CHRISTIAN CHURCHES URGED TO FLY U.S. FLAG BELOW ANOTHER ONE

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‘THE LORD JUST LAID ON ME THAT HE IS 1ST’

Bob Unruh, WND Faith — First it was one church. Then a second joined. Now there’s an online presence and a campaign for people of faith across the nation to recognize that God comes first, ahead of nation, and that means the Stars and Stripes will be accorded second place, behind the Christian flag.

According to a report from WBTV in Charlotte, North Carolina, pastor Rit Varriale is placing the Christian flag at the top, with the American flag below it, on the flagpole at Elizabeth Baptist Church in the town of Shelby.

“Our typical flag etiquette is to have the American flag above the Christian flag. But when you stop and think about it, it should be our commitment to God first, then our commitment to country,” he told WBTV.

See video coverage of the story:

He admits he got the idea from pastor Walter Wilson, down to road, at Focus Missionary Baptist Church.

And Wilson said the idea just came to him.

“As I was changing the rope one day, the Lord just laid on me that He is first and when He told me that, I switched the flags around.”

Now Varriale has launched the God Before Government website, through which other pastors are encouraged to join the movement.

There, he writes, “If there was ever a time when people need to stand up for traditional values and beliefs, it is now. On Sunday July 5th, Elizabeth Baptist Church in Shelby, North Carolina, took its stand with a flag raising ceremony that displayed the Christian flag over the American flag. This new approach to flag etiquette symbolizes that our service and commitment to God is greater than our service and commitment to government – especially a government that coerces us to violate our commitments to God.”

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He said churches need to “start flying the flags in such
a manner that it is clear we will serve God before government.
If your church is willing to join ours, please take a picture of the
flag pole at your church, post it on Instagram, Facebook, or
Twitter using the hashtag #GodBeforeGovernment, and join the conversation about religious freedom and the
role of government in modern society.”

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On the site, he advises readers that silence is “no longer an option.”

He recalled a prayer offered to the North Carolina General Assembly, in which he said, “The sad truth about the church is that it often takes the path of ease, when instead it should take the path of resistance, responsibility and reform. … The American church, like the German church of the 1930s and 1940s, is free of persecution because it has done little that is worthy of persecution.”

Both pastors told WBTV they hope to spark a movement across the land – especially in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling that created same-sex “marriage” in all 50 states.

Varriale acknowledges that some claim the move is disrespectful. And unpatriotic.

But the former Army Ranger brushes it off.

“I really don’t need a lecture on patriotism. I’m willing to give my life for my country. When you think of military mottoes, for example, God and country, God first and then country,” he told WBTV.

Varriale he said the position of the flag is a symbol that congregations will serve God first.

One online commenter, Dave Higginson said, it’s a wake-up call for Americans “that God blessed us with our country and [Christians] should not, nor ever will, play ‘second fiddle.”

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About the Author

BOB UNRUH joined WND in 2006 after nearly three decades with the Associated Press, as well as several Upper Midwest newspapers, where he covered everything from legislative battles and sports to tornadoes and homicidal survivalists. He is also a photographer whose scenic work has been used commercially.

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PROFESSORS: US FLAG SYMBOLIZES RACISM, SHOULD NOT BE DISPLAYED ON CAMPUS

Todd’s American Dispatch

How Much Do These People Hate America? As Much As Someone Who Wants To Fundamentally Transform It?

Todd Starnes, Fox News & Commentary — A group of university professors has signed a letter showing their solidarity with students who tried to ban the American flag at the University of California, Irvine – because they said Old Glory contributes to racism.

“U.S. nationalism often contributes to racism and xenophobia, and that the paraphernalia of nationalism is in fact often used to intimidate,” read a letter obtained by the website Campus Reform.

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A group of Californian lawmakers is

working on a bill that that would prohibit

publicly funded universities from banning

the American flag.

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Hundreds across the nation have signed the letter – including some U.C. Irvine professors, Campus Reform reported.

"We admire the courage of the resolution's supporters amid this environment of political immaturity and threat, and support them unequivocally" the letter stated.

How those professors can sleep at night knowing their salaries are paid for by a bunch of xenophobic racists is beyond me.

On March 3 the U.C. Irvine student government association voted 6-4-2 to remove Old Glory from a campus lobby for the sake of cultural inclusivity.

The un-American knuckleheads blathered on about how "the American flag has been flown in instances of colonialism and imperialism."

Breitbart quoted an unnamed student who said the student government association feared the flag might hurt the feelings of illegal aliens.

“There were people who were like, ‘the flag triggers me’ – that was their exact wording, too,” the student said.

Over the weekend, the executive leadership of student government met and vetoed the legislation and by Monday the flag was once again posted in the campus lobby.

“Our campus is patriotic and proud,” student government President Reza Zomorrodian told me. “We did something right for our campus.”

A March 10th legislative meeting to discuss the controversy was canceled after the university received a “viable threat of violence.”

While the threat was not specific, university officials said they were taking the threat seriously and urged students to be diligent.

“Regardless of your opinion on the display of the American flag, we must be united in protecting the people who make this university a premier institution of higher learning,” Chancellor Howard Gillman wrote in a statement posted on the university’s website.

Meanwhile, a group of Californian lawmakers is working on a bill that that would prohibit publicly funded universities from banning the American flag.

Here’s how it should work: you ban the flag -- we ban your student loans.

I'm old school. Where I come from, you salute Old Glory, you don't toss it in a closet. You don't ban it.

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About the Author

TODD STARNES is the host of FOX News & Commentary — heard daily on the Fox News Radio network. Throughout his journalism career, Todd has covered a number of high profile stories — taking him from Wall Street to the White House. He is also a frequent contributor to FOX Nation and FoxNews.com. He has made regular appearances on FOX & Friends and Hannity. His work is heard on hundreds of radio stations around the nation. In his spare time, Todd is active in his church, plays golf, follows SEC football, and eats barbecue.

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