Are Southern Baptists Turning Against Independence Day?

In this audio link, Albert Mohler's sidekick Russell Moore examines the propriety of Christians celebrating the Fourth of July.

While it is always good to keep government in its proper place in one's heart and mind, I wonder if he is also going to have the backbone to also proclaim that the COMMUNITY is not an independent source of authority or to stand against the spineless pandering to Hispanics that is going on in many of the nation's churches.

In some congregations, this separatism is applauded to such an extent that Hispanics are permitted to establish semi-independent subcongregations and encouraged to retain their old identities while the Americans in the primary congregation are condemned for thinking the United States is a cut above other countries or for not flinging the gates wide-open to unrestricted immigration that doesn't take into account whether or not those swarming here want to be a part of this nation, merely to suck off our resources as welfare parasites, or to engage in activities of a far more subversive nature.

In his comments, Moore criticizes "The American Patriot's Study Bible". While such an edition of God's Word might be going a step too far, where was Moore on the issue of the "Kwanzaa Study Bible" and the edition of the Bible bound in the colors of the Pan-African flag that I exposed in my column Radical Interpretation.?

In his comments, Russell makes a number of observations worthy of comment. Foremost of these is how many of the complaints against patriotic services are leveled by the young who do not want to sing tunes such as "Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory", commonly referred to as "The Battle Hymn Of The Republic".

Most of these twits would rather sing those banalities where the same line of content so miniscule that it barely rises to the level of doctrine over and over at least a dozen times.

More importantly, I must posit that opposition to this particular song is not raised in honor of the Confederate cause or even because it over glorifies the United States.

Rather, if one digs deep enough, most that despise this song no doubt do so because it mentions the coming of the Lord, a teaching most of those bashing traditional Christianity --- be they of the Emergent Church or more mainline denominations --- either downplay or abandon all together.

by Frederick Meekins