Jan 6th
I remember sitting on my porch listening to the carpenters building a house next door with God bless the USA blaring from their radio….
Patriotic? Felt that way then….. ” I’ll gladly stand up next to you…. ”
Heard that local FBI agents had tried to warn their superiors that something odd was going on … Muslims taking flying lessons but skipping the landing lessons… ?
Lot of nuanced confusion, i guess…. Dunno
More wrapping the flag around the Cross Christian nationalism idolatry coupled with a way to make a quick buck selling Je$u$ junk to gullible American evangelicals (aka easy marks for the con).
I don’t even think any national, state, or local flags (i.e. any geopolitical entity) should be in the sanctuaries of churches, especially anywhere near the pulpit.
God and Country. That’s the culture in most of Evangelicalism here in the U.S.A. I kinda wonder if God actually thinks that Democrats, wokeism, Socialism, Marxism, etc, are as much of a threat to the Church as we think they are. Methinks that looking in the mirror may reveal our true enemy.
You forgot, guns, Mom, Apple Pie, Country Music, and Professional Wrestling.
The biggest threat to the church are the wolves (i.e. internal) not whether or not the Christian lives a representative republic, or Marxist collective. From God’s perspective it is all Babylon. Now I think everyone here is grateful to be living in this particular Babylon (the US) compared to say, North Korea. But the point remains.
Of course Israel wanted a king and we know how well that turned out. Still, the best movie bit regarding political leadership and government has got to be this:
I hear friends say stuff like “if God doesn’t judge this country, then he’s going to have to apologize to Sodom and Ghomorrah(sp?).” Or, let’s “Take Back our country”. Way too much idolizing America out there in Evangelical-land. Someone may ask me “don’t you care about where our country is headed?”…well, think about this, if God allows the US to disintegrate, persecution to ensure, etc, and if that is the best way for his Church to wise up, then so be it.
I believe ….if God doesn’t judge…. was a Billy Graham quote, and it may have been attributed to a conversation with his wife. I know it was repeated on CSN radio. I am confident Chuck Missler used it. I feel it’s been recycled over the years.
There’s probably a few founding documents that won’t be inside the cover of an otherwise NIV Bible. For starters, the First Virginia Charter of 1606. The business of America is business, our our first Charter was granted to English businesmen.
Virginia was specifically intended to forcibly take land from any non-Christian inhabitants. It also envisioned the need for military power to forcibly hold any seized lands.
…”..that they and everie of them shall and may, from time to time and at all times for ever hereafter, for theire severall defences, incounter or expulse, repell and resist, aswell by sea as by lande, by all waies and meanes whatsoever, all and everie suche parson and parsons as without espiciall licence of the said severall Colonies and plantacions shall attempte to inhabit within the saide severall precincts and limitts of the saide severall Colonies and plantacions, or anie of them, or that shall enterprise or attempt at anie time hereafter the hurte, detrimente or annoyance of the saide severall Colonies or plantacions.”…
It’s weird, even cringe worthy, but at least it isn’t a reinterpretation of The Word.
I attended an AoG service at my friend’s church a decade ago. When they did the USA flag pledge, and then to the Christian Flag, I was weirded out. I did neither.
My daughter and her husband, currently stationed at Oahu in Hawaii,are transferring to Alabama in September . My son-in-law will teach other U.S. Army soldiers at a special Army training school there for three years. They are a bit worried about the “politics” there in the south, and how it will impact their two children. They both grew up as Christians in Southern Californua. My daughter will give up her management position with the city of Honolulu’s new light rail project to accompany her enlisted husband. She’s a bit nervous about the job prospects for a educated women like herself in the South. ( She’s a Christian with a Masters degree in Library Science and Media Technology). I’m not sure this conversation is helping me worry any less about them! I will soon see what the South is really like.
I can provide some insight based upon my own experience living in the South and from what I heard from the my brother (who is career US army) and my visits to him while he posted to locations in the South.
It depends. One of the biggest factors is what base which determines where it is. Fort Rucker is in the middle of nowhere but the Redstone Arsenal (or whatever the US Army base there is called) is a bit more centrally located I think.
I have been living in Georgia since 2009. Originally from the godless liberal state of Minnesota (sarcasm). I can only speak of my limited experience as I don’t travel much around the South and rarely venture into Atlanta, as well as what I have heard from others.
My wife and I have observed that many people here are more polite…hold doors for you, say “honey”, are two prime examples. The Atlanta area is fairly cosmopolitan, so not everyone here speaks with that typical southern accent. Many transplants work in and around Atlanta. The further out you get from Atlanta proper, the more “southern” the culture becomes.
Faith wise, I don’t really care for faith expression here. Christianity seems to be deeply ingrained into the culture, and perhaps people take it for granted? Seems different in Minnesota….to me it felt like Christianity was more dynamic and alive up there. Southern Baptist and Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) churches are widespread here. Catholic and Lutheran churches exists, but are a minority. There are a few other mainline churches also, like Episcopalian and Presbyterian, but those are also few and far between. The IFB churches are small, mostly rural, and probably King James-only churches.
A peculiarity of the south is the “Hell Houses” that some churches put on around Halloween…basically a haunted house that is supposed to be a demo of what hell is like. In Minnesota I have NEVER heard of these.
What I find most troubling here is the proliferation of the “Health and Wealth/prosperity” preachers and teachings. There are more than a few questionable ministers and ministries operating in the Atlanta area, something that only seemed far off when I lived in Minneapolis. A few of these ministers have been in the news for less than honorable reasons.
Lastly, and you knew this was coming…politics. As you probably know, Georgia was hotly contested in the 2020 election, and finally was declared for Biden. I would say that Georgia is the most “left-leaning” (and that is quite a stretch to even put it that way) of all southern states. Nevertheless, conservatism is heavily ingrained in the culture here. Radio, TV, commerce, water-cooler talk, etc…mostly conservative. Not necessarily a bad thing, but seems more of a cultural thing than an expression of a vibrant faith. When it comes to voting, seems balanced here in Georgia at least. However, where I live (closer to a rural culture than an urban culture as we are 30-40 miles from Atlanta), for my and my wife’s safety and security of our property, I would not put a Biden or Obama bumper sticker on my car or yard sign on my lawn.
That’s all I have. Much (most?) of this is just my observation peppered with some things I have heard.
CM and Dan from Georgia, thanks for sharing your observations about the south. My son-in-law will be stationed at Fort Rucker. They spent time in Texas before going to Hawaii and they actually did fine in Texas. Texas isn’t the south, but I also noticed how polite people were in Texas. My daughter did say that other military families said that there was a lot of camping and other outdoor activities there for young families. If that is true, it would be nice for them. They have been in Hawaii for four years and have loved being there, of course! Anywhere else, after living in Pearl City, is bound to be an adjustment!
It’s all yours today…
In case you’re wondering what heresy and idolatry look like…
I don’t even need to watch the video…I saw the name and the God Bless..Bible. I’ve seen enough. Wonder what he thought of January 6.
Jan 6th
I remember sitting on my porch listening to the carpenters building a house next door with God bless the USA blaring from their radio….
Patriotic? Felt that way then….. ” I’ll gladly stand up next to you…. ”
Heard that local FBI agents had tried to warn their superiors that something odd was going on … Muslims taking flying lessons but skipping the landing lessons… ?
Lot of nuanced confusion, i guess…. Dunno
More wrapping the flag around the Cross Christian nationalism idolatry coupled with a way to make a quick buck selling Je$u$ junk to gullible American evangelicals (aka easy marks for the con).
I don’t even think any national, state, or local flags (i.e. any geopolitical entity) should be in the sanctuaries of churches, especially anywhere near the pulpit.
CM,
God and Country. That’s the culture in most of Evangelicalism here in the U.S.A. I kinda wonder if God actually thinks that Democrats, wokeism, Socialism, Marxism, etc, are as much of a threat to the Church as we think they are. Methinks that looking in the mirror may reveal our true enemy.
Dan,
You forgot, guns, Mom, Apple Pie, Country Music, and Professional Wrestling.
The biggest threat to the church are the wolves (i.e. internal) not whether or not the Christian lives a representative republic, or Marxist collective. From God’s perspective it is all Babylon. Now I think everyone here is grateful to be living in this particular Babylon (the US) compared to say, North Korea. But the point remains.
Of course Israel wanted a king and we know how well that turned out. Still, the best movie bit regarding political leadership and government has got to be this:
I hear friends say stuff like “if God doesn’t judge this country, then he’s going to have to apologize to Sodom and Ghomorrah(sp?).” Or, let’s “Take Back our country”. Way too much idolizing America out there in Evangelical-land. Someone may ask me “don’t you care about where our country is headed?”…well, think about this, if God allows the US to disintegrate, persecution to ensure, etc, and if that is the best way for his Church to wise up, then so be it.
CM,
That’s one of my favorite bits from Holy Grail! Thanks! I agree, the biggest threat to the church is us/the wolves…Driscoll et al.
Here in the south, there are a few “unofficial” motto’s:
Faith, Family, and Friends (ahhh, isn’t that nice and unoffensive…).
God and Country
God and Guns (and not in that order mind you).
I believe ….if God doesn’t judge…. was a Billy Graham quote, and it may have been attributed to a conversation with his wife. I know it was repeated on CSN radio. I am confident Chuck Missler used it. I feel it’s been recycled over the years.
Dan frpm GA @ 2:14 – AMEN !
There’s probably a few founding documents that won’t be inside the cover of an otherwise NIV Bible. For starters, the First Virginia Charter of 1606. The business of America is business, our our first Charter was granted to English businesmen.
Virginia was specifically intended to forcibly take land from any non-Christian inhabitants. It also envisioned the need for military power to forcibly hold any seized lands.
…”..that they and everie of them shall and may, from time to time and at all times for ever hereafter, for theire severall defences, incounter or expulse, repell and resist, aswell by sea as by lande, by all waies and meanes whatsoever, all and everie suche parson and parsons as without espiciall licence of the said severall Colonies and plantacions shall attempte to inhabit within the saide severall precincts and limitts of the saide severall Colonies and plantacions, or anie of them, or that shall enterprise or attempt at anie time hereafter the hurte, detrimente or annoyance of the saide severall Colonies or plantacions.”…
http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1600-1650/the-first-virginia-charter-1606.php
It’s weird, even cringe worthy, but at least it isn’t a reinterpretation of The Word.
I attended an AoG service at my friend’s church a decade ago. When they did the USA flag pledge, and then to the Christian Flag, I was weirded out. I did neither.
My daughter and her husband, currently stationed at Oahu in Hawaii,are transferring to Alabama in September . My son-in-law will teach other U.S. Army soldiers at a special Army training school there for three years. They are a bit worried about the “politics” there in the south, and how it will impact their two children. They both grew up as Christians in Southern Californua. My daughter will give up her management position with the city of Honolulu’s new light rail project to accompany her enlisted husband. She’s a bit nervous about the job prospects for a educated women like herself in the South. ( She’s a Christian with a Masters degree in Library Science and Media Technology). I’m not sure this conversation is helping me worry any less about them! I will soon see what the South is really like.
Bride of Christ,
I can provide some insight based upon my own experience living in the South and from what I heard from the my brother (who is career US army) and my visits to him while he posted to locations in the South.
It depends. One of the biggest factors is what base which determines where it is. Fort Rucker is in the middle of nowhere but the Redstone Arsenal (or whatever the US Army base there is called) is a bit more centrally located I think.
I will have more later.
Bride of Christ,
I have been living in Georgia since 2009. Originally from the godless liberal state of Minnesota (sarcasm). I can only speak of my limited experience as I don’t travel much around the South and rarely venture into Atlanta, as well as what I have heard from others.
My wife and I have observed that many people here are more polite…hold doors for you, say “honey”, are two prime examples. The Atlanta area is fairly cosmopolitan, so not everyone here speaks with that typical southern accent. Many transplants work in and around Atlanta. The further out you get from Atlanta proper, the more “southern” the culture becomes.
Faith wise, I don’t really care for faith expression here. Christianity seems to be deeply ingrained into the culture, and perhaps people take it for granted? Seems different in Minnesota….to me it felt like Christianity was more dynamic and alive up there. Southern Baptist and Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) churches are widespread here. Catholic and Lutheran churches exists, but are a minority. There are a few other mainline churches also, like Episcopalian and Presbyterian, but those are also few and far between. The IFB churches are small, mostly rural, and probably King James-only churches.
A peculiarity of the south is the “Hell Houses” that some churches put on around Halloween…basically a haunted house that is supposed to be a demo of what hell is like. In Minnesota I have NEVER heard of these.
What I find most troubling here is the proliferation of the “Health and Wealth/prosperity” preachers and teachings. There are more than a few questionable ministers and ministries operating in the Atlanta area, something that only seemed far off when I lived in Minneapolis. A few of these ministers have been in the news for less than honorable reasons.
Lastly, and you knew this was coming…politics. As you probably know, Georgia was hotly contested in the 2020 election, and finally was declared for Biden. I would say that Georgia is the most “left-leaning” (and that is quite a stretch to even put it that way) of all southern states. Nevertheless, conservatism is heavily ingrained in the culture here. Radio, TV, commerce, water-cooler talk, etc…mostly conservative. Not necessarily a bad thing, but seems more of a cultural thing than an expression of a vibrant faith. When it comes to voting, seems balanced here in Georgia at least. However, where I live (closer to a rural culture than an urban culture as we are 30-40 miles from Atlanta), for my and my wife’s safety and security of our property, I would not put a Biden or Obama bumper sticker on my car or yard sign on my lawn.
That’s all I have. Much (most?) of this is just my observation peppered with some things I have heard.
I’ll be interested to read what CM has to say.
CM and Dan from Georgia, thanks for sharing your observations about the south. My son-in-law will be stationed at Fort Rucker. They spent time in Texas before going to Hawaii and they actually did fine in Texas. Texas isn’t the south, but I also noticed how polite people were in Texas. My daughter did say that other military families said that there was a lot of camping and other outdoor activities there for young families. If that is true, it would be nice for them. They have been in Hawaii for four years and have loved being there, of course! Anywhere else, after living in Pearl City, is bound to be an adjustment!
Bride of Christ,
You’re welcome. May be more information than you asked for, but yes, there is some adjustments to be made!