I Pledge Allegiance

"In faith all these died, not having received the promises but having seen them from afar and embraced them and confessing that they were aliens and sojourners on the earth. For those who say such things declare that they are seeking a fatherland, and if indeed they were remembering where they came from, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they strain toward a better one that is of heaven. Therefore, God isn't ashamed to be their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them." - Heb. 11:13-16

"Our citizenship exists in the heavens, from where we are eagerly awaiting a savior - Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our body of low estate, fashioned into his body of glory, according to the energy enabling him even to subject all things to himself." - Phil. 3:20-21

"I am a Christian; that is my name, my parentage, and my country; indeed, I am altogether nothing else than a Christian." - Sanctus of Vienne

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The quotes above can take you in very different directions. They could be a stimulant and they could be a tranquilizer. They could turn you into a revolutionary, and they could turn you into a gnostic. They could spur you to change the world and they could justify letting it burn. It is my belief that if we encounter them in their true context, we will discover a shocking new reality. You may find this alternative worldview offensive, impractical or even treasonous. You might think it's antithetical to your principals, and it very well may be.

I believe, however, that Jesus has uncomfortable things to say. You should feel no obligation to read any further.  I do not recommend the Sermon on the Mount for everyone. I don't want to coerce anyone into this. But if you call yourself a disciple, please join me in this discussion.

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Consider the commonly quoted phrase "our citizenship is in heaven." I often made it my refrain while growing up in the evangelical church. It conveyed my sense of detachment from worldly upheaval. When the world seemed to be moving backward, we'd remember our heavenly citizenship. 9/11 happens? Our citizenship is in heaven. Mass shootings? Our citizenship is in heaven. Obama (or Trump) gets elected? Thank goodness– our citizenship is in heaven. Philippians 3:20 functioned as a consolation for us. When our earthly world was crumbling, the spiritual was the only thing that mattered in the first place. And that sentiment, I must admit, comforted me at the time.

But I've learned that a very particular strain of theology supports this interpretation of Philippians 3. Tim LaHaye, the influential architect of the Left Behind series, called it a "rapture passage." Rapture theology suggests that the souls of faithful will be plucked from their bodies and into the spiritual dimension as the physical world deteriorates. The viewpoint is a step in the opposite direction from the puritans, abolitionists and social gospel advocates, whose postmillennial beliefs informed them that their efforts to improve society and change laws could bring heaven on earth. The early 20th century wiped away much of that optimism. Whether they were observing the two world wars, the evolution being taught in schools or the horrors of industrialism, liberal and conservative Christians alike refrained: "our citizenship is in heaven." The radio evangelist Vernon McGee famously asked "Do you polish brass on a sinking ship?"

I'm not interested what postmillennials, amillennials and premillennials think about Philippians 3. I certainly have my opinions about eschatology (you can find a rough summation in Skye Jethani's lecture below), but I'm going to deflect the debate as often as I can. Its current focus grieves me.



Why? Because heavenly citizenship as Paul describes it is not a matter of rapture versus social gospel. Philippians 3:20 does not first and foremost declare an eschatology.

It declares loyalty. It declares patriotism. It declares our allegiance.

(And this is where things get weird)

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Roman officials sentenced Polycarp of Smyrna to death by burning in AD 155. He and fellow worshipers refused to do two things: swear allegiance to the emperor and offer a sacrifice to the gods.

Polycarp's refusal stoked the populace's rage. The people could easily tolerate the worship of Jesus, but denying the pantheon of gods undermined the civil religion of the day. The gods powered the military conquests that grew the empire. The gods sponsored the beloved festivals that celebrated harvest, fertility, war and anything else you could imagine. The gods' temples kept Roman cities "both protected and armed."

To withhold support for these gods wasn't theological blasphemy. It was social blasphemy. Even more so, it was economic blasphemy.  Acts 19 tells how the spread of Christianity threatened to financially ruin idol-making silvermiths in Ephesus. One governor wrote that his crackdown on Christians was beginning to restore the businesses of livestock farmers.

"It is certainly quite clear that the temples, which had been almost deserted, have begun to be frequented, that the established religious rites, long neglected, are being resumed, and that from everywhere sacrificial animals are coming, for which until now very few purchasers could be found." - The Letter of Pliny the Younger to Trajan

You must understand that renouncing the gods was more than ideological dissent. It entailed a  lifestyle of objection.

The early christians stayed home from national festivals. They withheld their money from Big Idol (get it, like Big Pharma?). They denounced the Roman military.

It is no surprise that the people of Smyrna vowed to punish the "atheists."

Even so, the officials did not want to kill Polycarp. He was well into his 80's and a respected member of the community. What a senseless death this would be. They pleaded with him: "What harm is there in saying, Lord Cæsar, and in sacrificing, with the other ceremonies observed on such occasions, and so make sure of safety?"

They wanted him to call the emperor "Lord." Kurios. The word reserved for Jesus.

And if Jesus is Lord, Caesar is not.

The flames went up, as the multitude shrieked in unison: "This is the teacher of Asia, the father of the Christians, and the overthrower of our gods, he who has been teaching many not to sacrifice, or to worship the gods."

Truth is not the motivation for persecution. The pagan philosophers who critiqued the christian faith often didn't even believe in the gods. But that's because faith isn't so much about belief as it is authority. The christians were making a claim about who runs the world.

Did Constantine actually believe in the Trinity? We'll never know. He believed one thing though: that through the sign of the cross he would conquer the world.



The motivation isn't truth. The motivation is power. And you dare not deny Caesar his power.

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Local officials in Gaul (France) conducted a vicious persecution in 177. The pogrom was well documented. The body counted numbered 48 martyrs as well as many individuals who renounced their faith amidst torture.

Church historians recount gruesome details, but we read martyrs' fierce declarations of loyalty in between episodes of violence.

Blandina was a teenage slave who seemed too weak to withstand interrogation. She remained steadfast and uttered words that martyrs would repeat throughout the centuries: "I am a Christian, and there is nothing vile done by us."

What does it mean to be a christian? I assure you that it meant something very different than it does today.

The officials tortured a deacon named Sanctus, asking him for his name, parents and native country. He answered: "I am a Christian; that is my name, my parentage, and my country; indeed, I am altogether nothing else than a Christian."

Imagine saying such a thing in 2019. Even just saying a single part of Sanctus' three-fold declaration. Imagine saying that your country is not America. Yeah, yeah "Our citizenship is in heaven" and all that, but imagine telling your friends that you don't consider yourself an American. Do you think your admission would garner respect?

Officials often offer leniency in the many martyrdom stories handed down to us. Just like in the case of Polycarp, they generally didn't want to execute people. They might reduce their requirements in hopes of making the christian relent. Forget about cursing Christ. Forget about sacrificing to the gods.

Officials consistently asked one thing of the early christians: give a pinch of incense to the emperor. Christians weren't asked to call the emperor a god. They weren't asked to worship him. They weren't asked to renounce Jesus. They weren't asked to become polytheists. Only a pinch of incense. Just a pinch.

Imagine what you might do if you were accused. What if they told you, "You don't need to offer a pinch; all we need is for you to put your hand over your heart and pledge allegiance. Do you have a problem with pledging allegiance to a person? That's no problem. How bout you pledge your allegiance to a banner? There's nothing religious about the Roman eagle– just show some support!"

Imagine saying "no" to them. Imagine the resentment you would incur.

Americans, do we really think we're any different than the Roman empire?

Do we want to be different?

Is slapping the cross onto our military standard as Constantine did good enough for us? Would you pledge allegiance to that?

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As I've already said, I am aiming this article at christians. I write this for the people who agree that
"whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock" (Matt. 7:24).

If you're on-board with that, we must deal with difficult truths:

• Jesus is Lord.
• Our Lord surrendered his life into hands of his enemies and made his cross our primary pattern for life (Mark 8:34, 1 Cor. 2:22, John 15:13).
• The previous point is horribly inconvenient, but it wasn't my idea.
• We must always show purposeful, visible love for our enemies (Matt. 5:43, Rom. 12:16).
• Vengeance is not our right and that violence cannot and undo the effects of violence (Matt. 5:38,  Rom. 12:19).
• Those who live by the sword will die by the sword (Matt. 26:52, Rom. 13:4).
• We must first consider the most vulnerable members of our population in any decision that affects our community (James 1:27, Matt. 25:40).
• Christians pray for God's will to be done on earth as it is done in the heavens (Matt. 6:10).
• We are not to be like the nations, who associate greatness with "lording" power over others. (Luke 22:29).
• Powerful human institutions are repeatedly toppled throughout history (Luke 1:52), but the New Testament tells us that the "lamb who was slain" is the only suitable replacement (Rev. 5:11).
• The last point is horribly inconvenient, but it wasn't my idea.
• Peace is not an end result, but a process (James 3:18), which means that peacemaking may be more complicated, drawn-out and self-sacrificing than we would like. Any christian community must therefore begin with leaders renouncing coercion.
• Jesus cherishes the prophetic tradition of speaking against the power structures of the day, even if that gets you killed (Matt. 5:11).
• Christians have at times non-violently resisted the authorities (Acts 5:9), often when they are pressed to the lordship of Jesus,
• Resistance may result in our own injury (Heb. 12:4) but the only physical harm against our enemies that the New Testament prescribes is giving them too much water to drink (Rom. 12:20).
• Christians have at other times submitted to authorities and subversively focused on "doing good" (1 Pet. 2:15).
• The previous three points are confusing and concerning and horribly inconvenient, but we do well to wrestle with the tension.
• Paul utilizes his Roman citizenship in various social situations (Rom. 16:37), but this speaks more to Paul's pragmatism (Phil. 1:18), and the New Testament does not entertain the idea of "dual citizenship" (Phil. 3:8, Phil. 3:20). 
• The New Testament recognizes a multi-ethnic, trans-national church (Rev. 7:9) and calls this church its own nation (1 Pet. 2:9).
• The Bible does not command Christians to visit the DMV to revoke their citizenship. (although the anabaptists effectively revoked their citizenship by refusing to baptize their infants into the state church).
• Members of this nation do not demonstrate their membership to the outside world through any insignia, bodily marking or sacramental ritual, but by "faith working through love" (Gal. 5:6).

I pledge allegiance to Jesus. I pledge allegiance to the lamb that was slain and to his kingdom of love. I know no other kingdom than that. We live as residents, eager to make our world flourish, but we also live as aliens, devoted to an alternative lifestyle. I refuse to take the route of complicity. I refuse to join the powerful in their coercion. I refuse to bow to empire.  I refuse to take any route other than Christ's cross.

I pledge allegiance.