Mennonite Weekly Review

Comments

• While I can appreciate a stand against militarism, I would disagree with the statement that the Star-Spangled Banner glorifies militarism. Perhaps nationalism, but I would disagree with militarism. The United States were attacked during the War of 1812. You seem to suggest that somehow we were guilty even then of starting another war.

  Additionally, while it is unfortunately never heard, if you look up the rest of the poem/song that is the Star-Spangled Banner, you'll find in the fourth stanza the phrase:

  Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
  Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.

  Unfortunately, this is followed by:

  Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
  

  before returning to:

  And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."

  I am not sure I can agree with the "just war" idea here, but the author was professing as best he could in his tradition a belief in God and a hope for an end to war. It doesn't seem to me to laud "U.S. warmaking."

  - David Engel (feb 1 at 10:37 p.m.)

• I'm pretty sure I remember the national anthem being sung from time to time at Bethel before sporting events.
  

  While the lyrics of our national anthem are somewhat problematic, why do we need to use an international anthem as substitute? Wouldn't this simply cause more rancor than doing nothing at all?
  

  What about playing an alternative anthem, such as America the Beautiful? Perhaps Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land" would fit the bill, too. Either of these songs would at once express love for the country, yet focus on some of its better qualities that have attracted Mennonites and others over the years.

  - Jim (feb 2 at 12:24 p.m.)

• Thanks Celeste! I always look forward to reading your editorials. This one is a gem! Keep speaking ... I appreciate your voice in our church!

  - Chris Landes (feb 2 at 9:27 p.m.)

• Recently I attended an indoor sporting event at an anabaptist school complete with cheerleaders and male lifters. There was no flag nor was the national anthem played because of school policy. However, the hem of cheerleader's short skirts came to their finger tips and higher. The lifters had their hands on the girl's legs for stability and were looking up to 'ensure all was ok'. Now, these were anabaptist girls and lifters, at an anabaptist school. Why is there such opposition by some to the playing of the national anthem and yet the sexist attire of the cheerleaders is acceptable without question? What do you think the male lifters are looking at while holding the girls upright in their short skirts high above their heads? They aren't looking at the crowd or the wall. Not only that, what all is on display to those in the gym bleachers while the girls are kicking their legs up and turning somersaults during the cheerleading routines? How does all this fly undetected under the anabaptist radar of those who protest the playing of the national anthem? If cheerleaders are needed at a 'Christian school', why must they be so immodestly attired? Perhaps it is to help bump male attendance.

  - Dale Welty (feb 2 at 11:24 p.m.)

• Thank-you Celeste for reading and interpreting this situation. There seems to be a new breed of institutional Mennonite leaders among us today. They have forgotten the message of what we Anabaptists stand for.

  Goshen college with it heritage of John Howard Yoder, H.S. Bender and Guy Hershberger are now led by a crowd pleasing accomodator in the person of President Brennamen.

  One can not fault this president for wanting to be successful He wants more students from Middle America. Furthermore he needs to keep the athletic departman happy since they are the ones to hear the rants of patriotic American visitors.

  485 years ago our ancestors gave thier lives for the separation of church and state and Christian pacifism. How does playing a war song before college events carry on these core value beliefs?

  - Joseph Yoder (feb 4 at 12:43 p.m.)

• Thanks for the wise editorial, Celeste. I'm sorry to hear an excellent Mennonite school I have loved (and sent three children to) will now adopt our nation's premier ritual of civil religion. It's hard to miss that standing for this anthem, sometimes with hand over heart, is an act of reverence. The ritual skillfully enlists genuine reverence for God to support reverence for the state.

  The prayer that follows conjoins two vastly unequal and sometimes conflicting forms of devotion. To call this "hospitality" is an odd rationale for what at least bears a close resemblance to idolotry.
  

  - Ruth Stoltzfus Jost (feb 5 at 10:54 a.m.)

• I just don't get it. Is the issue REALLY only the content of the anthem? Or should we rather reflect about the fact that a national anthem is played, to begin with? It seems to me that peacemaking is subordinate to who we are as a church. So if the content of the anthem stands in (obvious) contrast to our call as peacemakers, alright, let's talk about it. But first of all we need to be clear about how national loyalties may contradicted our being as body of Christ.

  - Philipp (feb 6 at 2:55 p.m.)

• I think that the Goshen constituency ought to find a way to critique this policy without implying that Bethel College and Bluffton University are schools that glorify US militarism and aren't committed to peacemaking.

  I am surprised that this article, written by a Goshen alum, acknowledges that Bethel and Bluffton (both schools of MCUSA, just like Goshen) and FPU and Tabor (sister schools of MCUSA) typically play the anthem, then proceeds to equate playing of the anthem with unfaithfulness to God and compromise of one's peace witness. The pursuant comments seem to imply the same, as has been the case in a variety of comment threads on different sites.

  David Engel- I am grateful for your comment about the anthem lyrics and agree with your assessment. I hope that someone who has loosely noted that the anthem clearly glorifies militarism will respond more comprehensively.

  - Joseph P (feb 8 at 12:04 a.m.)

• Does watching the Super Bowl or wearing an Indianapolis hat/jacket mean I love vilence? Does sporting an American flag mean I support the violence of US wars? Does chosing not to show support for America mean i tacitly support the violent, demeaning, murderous, gender repressive religeous non tolerant Taliban?

  - Rosey (feb 8 at 12:21 a.m.)

• The disciples argued to gain the favorable position seated next to Christ. Should Christ have dissented their ignorance and not included them in the invite to the Passover Supper? Or perhaps Christ should not have invited violent Peter to the Supper? Later that night the violent brother in an attempt to cut off a head settled for an ear.

  Dissent is often the first step to change, real peace and freedom. As a Mennonite all my life I've heard and seen the culture of dissent held up almost as an end in itself. This was pretty intersting as in many ways it closely paralleled my adolescent independence seeking natural rebellion against established authority.

  - Rosey (feb 8 at 12:58 a.m.)

• I found hope in Brenneman's Jan 15 Chapel sermon...Getting from Yes to Amen, where he contrasted the popular culture of dissent with his and previous Goshen President Burkholder's view of positive engagement. I viewed Brenneman's message as 21st century truth and holding the values of my Mennonite heritage. Spreading peace through proactive inclusion while holding our Christ centered convictions vs. standing for what we are against. Open fellowship and dialogue vs. exclusionary dissension.

  Born into a Christian family, now Christian by choice. Born into a Mennonite family, now hold to the Mennonite tenants by choice. Born an American, now American by choice. I carry my family's German sir name and tradition and for years have been part of my wifes Italian tradition..all without giving up the values of the other.

  As a young person I watched blacks having to enter the back door of the bus that stopped in front of my house... I dissented. Contrasting today more than ever a true American is Anglo, Black, Asian, English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian, or Greek, or amybe Canadian, Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Iranian, Australian, Arab, or Pakistani, Afgan, or Native American. An American is Christian, or may be Jewish, or Buddhist, or Muslim. Thre are more Muslims in America than in Afganistan. In America we are all free to worship as we choose, or free to believe in no religion. For that we will answer only to God, not to the government or to armed thugs claiming to speak for God and/or the government. Today I am proud to be American.

  I support the Goshen Committe's decision to honor this Country through the playing of the national anthem...and will continue to support the college financially and hope you do to. I am proud to live ina land where I can dissent and can engage my fellow Americans including you.

  In Martin Lehman's new book, Roots and Branches, he tells of a group of Mennonite and Amish boys touring Florida in 1903 who dissented baseball and refused to play baseball in Ft. Myers becasue they didn't believe in competition. Today we are in the 21st century, we can make more of a difference through dialog than dissent. If we look around we see the Mennonite Church in America declining in number at a rate greater than our baby boomers are dying off, which will be 100%... while we may find dissension stoking our natural adolescent bent..if we don't stop simply dissenting and start engaging we will fade into irrelevance within half a generation.

  RD

  - Rosey (feb 8 at 12:59 a.m.)

• This was a very good commentary. Thank you Celeste! I very much agree with Phillip. This is about formation and allegiance as much as anything.

  I also read two other good critiques in recent days:

  Tim Nazfiger wrote one of the first: http://www.themennonite.org/bloggers/timjn/posts/Praise_the_Power_that_hath_made_and_preserved_us_a_nation

  Andy Alexis-Baker, who apparently taught at the college for a little while, recently posted a good critique at: http://www.jesusradicals.com/goshen-college-hurts-the-church/

  I don't believe it is fair for Brenneman to continue to say he is "grateful" for the "dialogue" his decision has provoked. It was never a dialogue to begin with, since a fairly secret committee made the decision.

  - Jason S. (feb 8 at 11:05 p.m.)

• Jason: I would like to correct/clarify your final point, The task force that made the anthem recommendation was not a secret and the college conducted a fairly public process that included meetings for students, faculty and staff and a campus town hall gathering that was covered by two local newspaper reporters and also was reported on by The Record, GC's student newspaper. People also had the opportunity to submit comments for several weeks. GC's news release includes a link to a timeline of our process: http://www.goshen.edu/news/pressarchive/01-22-10-national-anthem395.html

  - Richard Aguirre, Goshen College (feb 9 at 8:57 a.m.)

• Responding to Jim's post, yes, I too remember that at Bethel the anthem was at times sung, though most of the time it was an intrumental recording played from a boom-box.

  As a person who in college was extremely eager to save the world from violence and conflict, who participated in a campaign (as a freshman) to have the flag removed from Bethel's campus (unsuccessfully), and who helped organize protests in Newton to Bush's wars, here are two positive memories I have of the anthem being sung at Bethel College.

  1. I remember being at a football game, all riled up for the sporting festivities. It was announced that the national anthem would be sung (I can't remember if we were invited to rise or not). This is the moment in a sporting event when one is accustomed to hearing a powerful solist belt out the anthem with great showy bravado. Instead, four middle-age Mennonites, unseen in the announcer's booth, gathered around the microphone and with no fanfare sang our country's anthem in polite, reverent, four-part harmony.

  The singing was neither cowardly nor violent. It neither glorified nationalism, nor condemned it. For me (at the time an staunch anti-American) it was an intensely holy moment, as everyone in the stadium stood captured by the musical beauty, confounded by its stark contrast to the norm.

  I recognize (having read all the comments in this thread) that many people will likely say that this represented a compromise of values, an unholy wedding of Mennonite faith with American militarism. All I can tell you is what I felt. I felt deeply, deeply humbled. I felt that every brother and sister in that stadium (from Mennonite to soldier) was my own. That in some inexplicable transcendant way, God's grace and love extended beyond all human boundaries.

  The singing acknowledged that we were a part of this human experiment called America, and yet it was a distinct expression difference, representing (in my heart) a call to humility, to reverence, a call to embrace all that harmony embodies: reconciliation with difference, the need for working with others towards a common goal. These were expressions of dissent against a culture that glorifies individualism, that treats violence as a tool for securing prosperity.

  To me, our college's Mennonite identity (with all its prophetic critiquing and naysaying) was upheld, even projected, in the moment, all while showing hospitality to our neighbors whose primary identities are as Americans.

  1. Much later in college I was a part of a men's choral group that was invited to sing the anthem before a basketball game. We were a group mostly "nonconforming idealists" who at first balked at the invitation. But after a bit of discussion we decided that we would sing the anthem but have a statement read prior to the singing dedicating our rendition to the highest ideals of peace, justice, and freedom that our country represents.

  Again, to me this was a meaningful difference, a way to embrace citizenship and yet remain steadfast in our allegiance to God, Christ, or simply to pacifism. In college we often said, "dissent is patriotic!" If this was true then why only embrace dissent and not patriotism.

  So that is in response to Jim thinking that the anthem may have been sung at Bethel from time to time. Indeed it was.

  I can see how this issue is different when applied to Goshen College. I understand that Goshen has always been considered a more direct representation of the church compared to Bethel, which at the outset was a collaboration between Mennonite church people and local, non-Mennonite stakeholders.

  For my part, I see a distinct difference between what happens in a Mennonite church and at a Mennonite school sporting event. In church we strive for a certain purity; we focus our allegiance and worship on a God who does not see people in terms of nationality. But I like and appreciate being able to sit at tables with my American brothers and sisters. To me each endeavor has value and complements the other.

  - Joseph P (feb 9 at 12:39 p.m.)

• Joe--Well stated. I was primarily saying that Bethel sung the anthem from time to time because it seemed like Tabor and Bluffton were being singled out for singing it in the article.
  

  - Jim (feb 9 at 1:52 p.m.)

• Jim, yes, that was good reasoning for bringing it up. You "outed" your own school! :)

  RD, thanks for sharing your perspective on this. This may merely reflect my bias but I felt like your post modeled how we need to be talking about this issue: by sharing about experiences that inform how we feel about the decision, rather than making blanket statements about the faithfulness of the school (Goshen, or by implication other Mennonite schools), the person in charge of the decision-making process (Brenneman), or about people who disagree with our point of view.

  - Joseph P (feb 9 at 4:14 p.m.)

• Here is a petition. Jesus Radicals is strategizing a response to Goshen College’s decision to play the national anthem at a peace church institution. At this point, we are asking folks to “sign” our letter of resistance and will be prayerfully planning ways to deliver it during the season of Easter.

  http://www.jesusradicals.com/anarchism/resistance-to-the-national-anthem-at-goshen-college-2/

  - Andy Alexis-Baker (feb 9 at 6:23 p.m.)

• I'm confused why Andy's petition is addressed solely to the Goshen College administration. Andy's own critique noted that Bethel (KS) College and Bluffton University also play the anthem. Shouldn't such a petition also target them? From this observer's view, limiting the focus of his petition (and presumably the "response" he is strategizing) to Goshen College makes him look like a disgruntled former employee using this issue to baptize his personal vendetta against his former employer. But I sincerely hope that my observation is wrong.

  From what I have seen, Goshen College's administration has reached out to those with dissenting views and invited them to discuss their concerns. I hope Andy accepts Goshen's invitation to dialog. Transforming this conflict into a positive encounter should be everyone's goal. Why relentlessly try to embarrass Goshen?

  - Matt (feb 9 at 7:51 p.m.)

• I am a Ph.D. student at Marquette University in Systematic Theology and theological ethics. I have no time to do adjunct work, even if I really wanted to. I found the students at Goshen College to be wonderful, open, receptive people. I got high marks from them, and from my colleagues in the department.

  The issue with Bluffton and Bethel is disconcerting. One thing I have learned in studying nonviolent movements is to keep the goals specific, attainable and not too broad. If you can role back one college's recent move, maybe the others can follow thereafter.

  - Andy Alexis-Baker (feb 9 at 10:32 p.m.)

• I'm really puzzled about why this is such a huge issue. If we REALLY don't want to support militarism, then we should not be paying taxes (up to 50% goes to the military), nor should our Mennonite church institutions recognize national holidays and give employees time off with pay (4th of July, etc). Yet we very quickly accept (from this same militaristic government)federal financial aid for our children, medicare/medicaid, not-for-profit status for our churches and institutions, housing allowance for pastors and on and on. In my opinion, standing in respect at the playing of the national anthem with my fellow Americans does not mean that I fully support my government. What it does say is that while I may not agree, it is NOT all about me and we are a diverse community living and working together. I hope that in 20 years our Mennonite institutions will be known for what they DID (seek justice, love kindness, walk humbly with God--Micah)and not for splitting hairs over issues.

  - Lucille (feb 10 at 10:26 a.m.)

• Lucille, I appreciate your statements.

  Joe, one note that I forgot to mention, but having not seen it in the article, I should mention it. Bethel College flies the US flag in front of the administration building, but, like Hesston, Bethel displays the flags of all other nationalities represented in the student body in the cafeteria. For the bold statements Ms. Kennel-Shank makes, the research is not her usual standard.

  Andy-A couple of questions. First, what vetting process do you have for the signers of your petition? Put another way, are the signers part of the Goshen constituency? That is, Goshen alums or will send their children to the school? This makes a big difference in the relevancy and credibility of the petition. It is highly unlikely that Mr. Brennemann would have made such a decision without input from the Goshen College constituency.
  

  Second, I suppose this is more of a criticism than a question. You are going after a symbol. The thing about a symbol is, not everyone assigns the same meaning to it.
  

  Many see more national solidarity than militarism in the American flag and the national anthem. They do not necessarily view this American solidarity as mutually exclusive with global and Christian solidarity. (Primarily because it is not. They are all bricks in the same building.)

  Some fly the flag because of their deep appreciation for the freedoms of the United States. Jew, Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Voodoo, all can be American. People can protest the policies of the United States even as they fly the flag to acknowledge their role as citizens.

  Not all people have to fly the flag. If one has personal moral objections to flying the flag, then one should not violate one's conscience, so long that this does not symbolize a lack of solidarity with or good will toward said person's neighbors. Just as I do not condemn those who do not fly the flag or sing/play the anthem for lack of loyalty to their neighbors and their country--that would neither be fair nor accurate--I would ask those who choose not to fly the flag not condemn me or make erroneous assumptions about my faithfulness.
  

  The world today is so full of exclusive statements. We all belong to "x" group, except for "y", because he believes/is/does "z." This is the same framework that the Tea Party Protesters, Palin, Limbaugh, Gallagher and so many others use all the time. Gallagher used the same sort of argument on his show to attack Goshen. I know the ideology behind your petition and Ghallagar's attacks are polar opposites, but framing of the argument is one and the same.

  Such rhetoric rapidly develops fractures within a cause. To borrow from Monty Python, we soon wind up with The Judean People's Front, The People's Front of Judea, the Judean Popular People's Front, The Popular Front of Judea, and myriad other groups with the same objective, but are too busy fighting each other to accomplish anything. Goshen, Bethel, Bluffton, EMU, Hesston, Tabor, Mennnonite college(s) that I am leaving out, have worked for more than a century toward peace and social justice in the name of Christ. Some while flying the flag and playing/singing the national anthem. Let us not throw this work, these common goals, by the wayside because of disagreement over a symbol.

  - JPR (feb 10 at 4:04 p.m.)

• To this lively discussion I offer two points of clarification:

  1. While doing research for this article, I learned that Bethel’s usual practice is to play the anthem instrumentally, while the song is rarely sung. Fresno Pacific University said it plays a recorded instrumental version. Tabor College said the crowd sings along regularly, and there is a soloist sometimes, and at Bluffton vocalists sing the anthem a cappella for occasions such as field dedications. I apologize if nuance was lost when I condensed that information into two sentences. I don’t see playing an instrumental version of the anthem as superior to singing it; my goal was to describe the usual practices of other Mennonite schools as briefly as possible.

  2. It was not my intention to make general statements about the faithfulness of any school. Rather, I aimed to hold a community of which I am a part accountable for a particular policy I see as counter to its mission. All of us fall short; that is why we need the body of Christ. I see engaging each other about our disagreements as especially important given that mainstream U.S. culture tells us we can easily withdraw from relationships with people and institutions when we find their actions or views distasteful.

  - Celeste Kennel-Shank (feb 10 at 5:30 p.m.)

• Celeste, thank you for the clarifications. I genuinely appreciate the tone of your article. I apologize for conflating it with the more zealous stance that some of the comments have taken.
  

  - JPR (feb 10 at 7:13 p.m.)

• Thank you Celeste for your article and your response.

  My feeling is that every school needs to be faithful within its own context, history and identity, and that different cultural assumptions can relativize the significance of playing the anthem. If this were acknowledged then it would be more clear that your critique is specific to Goshen.

  Rituals and symbols can be important, but they are not the substantive facets of faithful living. If the anthem controversy is about our identity as peacemakers then we ought to first decide on what positive things we need to do to actualize that identity. Once our identity is firmly and unapologetically rooted in positive actions then we can have an honest conversation about the legitimacy of playing the anthem for the sake of hospitality.

  At Bethel, for example, I never had any substantive reason to fear that I, my Mennonite peers, my professors, my school administrators, or the ideological thrust of my college were lax on our commitment to promoting peace and justice. Neither was there any confusion in the Newton community regarding the Mennonite peace witness that pervaded Bethel; in fact, I only wish that there had been greater trust and accommodation between families of Newtonian veterans and Bethel peace activists.

  As an outsider, I've seen Goshen's positive peace witness as prominent among college institutions. I do believe that playing the anthem could put Goshen at risk of falling down a "slippery slope," however, it is consistent, unapologetic positive action that will best secure its identity as a peacemaking institution. I am close to a Mennonite high school, for example, whose radical peacemaking identity has been largely watered down by the influences of mainstream, evangelical Christianity; incidentally this school still doesn't play the anthem or even have a flag pole on campus. The absence of these symbols is (in my eyes) but a faint reminder of the school's roots, not a radical statement against US militarism.

  But as I stressed at the beginning, Goshen's unique context and its constituency's unique cultural assumptions can certainly relativize the issue in a different way.

  - Joseph P (feb 11 at 7:57 p.m.)

• Richard Aguirre, who posted here, is a Goshen College PR employee. So Goshen has its PR people watching and are trying everything they can to control the story.

  Those of us who oppose this incredible decision need to get control of this story in the Mennonite media is essential. They need to reverse this decision.

  Plus a comment about Bethel. Without excusing their playing the anthem, their situation is quite different than Goshen's. Goshen has made a decision to play a war song in the midst of two national wars. They have made this decision in a context in which Goshen papers have people writing racist, nationalist letters that get published against immigrants. It is also in a national context of more and more hatred toward illegal immigrants.

  Appealing to Bethel is a cop-out and does not really take responsibility for your own actions.

  - John Phillips (feb 11 at 11:04 p.m.)

• Imagine that, hiring a PR rep who goes around and tries to make sure people get accurate information about the college! John, I cannot understand why you would belittle Richard Aguirre in this situation.

  Also, all two people that have mentioned Bethel in this conversation are Bethel grads and are not directly of the Goshen constituency. I have a feeling that Goshen is too proud to appeal to Bethel's precedent.

  - Joseph P (feb 12 at 12:04 a.m.)

• Though I would wonder if Bethel's precedent might have been in the Goshen committee's discussions. Bethel is a clear example of an unapologeticly Mennonite institution that has played the national anthem and flown the flag for a very long time (would say since time immemorial, but not sure if anything after 1887 would truly qualify), yet still maintains an uncompromised witness for peace and social justice. Who would deny this simply does not know Bethel.

  - JPR (feb 12 at 7:59 a.m.)

• Great editorial! You have combined the relevant facts with your opinion. [and as a former Goshen student, agree with your opinion.] In a world of competing interests, some in the nation need nationalism to focus their attention on ideas outside themselves. I'd say that the primary motivation for Christians should be loyalty to Jesus. And that is the rub. What is the first motivation for our action? I choose Jesus.

  - David (feb 15 at 6:46 a.m.)

• agreed..I choose Jesus first too...Lord, Savior with no competition and no rub here. Then I stand for the national anthem...not competing for first in my mind and soul. I love my mother and my mother in law.. mom is first - but I honor and love my mother in law too...really, but mom is mom. While I also appreciate the brothers and sisters with the anti-anthem opinion... I think it "simply" a little one dimensional...and thats not metaphorically.

  - Rosey (feb 22 at 11:02 p.m.)

• My Daddy said, "Wearing pants was a sin and was contrary to the Lordship of Christ." My Daddy said, "Wearing lipstick was a sin and was contrary to the Lordship of Christ." My Daddy said, "Cutting my hair was a sin and was contrary to the Lordship of Christ." My Daddy said, "Not wearing a covering was a sin and was contrary to the Lordship of Christ." My Daddy said, "Playing sports in SHORTS was a sin and was contrary to the Lordship of Christ." My Daddy said, "Having a TV or even watching one was a sin and was contrary to the Lordship of Christ." My Daddy said, "Having an American Flag was a sin and was contrary to the Lordship of Christ." My Daddy said, "Going to Goshen was good because it would protect me from all of the above sins."

  Now my daughters wear jeans and lipstick, do not wear coverings on top of their cut hair, watch their beloved Goshen play sports in shorts on TV because they realize that these traditions are in fact, NOT sin and have nothing to do with their faith in God or their pledge of Lordship to Christ. They love God, pray, worship, and have dedicated themselves to sharing God's peace with as many as they can.

  In the same way, they understand that having an American flag and standing in respect as their National Anthem is played has nothing whatsoever to do with the Lordship of Christ in their lives.

  Yes, most of us involved in this discussion have TVs, but we do not approve of everything shown on them. Yes, we wear clothing & make-up that our parents knew would send us to hell. We must not hang on to tradition that was based a lot more on fear than on the Word Of God. Other people looking at us knew we were not more spiritual because we held on to traditions of dress & fears that TV was the Devil's box. They thought we were different but not necesarily holy. What kind of statement do you think we are making by refusing to salute the flag, or refusing to sing the National Anthem? Do they see "Jesus" in us? I submit to you that they see it as rebellion against what the flag stands for to most of America. Being able to fly the flag says we are thankful to live in FREE country! Have you forgotten that our fore-fathers came to this land for that very reason? The flag represents a country where we are free to worship in whatever way we believe is right. We are even free to distain the flag that represents that freedom, and the blood that was shed to give us that freedom. Again, I submit to you that we should be grateful to be Americans, even though we cannot agree with all our Political leaders do. We are more likely to have a platform on which to share our convictions with our fellow American colleges if we do not appear to them as ignorant peace-pushers. Let us be thankful for our nation, our freedoms, and sing our National Anthem with respect.

  Our witness to the Lordship of Christ in our lives should be evident by our Christ-like behaviour, our humility, our love, and other Biblical outward expressions of Godly character.
  

  The article's title is: The national anthem and Christ’s lordship. In in Daddy's Goshen College it could also have been: Women wearing pants and Christ's Lordship. Men wearing shorts while watching the Super Bowl and Christ's Lordship.

  This is not my Daddy's Goshen, or even mine, but my children's. They get silly & sing, "Pants on the ground!" and then go to church where they are free to worship with raised hands & (God forbid!) musical instruments!!!

  I am thankful they can also stand & show respect to the American flag at sports events because they are not bound by fear- based tradition. Hold fast to Biblical principals, and keep moving. We have a world to reach for Jesus! Let's not hold on to traditions of men that will keep us distracted from our REAL focus as Christians. God bless us all with HIS PEACE and a discerning heart about what is really important.

  Just one more thought... When we stand before Christ answering for our life responses, do you actually think He will ask," Did you sing that national anthem at the games??" I think there are many other things we should be filling pages on this website about. Oh Jesus, help us to get on with the work of the GOSPEL!
  

  - Amber (feb 24 at 12:55 a.m.)

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