A Horrible Idea

Some woman somewhere in America came up with this idea, as the good people at BagNewsNotes explain:

The proposed design was created by Marcia Thompson Eldreth of Cecil County, Md., and was inspired by a sermon she heard in church. It is intended to replace the international Christian flag (which Ms. Eldreth describes as "crisp and dignified, but politely cold"). This version is supposed to be flown alongside the stars and stripes.

So the international Christian flag isn't good enough? And moreover, it's not exclusively American, so something better be done about this. The whole principle is disturbing, after Paul wipes out all distinctions in the church, we are always so eager to make churches organs of one group or another. But beyond that, it's disturbing in how it depicts Christianity in America.

The comments on BagNewsNotes are full of concern, but I don't know if many of them are from a specifically Christian point of view. If anything though, from a strictly Christian point of view, it's even worse. There is no good interpretation of the American eagle carrying the cross. Is the cross (Christianity) too weak to support itself? Or maybe it says that only Americans can carry the gospel forth? Or maybe it's more obvious than that, the American political and business establishment has seized the cross for its own ends. Either way, it's unbiblical for the cross to either need the help of a national symbol or be usurped by it. It is sufficient by itself.

The border is just as bad. It's black and full of stars. The black border is constricting and the stars seem to imply who is do the constricting - the United States of America. Thus the cross, seized by the eagle, is now bound up by the constrictions of one state. What does this mean? Only American churches may set the limits of Christianity? It's disturbing to say the least. Are Christians in other parts of the world somehow less Christian? Can only Americans make correct interpretations of doctrine?

I could go on about how the Bible verse, in this context, is not a great comfort, but the flag is already so sickening to me, that I feel that to be redundant. Christians in America, do you feel this flag represents you? I sincerely hope that it doesn't.

Edit: Someone pointed this out in the original post, but why is such a Germanic font used? More really terrible connotations...