The Christian Case Against the Confederate Flag

No Confederate flags were displayed on the capitol grounds for nearly a century, but in 1961, the battle flag reappeared to commemorate the centennial of the Civil War, while also serving as a symbol of state government’s opposition to the civil rights movement. A year later, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at the A.M.E. Church in Charleston. Much has changed since then, but old hatreds linger — even among those, like the A.M.E. shooter, born in the 1990s.

Today, those who believe that the Confederate flag stands for Southern honor and nobility, not racism, need not cede their case. They need only acknowledge that that the African-American community’s discomfort with that flag is understandable and, in the wake of this tragedy, likely to grow. They need only put the pain of others ahead of their own pride. 

Christianity’s call to act with unselfish and humble compassion toward strangers is often a struggle against human nature. Usually human nature wins, and what’s true for ordinary mortals is doubly true for elected officials, who must answer to us. South Carolina Senator and Republican presidential candidate Lindsey Graham has admirably expressed openness to revisiting the debate over the flag. Plenty of others will resist, arguing that the flag did not cause the tragedy. They’re right about that. But for many, every day that it flies is a reminder of the hatred that did.

Elected officials shouldn’t let religion dictate their position on laws. But when a heinous crime occurs in a church that has been a citadel for African-American emancipation and equality, it shouldn’t be too much to ask of one of the most Christian states in the nation to offer a response that reflects charity and humility.

Article Appeared @http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-06-19/the-christian-case-against-the-confederate-flag

 

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