Time to doubt your salvation

Halden has posted this little gem from Stanley Hauerwas – some questions which he asked a group of trainee youth pastors in Princeton:

• How many of you worship in a church with an American flag? I am sorry to tell you that your salvation is in doubt.
• How many of you worship in a church in which the fourth of July is celebrated? I am sorry to tell you that your salvation is in doubt.
• How many of you worship in a church that recognizes Thanksgiving? I am sorry to tell you that your salvation is in doubt.
• How many of you worship in a church that celebrates January 1 as the “New Year”? I am sorry to tell you that your salvation is in doubt.
• How many of you worship in a church that recognizes “Mother’s Day”? I am sorry to tell you that your salvation is in doubt.

Of course, things are a little different here in Australia – we never bother much with patriotic gestures, except perhaps at a football game. But I did once visit a church where they prayed solemnly for God's blessing on “our Queen” and for “the success of our troops” – at which point, I felt pretty sure that the odds on my salvation were getting longer...