Thursday, August 26, 2010

Cordoba and Lutherans in America

So, just a very brief thought. As the controversy rages over the mosque/community center at/3 blocks from being built/refurbishing a Burlington Coat Factory I have to wonder where in the building they will be putting the American flag.
No, seriously. Think about it. German Americans put the American flag in the sanctuary of their Lutheran churches to show how loyal they were during the world wars.
For that matter the Muhlenberg statue that resides in front of my Seminary was moved there from downtown Philly because people feared “patriots” would deface and destroy it. And Muhlenberg was the father of Peter Muhlenberg who, according to Lutheran lore ended a sermon as British troops marched toward Woodstock, Virginia, whipped off his alb to reveal his militia officer’s uniform, and proceeded to win the battle of Yorktown and liberate America from the British.
So, all that to bring up the fact that even today pastors wring their hands for days on end contemplating moving the American flag out of the worship area (this has especially become an issue as the idea of “centeral things” takes hold—basically you don’t want every little doodad sitting around the altar, just some water, some wine, and some bread). And so I wonder if, in 2100 Imams throughout America will still be trying to cajole their members to use non-Red, White, and Blue prayer mats and trying to move the flag from the base of the Mihrab to the fellowship hall.

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