First, let me say that I think the flag pin "flap" is a non-issue and is completely absurd. Having said that, I think the Republicans will make it an issue in the campaign. I don't think it will have a huge impact, but it will come up from time to time and cause the Obama campaign a minor headache.
Second, as I have stated in previous diaries I am not a religious person. I do, however, have tremendous respect for Bilblical literature and often find valuable insight contained within the pages of my NRSV translation (and my NA27, for all you Bible nerds ;-) ).
Actual diary below the fold.
After publically stating that he opts not to wear a flag pin, Obama has come under criticism for waffling on the "issue" (I use this term very loosely) in recent appearances where he was seen sporting the very item that he once eschewed. Time Magazine even has a recent article on this "flip-flop." I contend that this is not a flip-flop at all. Rather, he is following the example set by the apostle Paul who dealt with a very similar issue with the Christian community in Corinth.
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that all of us possess knowledge... Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that no idol in the world really exists, and that there is no God but one... It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. Food will not bring us close to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling-block to the weak... Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.
The controversy in Corinth was over whether eating meat sacrificed to idols is a sin. Some believed that the practice amounted to a fundamental betrayal of the community's devotion to the one true God, since idol meat was sacrificed to honor pagan deities. But others in the community argued that since no other gods actually exist, then eating idol meat was not a real problem. So long as you understand that the idol to which the meat is sacrificed is merely stone, wood, or metal, then you have not violated Christianity's basic monotheistic principles by partaking of the feast.
Paul agreed in principle with the latter point of view. By itself, there is nothing wrong with eating idol meat since the gods behind them don't actually exist. But he also acknowledged that others in the community with a "weak conscience" cannot reach this level of sophistication because they have associated idol meat with their former religious practices for so long. Therefore, he entreats "the strong" to capitulate for the sake of keeping harmony within the community. Even if eating idol meat is not counter to Christian principles, the discord that the issue had created in the community is not worth their freedom to eat idol meat.
Obama has done much the same thing. Initially, he correctly recognized that wearing a flag pin on his lapel has absolutely nothing to do with patriotism. A person's actions demonstrate his or her true patriotism (cf. James 2:20 "Faith without works is dead"). But a large number of people in this post 9/11 era have somehow convinced themselves that waving a flag, slapping magnetic ribbons all over the car, and wearing flag lapel pins somehow are the only real and true expressions of patriotism. The controversy is not worth standing on principle. If those of us with a weak conscience cannot bear the thought of an elected official not wearing a flag pin on his lapel, then Obama wisely recognized that wearing a pin is easy enough, and is not really a big deal. It is certanly not worth distracting us from enacting the real acts of patriotism that he will bring starting January 2009.