America's kneeling problem

Not many things that happen in society surprise me anymore, but I admit that I am flummoxed over the current kneeling controversy.

Some players in the National Football League chose to kneel (or sit) during the playing of the national anthem in protest over alleged ongoing police mistreatment of black citizens. 

Now, a lot of other people are imitating the kneeling protest for their personal purposes.

I am not going to involve myself in the merits of these actions.  However, because I am a product of the Vietnam war era of the 1960's and 70's, I generally perceive peaceful public protest as an ordinary American occurrence.  In fact, only those unschooled in our nation's history would think otherwise.  

I am not highly offended by the players' actions. But many other Americans are offended beyond measure.

Standing up to oppressors is at the root of independent American thought, whether the oppression was religious, political, economic or racial.  It brought Pilgrims to North America along with many of the immigrants who followed them.  

What is at the root of the sharp denouncement of the protesters?  

At its core, I believe the controversy is neither political nor patriotic.  It is religious.

Recently I read an article in which the author maintained that a decline in religious faith does not necessarily lead one to greater immorality but it does push one toward increased tribalism and viciousness.  Current events in America and around the world tend to confirm this.  

The push-back against the NFL's kneeling protesters is understandable if we look at it from a this different perspective.

American cultural "Christianity" is a worship mixture of God and country, where the flag is both a religious and a national symbol and the national anthem is the chief and abiding hymn.  

This cultural religion is what encourages many Americans to claim Christian faith with no knowledge of who Jesus Christ is or what Christian faith entails.  It is what allows these so-called Christians to reject the Church while claiming its benefits.

For cultural Christians, the protesters' "attack" on the flag and the anthem is an attack on their nation and their religion because the two are so closely interwoven.

As often happens, discussion of the merit of the protest is sidelined in favor of other more violent arguments.  Jesus experienced this himself while on trial before the high priest.

"Jesus answered him, “If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?” (John 18:23)

We know how that turned out.

People who should have knelt before him murdered him instead.

The really big issue in the kneeling controversy is not the football player facing the star spangled banner on one knee, but his opponent who bends both knees to it.