Ep 28: American Idol (Annotated CFL Talk #3)

As part of our summer lineup, we’re revisiting several of the most popular and informative talks given at Christians for Liberty conferences in previous years. Though instead of just reposting those talks, we’ve filled them with some extensive supplemental commentary, so even listeners who have heard the original talks with get all new material.

In our final Annotated Talk for the summer, we work through Jason Rink’s analysis of the ways in which nationalism, hyper-patriotism, and state devotion are forms of idolatry. Pervasive in much of contemporary American Christianity — and elsewhere throughout Church history at various times — worship of the state clashes with God’s command that we worship Him alone. Yet in our songs, symbols and even reverence for historical figures and documents, a healthy appreciation for ones’ country can quickly become an idol. We probably won’t be closing out this episode with any karaoke to Lee Greenwood music.

• A Neighbor’s Choice