While the debate over the Confederate flag rages, a North Carolina pastor is putting God before country by flying the Christian flag above the U.S. flag outside of his church causing quite a bit of controversy on social media.
Elizabeth Baptist Church in Shelby, N.C., held a flag-raising ceremony Sunday and raised the Christian flag above Old Glory, according to Fox 46 in Charlotte
Pastor Rit Varriale told the station the placement signifies his commitment to put “God first” and to take a stand against America’s movement away from God.
The church is taking a stand against the recent Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage, along with their strong belief that prayer should not be banned in public schools.
“[We] have senior adults in our society that remember praying and doing scripture passages at the beginning of their school day. To declare something unconstitutional, something Americans did for generations, is really ridiculous,” he said.
Church members who came out to watch the flags go up agree with the pastor. Some quoted the Pledge of Allegiance to make their case that it’s “one nation under God.”
“The value of it is we put God before country. That’s the reason we put the flag over the country,” longtime member Billy Scruggs said.
Varriale says flying one flag over the other is not a sign of disrespect, but a symbol of how the church chooses to prioritize.
“I’m a former Army ranger and an officer from the 82nd Airborne Division. That’s all I need to say when it comes to being committed to our country,” he said.
Varriale said he got the idea from another local Baptist church that did the same thing and he hopes it will spark a movement for more churches to follow suit.
He appeared on “Fox and Friends” Tuesday to explain his decision, and host Elisabeth Hasselbeck didn’t seem too happy about it.
“As a Christian, I’m not sure anything should fly above the American flag,” Hasselbeck said. “And I’m not sure God needs a flag.”
The Twitterverse was split on their opinion.
As it should be one Nation under GOD==>Church Flies Christian Flag Above U.S. Flag http://t.co/RDRQCjsMsN pic.twitter.com/G2bw9cQf0K
— ✯✯US Patriot✯✯ (@Mike_USPatriot) July 7, 2015
@foxandfriends If you’re first allegiance is to god, it’s only logical that you fly a flag representing it above stars and stripes.
— Oak Park Atheist (@OakParkAtheist) July 7, 2015
@foxandfriends God,Country and family is the correct priority if you are a Christian
— jerryjones (@jerryjonessr) July 7, 2015
@foxandfriends This is not degrading to America. This is patriotism. “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord”. pic.twitter.com/TlvpOcG0Yo
— Ronald Linkins (@RonLinkins) July 7, 2015
@Mediaite That’s crazy to fly a religious flag above American flag. We aren’t a theocracy!
— Bryce Edwards (@BryceEdwards99) July 7, 2015
@foxandfriends NO FLAG SUPERSEDES THE AMERICAN FLAG…PERIOD!
— Randy Long (@randylon) July 7, 2015
@foxandfriends Time to take away their tax-exempt status for starters. No flag flys over the Stars and Stripes !!
— LionOfLoveSC (@jodagolf) July 7, 2015
@foxandfriends America was created “One nation under GOD”. The American flag represents God and America to me. No other flag is needed.
— Smokey Warren (@SeaBeeVietN) July 7, 2015
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
- Britney Spears shows off her rockin’ new bod, but had to spoil it with a liberal message about ‘Dreamers’ - December 24, 2017
- Border patrol forget they’re supposed to be heartless, deliver beautiful baby at the border - December 24, 2017
- After scoring tax cut victory, Trump sees ‘tremendous Democrat support’ for his next big initiative - December 24, 2017
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
