Why I Do Not Fly The Christian Flag

/ A. M. Watson

I’ve touched the sacred calf of christendom. I can hear all of you gasp as you read the title of this post.

Am I not a Christian? Why won’t I fly the Christian Flag then?

The Christian Flag is considered by many today to be on the same level of the Bible itself. Heaven forbid someone would choose not to fly it. I’ve got news for you—it ain’t even close to being on the same level of God’s Holy Word.

I am not opposed to flags. I think it is a magnificent way to display your beliefs to those around you. When countries go to war what do they do? They fly their flag of course, to boldly proclaim what side they are on.

We are in a spiritual war right now. I believe that it is a good and needful thing to declare boldly what side you are on. But as believers, we need to be acutely aware of what we are proclaiming.

What Is the Christian Flag Associated With?

The beginning of the Christian Flag was in the Methodist church. Its designer was a man by the name of Charles Overton. His desire was to create a flag with the sole purpose of being nondenominational. It was to be the flag of all religions and creeds. He was of the mindset that all “christians” needed to unite for the further good of Christ’s kingdom.

The flag was adopted by the United States Federal Council of Churches in 1942. It has come to be used by the Anglicans, Lutherans, Mennonites, Methodists, Moravians, Presbyterians, and the Reformed. It has also come to be adopted by the National Council of Churches. Sadly, many Baptists use it today.

Here is a quote from an article I found on the subject of the Christian Flag.

“The flag of God’s church isn’t just a cloth on a pole, but a wakeup call for us to look away from the things that make us different, and focus on that which we share;”

The Christian Flag: Symbol of Christianity
bestdailyprayer.org

Hold up there a minute. Did they just say it was a “wake up call to look away from things that make us different”? I don’t think so. When we follow God’s pure Word, we are going to be set apart and different. All religions do not lead to the same end. All Doctrine is important, because it is all a vital part of God’s Word. Who are we to decide what is and isn’t important doctrine? Didn’t God give it to us for a reason?

Jesus himself said that he didn’t come to bring peace, but a sword. Jesus Christ and the Bible will bring division. It’s the age-old battle between the flesh and the Spirit. There is no getting around it.

Interestingly enough, the pledge that goes along with the flag was written by an evolutionist!

Interestingly enough, the pledge that goes along with the flag was written by an evolutionist! Dr. Lynn Harold Hough believed that the theory of evolution actually amplified the belief in God. He was outspoken in his support for the ideas of Darwinism. Yet he was fully behind the Christian Flag, even going so far as to write the pledge for it.

That should instantly set off alarm bells in every Christian’s mind. An evolutionist supported and promoted the Christian Flag?

Why I Don’t Fly It

All of the things mentioned above are reasons why I do not fly the Christian Flag.

1. For starters, I am not a Methodist. Nor am I a Protestant. I do not believe that all religions lead to Heaven. Nor do I believe that I am to unite with all religions.

The Bible explicitly admonishes believers to be separate from the world. We are not to be unequally yoked. By aligning ourselves with false religions, are we not doing that very thing?

“And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you…”

2 Corinthians 6:16-17

As true believers—called out, pure, and separate—we have no fellowship with false religions.

I do not agree or align with what the Catholics and Protestants preach and believe. They trust in their works to get them to Heaven. I trust in the redeeming work of Jesus Christ, and how He saved me the moment I repented and called out to Him in faith.

They have dead religion that doesn’t change anyone. I have pure, undefiled religion that makes me a new creature in Jesus Christ.

2. I don’t know about you, but I want nothing to do with the National Council of Churches. It is fully liberal and not in line with God’s Word. This focus of uniting all religions is falling straight in line with the one-world government and religion led by the Anti-Christ talked about in Revelation. Doesn’t it speak volumes that it was adopted officially by the National Council of Churches?

3. I likewise don’t want anything to do with a flag supported and condoned by evolutionists. The Universe was created by God in six literal days, according to the Bible. Evolution is a lie straight from Satan himself. If an evolutionist backs the Christian Flag, that should certainly tell me something. Like, maybe I shouldn’t have any part in it.

What Do I Fly Instead?

As I said at the beginning of the post, I am not against flags. I proudly fly a wide array of standards that represent my beliefs. It is a wonderful way of proclaiming your beliefs. The American Flag, Gadsden Flag, and Confederate flag all fall into that category for me, but the Christian Flag certainly does not.

If I am going to fly a flag aligning myself with Christ and the Bible, there is one that I use to do that—the Baptist flag. It was designed with the purpose to be an alternative for believers who wanted to boldly proclaim their stance on God’s Word, but would not use the Christian Flag for the above reasons.

Each of the components that make the flag stand for something important.

The red coloring on the flag is symbolic of the blood of Jesus Christ that washes away all our sin. The white represents God’s holiness and the robe of righteousness he gives his saints to wear.

The words emblazoned on the flag represent the Bible—our guidebook for living; the blood of Jesus—our covering for sins; and the Blessed Hope of His return—our promise for the future.

It’s time to stop aligning ourselves with false religions that go against the Word of God and start separating from the world. We need to start looking into the background and history of things that we align with. What are we portraying to the world around us? What are you saying when you fly the Christian flag?

Tradition means nothing if it doesn’t line up with the principles from God’s Word. That includes the Christian Flag.

What are your thoughts on the subject? Let me know in the comments!

A. M. Watson

Hebrews 13:8

Sources Cited:

The Holy Bible

Lynn Harold Hough Papers

The Baptist Flag

The Christian Flag: History, Meaning, and Pledge of Allegiance

A history of the United Methodist Church’s opposition to creationism

The History of the Christian Flag

The Christian Flag: Symbol of Christianity

10 thoughts on “Why I Do Not Fly The Christian Flag”

  1. AMEN!!! The Bible is (or should be) the sole authority. If it says to separate that doesn’t mean going out and snuggling up with the world just to make people around you comfortable. It means to SEPERATE…. It’s pretty clear if you ask me. Thank you for doing this post!

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  3. Hi A.M.! I’m curious about your statement that Protestants believe their works will get them to heaven. One of the three things that define Protestantism is the belief that salvation is by grace through faith alone. And are Baptists not considered Protestant?

    I’m not trying to discredit your article–I appreciated many of the thoughts you expressed. I just found that one aspect confusing. I’ve studied the Reformation and Protestantism for a book project, so this really caught my attention.

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    • Hello, TRQT! Thank you so much for reaching out to me, and sharing your thoughts.

      While Protestants will claim that they believe salvation is through grace and faith alone, their beliefs teach a very different concept. Most Protestants believe that Baptism is necessary for salvation. Here are a few Protestant writings that spell out their belief in a works based salvation.

      “Baptism effects forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and grants eternal salvation to all who believe…” ~Luther’s Small Catechism, 1529

      “…they that receive baptism rightly are grafted into the church; the promises of the forgiveness of sin, and our adoption to be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost, are visibly signed and sealed…” ~The Articles of Religion (Anglican)

      Protestants believe in infant baptism. If they truly believed that salvation is through grace and faith alone, why would an infant (who is not old enough to exercise faith in Jesus Christ yet) need to be baptized? The fact that they baptize infants proves that they believe that you must do something outside of simply believing in Christ in order to be saved.

      The Bible says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” ~Ephesians 2:8-9
      Baptism does not save you or forgive your sins.

      Many Protestants also believe that a person can lose their salvation. If they believe that you do nothing to earn your salvation, how can they simultaneously believe that you can do something to lose your salvation?
      According to the Bible, salvation cannot be earned, nor can it be lost.

      Baptists are not Protestant. The definition of Protestants is “any of those Christian bodies that separated from the Church of Rome during the Reformation.”
      History itself proclaims boldly that Baptists never have been and never will be Protestants. Protestants came directly from the Reformation, out of the Catholic Church, whereas Baptists existed from the time of Christ, long before the Reformation had its shining moment.
      The Protestants themselves never claimed us, and we have never aligned with them. “We condemn the [Ana]Baptists, who deny that young infants, born of faithful parents, are to be baptized…We therefore are not [Ana]Baptists, neither do we agree with them in any point that is theirs.” ~The Second Helvetic Confession, 1566

      The Catholics also knew the difference between Protestants and Baptists.
      “Were it not that the Baptists have been grievously tormented and cut off with the knife during the past 1,200 years, they would swarm in greater number than all the Reformers.” ~Catholic Cardinal Hosius
      Cardinal Hosius stated this in the middle of the Reformation. This proves that Baptists existed long before Protestants (aka Reformers) and were different than the Protestants.

      Another definite proof that Baptists are not Protestant is the extreme and severe persecution Baptists endured at the hands of the Protestants. They persecuted us just as brutally as the Catholics did. Protestants were infamous for their horrible actions of drowning, burning, torturing, and slaughtering Baptists.

      Here is a post I did a little while ago that goes a little more in depth than I’m able to here in the comment section. 🙃 https://seekingthetimelessanchor.com/2023/02/03/are-baptists-protestant/

      I hope this helps you! If you have any further questions, I would love to do my best at answering them for you.

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  5. I’m just now catching up reading blogs, haha. But I totally agree with this. The church we used to attend, the pastor said when he first became pastor, that flag was the first thing to go. The Baptist church we’ve started to attend has one, and it annoys me.

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  6. I believe that this quote is directed toward Christians:

    “The flag of God’s church isn’t just a cloth on a pole, but a wakeup call for us to look away from the things that make us different, and focus on that which we share;”

    It is not a call for the church to lose what makes it distinct from the rest of the world, but a reminder for the church to not needlessly divide over our differences, and to be unified on the essentials that we share (Think the ecumenical creeds).

    I agree with this sentiment, however I also choose not to fly the Christian flag for different reasons.

    To your second point about the evolutionist. His being an evolutionist does not negate the possibility of God using him. We certainly shouldn’t throw out everything David wrote because he was an adulterer. I also find it fascinating that one would reject the Christian flag for this reason, yet fly the confederate flag.

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    • Hello, Eric! Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.

      Yes, the quote in question is targeted at “christians”. However there are many who claim to believe in Christ, but are not true christians. In fact the Bible tells us that the devils also believe and tremble. Jesus said that many will say “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Our only grounds for unity is through the unchanging Truth of God’s Word. Unfortunately many “Christians” and denominations are not grounded in the Bible. Many of the groups that would be included in this urge to unify together and stop thinking about what makes us different are false religions that do not truly follow Christ. I think the Bible speaks for itself on this topic when it says “can two walk together except they be agreed?”. Every doctrine is essential and needful. Which is why I cannot agree with the idea of all religions uniting under a few “essentials”.

      Evolution denies the very existence of God, and it blatantly goes against the basic truth of the Bible. This is another example of trying to unify all religions and creeds while ignoring doctrinal error and only focusing on what we can agree on. “Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?”
      Your example of David is like comparing apples to oranges. David was divinely inspired by God to pen the portions of scripture that he did. David didn’t write them — God did, and He used David as the penman. The Bible is God’s Word, established in Heaven for all eternity — past and future. God no longer divinely inspires men like he did David and the other penman of Scripture. That divine inspiration ended when the final scriptures were penned. The pledge in question was not divinely inspired.

      Respectfully, may I ask if you’ve ever studied the Confederate flag in depth? Have you studied it beyond what others have told you about it? Have you looked into the actual issues at hand during the time period?

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