Episode Details

Tyler Boyd used to say the Pledge of Allegiance without thinking much about it. Then one word started bothering him: “indivisible.”

At first, he simply stopped saying that word. Eventually, a bigger question followed: If Christians already confess Jesus as King, what exactly are they promising when they pledge allegiance to a nation?

Craig sits down with Tyler, co-creator and writer at The Christian Exile, to discuss his article, “The Case Against Christians Saying the Pledge of Allegiance.”

Together they wrestle with the meaning of faith, loyalty, obedience, and allegiance—from the Greek word pistis and “Jesus is Lord” to Romans 13, competing loyalties, patriotic rituals, and the witness of early Christians like Polycarp and Speratus.

Can Christians respect earthly governments without pledging allegiance to them? And when we say No King but Christ, what does that actually demand of our loyalty?

Listen and consider the words for yourself.

Inside this conversation:

• Should Christians say the Pledge of Allegiance?
• Why Tyler stopped saying “indivisible”
• Is a pledge an oath?
• Respect vs. allegiance to government
• Pistis: faith, faithfulness, loyalty, and allegiance
• What “Jesus is Lord” means in Tyler’s argument
• Can Christians have dual allegiance?
• Ordered loyalties vs. mutually exclusive loyalties
• Romans 13, Acts 17, and Revelation
• Polycarp, Speratus, and early Christian witness
• Social pressure around patriotic rituals
• Flags, patriotism, and worship in church
• Staying in Christian community across disagreement

 📖 For Full Show Notes: https://thebadroman.com/show-notes/episode-170

🤝 Connect with Tyler Boyd🤝

• Tyler’s Article: The Case Against Christians Saying the Pledge of Allegiance 
• The Christian Exile Website
• Tyler’s Article: How the Early Church Approached Politics

Other Resources Mentioned: 

• Salvation by Allegiance Alone, Matthew W. Bates
• On Civil Government, David Lipscomb
• The Martyrdom of Polycarp
• Acts of the Scillitan Martyrs

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