Growing up, I had always seen that flag flowing in the corner of the various congregations that I had attended over the years. At programs like Awana and VBS we would recite a pledge to it, and at camp we would wake up every morning and gather by the flag pole to offer up our pledges of loyalty and worship unto the symbol. As you read this, perhaps you know exactly what I am about to talk about, as it brings forth memories from your childhood. Or perhaps you have no idea what I am going to be talking about as you have never encountered this symbol of Christianity. Nonetheless, today let’s talk about one of the most dangerous little things that we find in many of our congregations: the Christian flag.

If you take a look in most American churches, I am willing to bet that on the alter or stage of worship, or maybe even tucked away in some storage closet, you will find the American flag on full display in its pride and glory, accompanied by the Christian flag. The “Christian” flag, holds its origins in the United States in 1897, and has become one of the primary symbol of Christianity and Christendom in the 20^th and 21^st century. This flag has adopted many different variations over the years as it has transcended various levels of denominations and Christian organizations, but with each variation the flag still retains its iconic red, white and blue which is similar to the American flag (a topic of another blog down the road). Instead of stars and stripes, the Christian flag is adorned with a bright red cross centered in a blue square with a white backdrop. Its intentions were to encapsulate the main tenets of Christianity; the white standing for purity and peace, the blue representing fidelity and the red for the blood of Christ. However, instead of capturing these tenets, they have rather perpetuated the true origins of the Christian flag.

This symbol, while in American may symbolize peace and love, symbolizes violence and terror for many cultures and people in the rest of the world, especially in the Middle East. During the 1^st and 4^th Crusades, 1096-1204 AD and the various “holy” wars after, Christians would carry “Christian” flags into battle. In Christian education, we paint the crusades as brave and heroic wars in which Christians reclaimed the Holy Land in order to protect Christian pilgrims. While that may have been the intention of some crusaders who fought, the reality is that those wars were simply about greed and resulted in violence and slaughters, all the while being led by symbols like the Christian flag. The Christian flag was flown over the Battle of Acre and Ayyadieh in which thousands of men, women and children were put to the sword. It was flown over Constantinople, a Christian city and the Capital of the Byzantine Empire as crusaders sacked it and slaughtered its inhabitance in order to rob the city of its riches. This flag was flown over the armies of the crusaders for centuries as they slaughtered innocent Muslims, Jews and Christians, people, in the Holy Land. And today, we Christians have enshrined this symbol and its users in our congregations and in our schools as mascots and symbols of Christ’s love.

While we have tried to forget and even edit our Christian history, in order to make our story more comfortable for ourselves, the reality of our world is that this flag has not stood as a symbol of the love and peace of Christ but has instead stood as a symbol of violence and terror. As our congregations and nation begin to grow and become more diverse, we need to take a minute and seriously think about the words we say and the symbols that we hold in our congregations. While these symbols may be nice to have for some Christians, it can be devastating and harmful for others and offensive to those who are encountering Christianity for the first time. As Christians we are called to be ambassadors of Christ, to love and serve our neighbors. We need to ask ourselves: by having this symbol in our congregations, by adorning our schools with crusader mascots, are we actually carrying out this calling or are we perpetuating a symbol of violence and terror by masquerading it as a symbol of Christendom?