Thinking About Patriotic Worship Services
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Blueridge Believer
Puritan Board Professor
Good read brother Clevenger. The Al Mohler show yesterday touched on this subject. Dr. Moore was filling in for Dr. Mohler and interviewed Mark Dever and one other man (whom I forget at this moment) about this.
I went to a SBC worship service during deputation once.
I was given 5 minutes to talk.
I spoke about the glory of God to all nations.
Then, the "main event" occurred.
I was informed then that they had cancelled their sermon for a Patriotic Event.
They removed the pulpit and put the American flag front and center. Two 16 year old girls then did an interpretive dance to America the Beautiful around the flag, bowing to it. These were 16 year old girls that were beginning to mature and were wearing thin leotard materials and doing dance moves on stage.
As the music ceased and the lights dimmed, they fell down grasping the flag on the floor (almost seductively) and the whole auditorium burst out in applause. I saw tears flowing.
Then, the pastor gave a sermon on how Baptist Christianity had to be right because it was democratic and both baptists and the USA were democratic, showing how American they were.
I slunk out the back after the service.....
I was given 5 minutes to talk.
I spoke about the glory of God to all nations.
Then, the "main event" occurred.
I was informed then that they had cancelled their sermon for a Patriotic Event.
They removed the pulpit and put the American flag front and center. Two 16 year old girls then did an interpretive dance to America the Beautiful around the flag, bowing to it. These were 16 year old girls that were beginning to mature and were wearing thin leotard materials and doing dance moves on stage.
As the music ceased and the lights dimmed, they fell down grasping the flag on the floor (almost seductively) and the whole auditorium burst out in applause. I saw tears flowing.
Then, the pastor gave a sermon on how Baptist Christianity had to be right because it was democratic and both baptists and the USA were democratic, showing how American they were.
I slunk out the back after the service.....
Pilgrim
Puritanboard Commissioner
I've never been a member of an SBC church, although Lord willing I soon will be, albeit one that wouldn't succumb to idolatrous displays like the one Pergy describes here. It was reaction against a service almost this bad on Easter Sunday, in which a gifted preacher did not preach but instead showed a portion of some "Jesus" film, had the Lord's Supper with little or no attempt to fence the table and then gave an altar call (at which point I walked out) that basically drove me to overreact and eventually join the OPC several years ago. Instead of rejecting particular churches whose theology and practice was off, I threw out the baby with the bathwater and rejected baptistic views as well. No doubt many former baptists have done the same.
Pilgrim
Puritanboard Commissioner
It was Stanley Hauerwas, who rejects any kind of patriotic influence as "idolatrous" but he is a pacifist. I think that Dever and Moore were more balanced in noting that some kind of acknowledgement can be made but that, as with the scene Pergy described above, things can easily descend into idolatry if the proper perspective is not maintained. My guess is that there would be much in the worship of the congregation that Pergy described that would be objectionable on a week to week basis as well.
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