By Al Thomas
All Bible quotes are from the King James Version.
INTRODUCTION
Among grammarians there is much debate about various aspects of the English language, so I am aware that others might disagree with my interpretation of the Pledge of Allegiance. Yet, I think anyone who fears God will feel uncomfortable about performing the Pledge of Allegiance if they give honest consideration to the following thesis.
PREFICE
I will stand because I respect the Flag of the United States of America. [(Number 2:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, Nu. 2:2 Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father's house: far off about the tabernacle of the congregation shall they pitch.) The Hebrew word translated as "standard" and "ensign" in the above verse is degel, Strong's Concordance #H1714, which means a flag or a standard.] Yes, I am loyal to my country. (Matthew 5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.) Nonetheless, will I perform the Pledge of Allegiance?
HISTORY
The original Pledge of Allegiance was composed in 1892 by Francis Bellamy and read as follows:
I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
In 1923, the National Flag Conference called for the words "my Flag" to be changed to "the Flag of the United States." The words "of America" were added a year later. Congress officially recognized the Pledge for the first time, in the following form, on June 22, 1942:
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Next, Congress passed the necessary legislation and Eisenhower signed the bill into law on Flag Day, June 14, 1954, so the phrase "under God" was incorporated into the Pledge of Allegiance on June 14, 1954, by a Joint Resolution of Congress amending § 4 of the Flag Code enacted in 1942. Thus giving us the Pledge of Allegiance in its present form:
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
For the sake of brevity, Pledge of Allegiance will be referred to as "Pledge" for the rest of this thesis.
CONTENTION
A) Pledge
The original Pledge was a sin because it was a violation of a direct commandment from the Holy Son of Glory, Jesus Christ.
Is a pledge the same as swearing an oath?
Definitions:
PLEDGE [plej] NOUN
a solemn promise or undertaking.
"the conference ended with a joint pledge to limit pollution"
synonyms: promise · undertaking · vow · word · word of honor · commitment · assurance · oath · covenant · bond · agreement · guarantee · warrant
OATH [ōTH] NOUN
a solemn promise, often invoking a divine witness, regarding one's future action or behavior.
a sworn declaration that one will tell the truth, especially in a court of law.
"they took an oath of allegiance to the king"
synonyms: vow · sworn statement · promise · pledge · avowal · affirmation · attestation · word of honor · word · bond · guarantee · guaranty · troth
SWEAR [swer] VERB
make a solemn statement or promise undertaking to do something or affirming that something is the case.
"Maria made me swear I would never tell anyone" ·
synonyms: promise · vow · promise under oath · solemnly promise · pledge oneself · take (an oath).
"he forced them to swear an oath of loyalty to him"
According to the previous definitions "swearing an oath" is the same as "pledging."
Let us see what our master said on the subject: Matthew 5:33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:M't.5:34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:M't.5:35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.M't.5:36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.M't.5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. Additionally: James 5:12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation. Notice how much James emphasizes the importance of this commandment by saying "But above all things, . . . ."
In a similar light ,and from the mouth of our Lord, the following verses are a condemnation of erroneous oath swearing: Matthew 23:16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!M't.23:17 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?M't.23:18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.M't.23:19 Ye foolsand blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?M't.23:20 Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.M't.23:21 And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.M't.23:22 And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.
When the Lord said, Matthew 5:33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: He was referring to Numbers 30:2,3,6,7 which say, If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth. If a woman also vow a vow unto the LORD, and bind herself by a bond . . . And if she had at all an husband, when she vowed, or uttered ought out of her lips, wherewith she bound her soul; And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her in the day that he heard it: then her vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she bound her soul shall stand.
An example of such a vow and its fulfillment is as follows: 1Samuel 1:9 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD.1Sa.1:10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.1Sa.1:11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.1Sa.1:17 Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.1Sa.1:20 Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD.1Sa.1:24 And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the LORD in Shiloh: and the child was young.1Sa.1:28 Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD.
Instead of swearing erroneous oaths, remember the commandment of our Master: Matthew 5:34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:M't.5:35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.M't.5:36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.M't.5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
So, I have proven that from its beginning the Pledge was a sin.
b) A Suitable Correction
If the reader will refer to the above section entitled HISTORY you will notice that the Pledge has existed in four different forms or versions. The final modification to the Pledge, which created the current version, was the addition of the prepositional phrase "under God" followed by an additional comma which in no way reduced the sinfulness of the Pledge.
A much better correction would have been to change the name from "Pledge of Allegiance" to "Affirmation of Loyalty." Additionally, the words "pledge allegiance" should have been changed to "am loayal"; am = state of being verb, loyal = adjective. Thus repairing the problem. Subsequently we would have:
I am loyal to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Let us see how the final change to the Pledge affected its meaning.
c) Context Is Everything
In a body of writing the meaning of any given word is determined by its context; that is, "its relationship to the words that precede or follow it in the document." For example: If a person read half way through the Bible and encountered the word "God", that person would easily be able to determine which god was being referred to because of the extensive context. Not so with the Pledge; the Pledge is a one sentence document.
"The Federalist Papers" (more correctly called "The Federalist") are a series of eighty five essays that seek to explain the United States Constitution and the American system of government. "The Federalist" acts as a guide to help students of constitutional law to understand the meaning of any given word in the United States Constitution. Not so with the Pledge, the Pledge has no guide to help us understand the meaning of any given word contained in it.
Also, the Pledge was written in stages by various authors over a period of years, and it was written without an overseer. Because it was written haphazardly there was an increased potential for mischief to have been written into it.
To illustrate this point, I will contrast the capricious way the Pledge was written with the purpose motivated way that Jesus Christ inspired the writing of the Bible:
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The previous verse indicates that the Word is God Jn. 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God. Jn.1:3: All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. By implication the previous verses, 2 & 3, state that the Word also made the written word of God (since He made everything). Jn. 1:14: And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. The previous verse in conjunction with the following verses prove that the Word is Jesus Christ: Matthew 17:4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. M't. 17:5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
The following verses are examples of how God manages His written word, the Bible, by commanding humans. Deuteronomy 4:2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you (this verse gives rules for when the prophets initially physically wrote the words of the Bible for God, and for when copies are made). De. 12:32 What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it. Proverbs 30:6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
For these several reasons, I propose to interpret the Pledge based solely on the words and punctuation that exist in the actual document.
d) Analyzing the Third Version of the Pledge
If the reader will refer to the above section entitled HISTORY you will notice that the third version of the pledge reads as follows:
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
ANALYSIS: The first clause of the third version of the Pledge is an independent clause which reads, "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, . . . ." " I pledge allegiance . . .", the personal pronoun "I" is the subject; "pledge" is a transitive verb which is transferring action to the direct object, "allegiance"; ". . . to the Flag . . ." is a prepositional phrase which identifies what allegiance is being sworn to; ". . . of the United States of America, . . ." are a pair of prepositional phrases that indicate which flag allegiance is being sworn to.
The second clause of the third version of the Pledge is a dependent clause which reads, ". . . and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." The second clause begins with "and" which is a coordinating conjunction that connects the first clause to the second clause; ". . . to the Republic . . ." is a prepositional phrase that gives us another proper name of the United States of America ("the Federal government" is much more commonly used than "the Republic"). The prepositional phrase ". . . for which . . ." means: "for" instead of, "which" what. "It" is the subject pronoun of the second clause whose antecedent (the word the pronoun represents) is the word "Flag"; "stands" is a verb that means to represent or symbolize. (A simpler way to have started the second clause of the third version of the Pledge might have been, ". . . and to the Republic it represents,... .") The parenthetical phrase". . . , one Nation indivisible, . . ." is set apart by commas and gives additional information; ". . . with liberty and justice . . ." is a prepositional phrase with two objects and describes some qualities of the Republic; ". . . for all." is a prepositional phrase that identifies the beneficiaries of the qualities.
Let's examine the phrase ". . . , one Nation indivisible, . . ."; "one" is an adjective indicating that Nation is a single unit; "Nation" is the people of the United States of America; "indivisible" is a characteristic of the Nation. So far as I have been able to determine, the word "nation" should only be capitalized when referring to ". . . the territory of a particular Indian people or peoples . . ." (see the definitions of "nation" below). Also, according to definition, the word "Nation" must mean people; because of the way it is used in the Pledge.
NATION
[ˈnāSH(ə)n]
NOUN
[born: see NATURE] 1 a stable, historically developed community of people with a territory, economic life, distinctive culture, and language in common 2 the people of a territory united under a single government; country 3 a) a people or tribe; specif., a group of North American Indians, sometimes one belonging to a confederation b) [N-] the territory of a particular Indian people or peoples --the nations 1 Bible the non-Jewish nations; Gentiles 2 [Old Poet.] all the peoples of the earth na'-tion-hood' n. a large body of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular country or territory.
When performing the Pledge the Flag is clearly being used to represent the Federal government.
e) Analyzing the Fourth Version of the Pledge
If the reader will refer to the above section entitled HISTORY you will notice that the fourth version of the pledge reads as follows:
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
ANALYSIS: As you can see, the fourth version of the Pledge was made by inserting ". . . under God, . . ." between "Nation" and "indivisible." (I think that separating the word "indivisible" from the word it modifies "Nation" makes the sentence even more confusing than it already was.) The prepositional phrase "under God" tells us that the Nation/people are under the God.
A ritual can be defined as: an act or series of acts regularly repeated in a set precise manner. The Pledge is performed in the following manner-- a group of people stand, face the flag, put their hands over their hearts or salute, then recite the words of the Pledge in unison. The Pledge is a ritual. The addition of the words "under God" turned the Pledge into a certain kind of ritual/ceremony according to the definition that follows: specifically, the order of words prescribed for a religious ceremony. The Pledge is a religious ceremony.
People worship many gods. I have heard it claimed that the Hindus of India worship thousands of gods. Some of the other gods people worship are Allah, Zeus, Mercury, Saturn, Molech, Baal, Venus, Semiramus. The Pledge does not specify which God is over the Nation. So as I argued in subsection C (which is in the section labeled CONTENTION) context is everything. We have to look to the text that is before the word "God" to find out which god is being referred to.
Previously in this thesis I have established the following: allegiance is being pledged to the Flag which is a symbol of the United States of America, which is another name for the Republic, which is another name for the Federal government. "Nation" can't be "God" because it is ". . . under God . . ."; therefore, the only thing left that can be the "God" of the Pledge is the Federal government.
CONCLUSION
When people perform the Pledge of Allegiance, they are using the Flag as an idol to worship the Federal government as god.