforded to American citizens. No doubt, God has been good to America. Its heritage is rich, and without His providential grace and favor America would not own such a wonderful tradition or enjoy its present blessings.

The danger that American Christians can face in times of international conflict is the blurring of boundaries that exist between nationalistic patriotism and Christian faith. Along a country road in Tennessee, this blurring is evident on a sign picturing an American flag-filled icthus (the Christian fish symbol) and creatively emblazoned underneath with the phrase “JesUSAves.”

At the very least it is catchy, and upon immediate passing most people probably experience positive emotional responses. But it causes one to question whether those good feelings may be related to the fact that one may live in the USA or to the fact that Jesus saves. While appreciative of the painter who sought to communicate his Christian faith along with his patriotic fervor, such communication also is a cause for concern.

The difficulty with “JesUSAves” lies not in the truth of its declaration, but in the message of its implication. Indeed, Jesus saves. Christians agree here. However, red, white, and blue letters which include the capitalization of USA within “JesUSAves” seems to imply that the United States of America is in some way central to or at least a fundamental part of God's salvation plan.

Certainly Christians are thankful for the USA. Of course, believers hold firmly to the conviction that Jesus saves. However, when patriotic passion becomes synonymous with the understanding of and love for God, Christians are tempted to think that God's working is in some way related to or dependent on the United States of America.

Do Christians see this sign and think that America is God's favorite country and that they have preferred status in his Kingdom family? Do those Americans who are not Christians pass by thinking that by right of their national citizenship they also are entitled to heavenly citizenship? Would the Apostle Paul, who when speaking of salvation, stated that “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female” (Galatians 3:28) allow such a sign in his first-century yard? A sign like this seems to communicate more than its painter might have intended.

While readily admitting that America has and continues to experience God's blessings, it is important for Christians to understand that history will one day come to a halt and eternity will roll on around a throne and not a nation.

An American will not be sitting on that throne. Neither will there be only Americans around that throne. People from every nation, tribe, people and language will join together there worshiping God forever.

Until then, American Christians can be thankful for their earthly citizenship. Moreover, Christians everywhere can be even more thankful that God's saving work through Christ does not hinge upon national identity.

_____________

Todd E. Brady is minister to the university at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee.

*

[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #17662]

The following words were spoken by the late Red Skelton on his television program as he related the story of his teacher, Mr. Laswell, who felt his students had come to think of the Pledge of Allegiance as merely something to recite in class each day. Now, more than ever, listen to the meaning of these words.

"I've been listening to you boys and girls recite the Pledge of Allegiance all semester and it seems as though it is becoming monotonous to you. If I may, may I recite it and try to explain to you the meaning of each word?"

I -- me, an individual, a committee of one.

Pledge -- dedicate all of my worldly goods to give without self pity.

Allegiance -- my love and my devotion.

To the flag -- our standard, Old Glory, a symbol of freedom. Wherever she waves, there's respect because your loyalty has given her a dignity that shouts freedom is everybody's job!

United -- that means that we have all come together.

States of America -- individual communities that have united into 48 great states. Forty-eight individual communities with pride and dignity and purpose; all divided with imaginary boundaries, yet united to a common purpose, and that's love for country.

And to the republic -- a state in which sovereign power is invested in representatives chosen by the people to govern. And government is the people and it's from the people to the leaders, not from the leaders to the people.

For which it stands, one nation -- one nation, meaning "so blessed by God"

Indivisible -- incapable of being divided.

With liberty -- which is freedom -- the right of power to live one's own life without threats, fear or some sort of retaliation.

And Justice -- the principle or quality of dealing fairly with others.

For all -- which means, boys and girls, it's as much your country as it is mine.

Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country and two words have been added to the pledge of Allegiance... UNDER GOD. Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said that is a prayer and that would be eliminated from schools too?

God Bless America!

*

"You'd be surprised how many ways there are to help," the full-page magazine ad assures us.

If I asked you to guess whose ad it was, you might answer the Red Cross or some charitable organization. But listen to a few of the items on the list of ways to help: spatulas, coffee beans, and shampoo. Are we supposed to donate these disparate items? No, we're supposed to buy them.

Welcome to patriotism in the post-duty age.

Spatulas, shampoo, and coffee beans are things you can buy with the Discover Card, the product featured in the ad. And Discover isn't the only one proclaiming that the way to show your love for America is by shopping.

General Motors announced that "in this time of terrible adversity," Americans should "stand together" and "keep America rolling." How? By buying a new GM car or truck.

Not to be outdone, Ford has its own ad campaign that says "in light of these challenging times, we at Ford want to do our part to help move America forward." Therefore, all red-blooded Americans should visit their Ford dealer.

If you think that this pitch is so self-serving that no one could fall for it, think again. Shopping has, as the Atlanta Journal & Constitution put it, been transformed from a "frivolous pastime" into a "patriotic duty."

One woman told the Journal that she wanted a "big TV," but had put off the purchase. Then came the events of September 11 and she said she "figured it was the least I could do."

Sixty years ago during World War II, patriotism demanded something different. Americans planted "victory gardens." They recycled rubber, iron, and other raw materials to support the war effort. Consumer goods, even those we would consider staples like milk, meat, and coffee, were rationed.

There was a clear connection between patriotism and sacrifice. A profession of love of country implied the willingness to fulfill one's duty by doing without.

Well, that has all changed in the "post-duty" age. Now, of course, buying things helps the economy, and that's what behind the ads, but they make the appeal that they'll gratify us. The therapeutic worldview permeates our culture and has weakened our sense of obligation. The measure of an ideal is how it makes people feel, not in what it causes them to do. As a result, lofty notions like patriotism and duty, have been transformed into self-serving sentiments.

We see the same thing in religion and the church. Americans increasingly prefer to be described as "spiritual," rather than "religious." There is a telling difference here: the word "religion" comes from the Latin word religiari, for "binding," and that's the last thing we want our faith to do to us.

This "self-ism" and aversion to duty is what makes it possible to see buying a big-screen television as a virtuous, patriotic act -- "the least I could do," as the woman said.

As the president said, a strong economy is an important part of our national security. But a society that calls buying a car an act of patriotism has forgotten the meaning of the word. It's forgotten those men for whom patriotism and duty meant parachuting into battle, not dropping into the mall.

For further reading:

Moskowitz, Eva. In Therapy We Trust: America's Obsession with Self-Fulfillment. Johns Hopkins UP, 2001.

_________________________

Copyright © 2001 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. 'BreakPoint with Chuck Colson' is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.

*

Philip Nolan is the hero of Edward Everett Hale's classic American short story, "The Man without a Country." According to the story, Nolan was an eager young officer in the Western army under Aaron Burr in the first decade of the nineteenth century. Burr was plotting a rebellion against the United States to set up a separate government west of the Appalachians. The youthful members of his staff, including Nolan, were duped into becoming unwitting partners in the plot. It was discovered, of course, and all those implicated were court-martialed. Still convinced Burr was a hero instead of a traitor, Nolan impetuously told the court he never wanted to see the flag of the United States again. He lived to regret that rash vow and to become a fervent patriot, but the verdict of the court was that his wish be carried out. For the rest of his life he was shunted from one naval vessel to another, never to set foot on American soil and never to see the Stars and Stripes - truly the man without a country.

Hale told his story so artfully that many people thought it was true, that there really was a Philip Nolan who was sailing the seven seas as the man without a country. Their sympathies aroused, many wrote to Washington demanding Nolan's pardon. But the story was fiction, not fact.

The subject of this discussion, however, is not fiction, but fact. In addition it is somewhat the reverse of Hale's story about Philip Nolan, because it is the record of the man with two countries. Each Christian is this man with two countries, because the child of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ at the same time is a citizen of the kingdom of God and a citizen of an earthly nation and government. The Christian holds citizenship in two lands - one temporal and physical, the other eternal and spiritual. Many of the problems the Christian faces grow out of the interrelationships and the conflicts of priority between these two citizenships. In this Bicentennial year of the United States [1976] it is appropriate to consider what the Bible teaches about the man with two countries - the Christian citizen.

____________________________

John A. Witmer, Librarian and Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology, Dallas Theological Seminary

*

1. God of our fathers, whose almighty hand

Leads forth in beauty all the starry band

Of shining worlds in splendour through the skies,

Our grateful songs before Thy throne arise.

2. Thy love divine hath led us in the past,

In this free land by Thee our lot is cast;

Be Thou our ruler, guardian, guide and stay,

Thy word our law, Thy paths our chosen way.

3. From war’s alarms, from deadly pestilence,

Be Thy strong arm our ever sure defense;

Thy true religion in our hearts increase,

Thy bounteous goodness nourish us in peace.

4. Refresh Thy people on their toilsome way,

Lead us from night to never ending day;

Fill all our lives with love and grace divine,

And glory, laud and praise be ever Thine!

[Tune “National Hymn”'

*

What does a government ordained by God look like? For the Apostle Paul writing to the Romans, it was the Roman Empire -- not what you would call an enlightened regime. You and I wouldn’t like it even if we had been Roman citizens. Yet Paul referred to these pagan rulers as governing authorities established by God, and he instructed persecuted Christians to submit to them “for conscience sake”:

“Everyone must submit to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist are instituted by God. So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves” (Romans 13:1-2 HCSB).

Americans are fortunate to have a much higher government standard: “government of the people, by the people, and for the people,” founded on the principle that all people are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.

Don’t ever let anybody tell you that the founding document of the United States is the Constitution. The U.S. Constitution is really the enabling document for the founding document of our nation, the Declaration of Independence.

Government, along with its appointed officials, is ordained by God to curtail evil in the world. That is its primary responsibility: to protect those who do right and punish those who do wrong. “For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do good and you will have its approval. For government is God’s servant to you for good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For government is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong” (Romans 13:3-4).

Our Christian obligation is to support the government through tribute and through taxation. It is our godly duty to obey the law even when no one’s looking: “Therefore, you must submit, not only because of wrath, but also because of your conscience” (Romans 13:5). It is our godly duty to obey the laws even if we disagree with them, unless in doing so we would disobey God, and seek to change them in a peaceful manner. We are to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s.

The Apostle Paul’s command in Romans 13:6-7 is clear: “And for this reason you pay taxes, since the [authorities] are God’s public servants, continually attending to these tasks. Pay your obligations to everyone: taxes to those you owe taxes, tolls to those you owe tolls, respect to those you owe respect, and honor to those you owe honor.”

We need to obey the law and pay our taxes. If we don’t, we can expect that sooner or later the hammer of the government will come down and we will have brought reproach upon the Gospel.

We have a ministry to the world as “salt” and the “light” (Matthew 5:13-16), and we all have responsibilities to the civil authorities. A biblical lifestyle requires us to maintain the proper balance between the three divinely ordained institutions of family, church and government, and to insure that no one sphere leans so far over onto another sphere that the proper equilibrium is disrupted.

Whether or not America has a future worth having doesn’t depend on what happens in Washington, D.C., on what happens in the Supreme Court or in the Congress. It depends on what happens with you, and people just like you; your family, and families just like yours; and your church, and churches just like yours, with godly pastors after God’s heart and church members thirsting for God’s Word. Our future is in His hands (Psalm 121:1-2).

Independence Day is a wonderful day to reflect on the precious freedoms we enjoy in this great country. It is a day to give thanks to our Almighty God whose hand has surely been upon this nation. And it is day to commit anew our resolve to pray for spiritual revival to sweep across our nation.

________

Richard Land is president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission

*

[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #796]

How do you teach people to love their country — even when it means a great personal sacrifice?

That question has long interested Walter Berns, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and author of the book Making Patriots. Berns argues that patriots are made, not born — that we have to be taught to love our country. He also believes that this love, though necessary to our nation's very survival, does not come easily. That's because it's in our nature to put ourselves first — especially so here in America, where individualism is so rampant.

“In theory,” Burns writes, “this nation began with self-interested men ... endowed not with duties or obligations but with certain unalienable rights ... Why should self-interested men believe it in their interest to give their lives for the idea or promise of their country?”

And yet, our cemeteries are full of men and women who did give their lives for their country and are doing so today in Afghanistan and Iraq. This Veterans Day, we honor the sacrifice of these brave people who rose above their own interests, and who are doing so each day in Iraq. Their lives and deaths remind us that, in order for America and its ideals to flourish, we have to teach our kids that there are things more important than simply fulfilling their own desires.

The key lies in Berns's phrase “the idea or promise of our country.” It's not enough to show people that it's in their own best interests if the country prospers. We have to remind them of what our founding documents state: that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.”

Our nation's promise is a declaration of the rights and freedoms of everyone. So we each have a higher standard to meet than simply looking out for number one. Now, sadly, we have often fallen short of that standard, arbitrarily denying rights to one group or another. But when we did, we knew it was wrong, and we worked to correct it. If we truly believe in the ideal of freedom for all people, we will keep reminding our countrymen of that standard and keep doing our best to meet it.

Walter Berns does this throughout his book, pointing to great figures from American history who believed that the promise of freedom was a precious heritage and a goal to keep striving toward. As one book reviewer wrote, “He's instructing us in our own history and ideals in order to demonstrate that our nation is worthy of our love.”

For example, Berns quotes from Abraham Lincoln's eulogy for Henry Clay: “He loved his country partly because it was his own country, but mostly because it was a free country; and he burned with a zeal for its advancement, prosperity, and glory, because he saw in such, the advancement, prosperity, and glory of human liberty, human right, and human nature.” Well said.

How do we teach people to love their country? We teach them to love goodness and freedom — and remind them that these are the ideals America was founded to preserve and promote. It's the only way we can guarantee that those ideals will survive, in America and around the world. And what better day than Veterans Day to remind our kids and grandkids of these truths.

For further reading:

• Walter Berns, Making Patriots (University of Chicago Press, 2001).

• Walter Berns, “From the Ashes Comes the Rebirth of Patriotism,” AEI Online, 1 October 2001.

• Michael Potemra, “Teach Them Well,” National Review, 17 September 2001.

• “American Patriots,” Online Newshour, PBS, 9 July 2001.

• Read President Abraham Lincoln's eulogy on Henry Clay.

• BreakPoint Commentary, “Quiet Heroism: And the Culture that Produces It.” (Archived commentary; free registration required.)

• Anne Morse, “I Pledge Allegiance to ... Whatever,” BreakPoint Online, 25 February 2003.

• Anne Morse, “I Pledge Allegiance to Myself,” BreakPoint Online, 19 August 2002.

• Jim Tonkowich, “Heroism Rediscovered,” BreakPoint WorldView, September 2002.

• Roberto Rivera, “Uncommon Valor and Common Virtue,” BreakPoint Online, 27 November 2000.

__________

Copyright (c) 2003 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. "BreakPoint with Chuck Colson" is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.

*

I'd never heard of Pat Tillman before he joined the Army two years ago.

Not being a big football fan, I had no idea that he played for the Arizona Cardinals. But the minute the story broke about his enlisting and volunteering to be a Ranger, I knew Pat Tillman because I was, at one time, just like Pat Tillman. I, too, was an Army Ranger.

Like so many others, I felt a certain amount of shock when his death was announced last week. I read with a great deal of personal interest all of the stories that appeared. I knew Pat Tillman because I knew guys just like him. Guys with that certain esprit de corps, that do-anything, go-anywhere attitude. You could see it in their eyes. It wasn't pride and it wasn't arrogance. But it wasn't far from it. It's that look that comes when you know that you're ready to take what the world throws at you. Pat Tillman had that look.

Tillman was, in the football arena, the little engine that could, the little guy that somehow made it big. When he walked away from it all for the life of an Army Ranger, the media couldn't understand why a young man in his professional prime would give up millions of dollars. Some thought him an idealist, a go- getter with a never-say-die attitude. Others heard him say that he wanted to do something for his country but they really didn't understand. They never will. Not until they walk a mile in his shoes.

The same response came recently when Southern Baptist personnel were slain in Iraq. And before that in Yemen and in the Philippines. The media questioned the missionaries' right to be in these foreign lands. They questioned their dedication to a cause that insists that it offers the only correct answer to life's ultimate questions. While some acknowledged the great sacrifice of these soldiers of the cross, the media for the most part didn't understand. They never will. Not until they take up a cross and follow Jesus.

Pat Tillman can teach us a thing or two about being an American. He was a hero. Not because he once played football for millions of dollars. Not because he jumped out of airplanes for thousands. Not even because he died in the line of duty, making the ultimate sacrifice. He was a hero because he was willing to do what so many can't. He was a hero because he knew the Ranger creed and lived it:

-- Recognizing that I volunteered as a Ranger, fully knowing the hazards of my chosen profession, I will always endeavor to uphold the prestige, honor and high esprit de corps of the Rangers.

-- Acknowledging the fact that a Ranger is a more elite soldier who arrives at the cutting edge of battle by land, sea or air, I accept the fact that as a Ranger my country expects me to move further, faster and fight harder than any other soldier.

-- Never shall I fail my comrades. I will always keep myself mentally alert, physically strong and morally straight and I will shoulder more than my share of the task whatever it may be, 100 percent and then some.

-- Gallantly will I show the world that I am a specially selected and well- trained soldier. My courtesy to superior officers, neatness of dress and care of equipment shall set the example for others to follow.

-- Energetically will I meet the enemies of my country. I shall defeat them on the field of battle for I am better trained and will fight with all my might. Surrender is not a Ranger word. I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy and under no circumstances will I ever embarrass my country.

-- Readily will I display the intestinal fortitude required to fight on to the Ranger objective and complete the mission, though I be the lone survivor.

Pat Tillman was a hero because he heard the call to duty and answered.

In the end, Pat Tillman died for his country, going where millions of others couldn't go.

So, too, will many of us die in the name of Christ. We have been given our marching orders: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:19). We know the cost: “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it” (Matt 10:39).

Pat Tillman proudly wore the beret of an Army Ranger, carrying his nation's colors into battle, willing to die for the cause. Are you carrying the cross of Christ and the sword of truth? Or have we learned nothing from those who've gone before us?

*

[Original illustration here was a duplicate in HolwickID 25837-26027]

Sermon in Current Controversies series, #3 Deuteronomy 28:1-13

SHOULD GOD BLESS AMERICA?

=========================

I. It's a grand old flag.

A. Route 80's flag overpass near Rockaway.

B. Patriotism runs high in our land.

C. Patriotism has a place.

D. Patriotism has its dangers.

II. All nations will answer to God.

A. Americans see ourselves as different - better.

B. The proof is in the pudding.

C. How God blesses a nation. Deuteronomy 28

III. In the world but not of it.

A. What we can support in America.

B. What we must challenge in America.

C. What we can change in America.

IV. God and Caesar.

A. Jesus defends the legitimacy of government.

B. The ultimate citizenship.

"Here Rests In Honored Glory An American Soldier Known But To God."

So reads the inscription etched into the white granite tomb that marks the resting place of America's official unknown soldiers. The Tomb of the Unknowns remains one of the United States' most revered sites, a permanent reminder of this country's commitment to honor those who died fighting for its freedom. Last week, that commitment was upheld in a way some people might not have even noticed or even thought about.

When practically every government employee in Washington was beating a hasty retreat to avoid the aftereffects of Hurricane Isabel, a small group of men decided their commitment to duty, honor and country was more important than personal safety or comfort.

Tomb Guard Sentinels, the elite soldiers of the 3rd U.S. Infantry regiment chosen to act as guards at the Tomb, opted to sustain their constant vigil at the Tomb of the Unknowns rather than flee the oncoming bad weather. To them it was a matter of honoring their personal and professional obligations to the men and women who served before them and who serve now - and obviously do not have the luxury of serving their country only when skies are blue and the sun shines down upon them.

Although the Tomb of the Unknowns is watched over by Tomb Guards 24 hours a day, 365 days a year regardless of weather conditions, to have soldiers so duty-bound as to ignore their own personal well-being is an example of real patriotism and a real reminder of the sacrifices made to secure the principles of liberty.