(June '07) FULLER's MOUW THINKS LYRICS OF 'AMERICA the BEAUTIFUL' R HERETICAL 4 CHRISTIANS 2 SING: [funny thing is that Mouw asks rhetorically whether flags should be flown in or at churches, but what about seminaries ? There was some dissension when I was at Fuller when suddenly they installed 2 or 3 flagpoles & the American flag (& what else, california flag? Christian flag? I forget the exact details) became a part of the daily ritual. Mouw goes so far to say that: "Patriotic songs also contain many dangerous teachings. Take, for example, the “eschatological” verse of “America the Beautiful.” Themes that in the book of Revelation are used to describe the Holy City are here applied to the United States: “alabaster cities,” “undimmed by human tears,” the “shining sea.” As if the United States will become the promised New Jerusalem! And yet Reformed Christians—even the kind who sometimes boast of their commitment to “sound theology”—often sing these words without a thought to the heresies they are mouthing This is not mere nit-picking. Given the sinfulness of the human condition, idolatry is a very real threat. Political life has certainly not..." http://www.netbloghost.com/mouw/?m=200706

(note, the vid ended prematurely with me saying "mouw is wrong about the danger of being too patriotic." I wanted to elaborate & say "except for radical situations such as Nazi germany" et. al ...any situation where patriotism leads to sin is a problem...if that's what mouw is trying to say, that's all he needs to say.....as I heard in a homily today "Do whatever you want, except sin." ] (June '07) MOUW THINKS LYRICS OF 'AMERICA the BEAUTIFUL' R HERETICAL 4 CHRISTIANS 2 SING: [funny thing is that Mouw asks rhetorically whether flags should be flown in or at churches, but what about seminaries ? There was some dissension when I was at Fuller when suddenly they installed 2 or 3 flagpoles & the American flag (& what else, california flag? Christian flag? I forget the exact details) became a part of the daily ritual. Mouw goes so far to say that: "Patriotic songs also contain many dangerous teachings. Take, for example, the “eschatological” verse of “America the Beautiful.” Themes that in the book of Revelation are used to describe the Holy City are here applied to the United States: “alabaster cities,” “undimmed by human tears,” the “shining sea.” As if the United States will become the promised New Jerusalem! And yet Reformed Christians—even the kind who sometimes boast of their commitment to “sound theology”—often sing these words without a thought to the heresies they are mouthing This is not mere nit-picking. Given the sinfulness of the human condition, idolatry is a very real threat. Political life has certainly not..."
http://www.netbloghost.com/mouw/?m=200706