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When I played in worship bands, every Sunday around 4th of July was the worst. Now it’s story time (a thread).
At one point in my life, ALL of my friends worked at different churches. We were all creative types either playing in worship bands, designing graphics, making videos, and some leading youth. So I know all the inner workings. We told each other all the crazy stories.
One church sang America the Beautiful during their service, the pastor made the whole sermon about freedom, and then they did a giant red white and blue balloon drop at the end. This was a normal thing.
My friends and I cringed at the older generations inability to separate patriotism from spirituality. We didn’t think it was right to bring politics into the church, but we couldn’t do anything as we weren’t the leaders or decision makers. This was Texas, so we were outnumbered.
I attended a southern baptist church when Obama was president. The pastor would talk shit about Obama, calling him a godless man. Months later on July 4th, he’d talk about how great America is and how we need to respect the government even if we don’t agree with it.
What the pastor meant was we respect the government until they pass marriage equality. We respect the president until it’s a black man. We celebrate American freedoms until we’re told we can’t push Christianity on others.
Evangelicals co-opt patriotic buzzwords, throw them in a sermon, and act like America and Christianity are one in the same, and then celebrate themselves while silmutaneously shunning the non-believers and non-patriots. This has happened my whole life.
I once visited Fellowship Church Dallas ( @fc) not realizing it was close to July 4th and I shit you not, the worship band played Hero by Nickelback to a montage of war scenes from movies and stock footage of military men.
The church has shouted blind patriotism in my face my whole life and now Christians aren’t willing to wear a mask to save a fellow American’s life, AND are claiming THEIR rights are being taken away. While I am not surprised, I will continue to shout WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU. <end>
