VCY's Americanism - Heresy in Plain Sight

This arrived in my inbox the other day. See additional comments below.....

America 250 in Philadelphia!

October 13-16

Join us on a VCY / Stories in Stones Christian Heritage tour of historic Philadelphia. You will see the sites of the Miracle at Philadelphia in Carpenters Hall when the Declaration of Independence was developed, drafted and debated. Independence Hall where the Constitution was signed. Along the way we will see the Betsy Ross House, The Liberty Bell, Christ Church & the Old Burial Ground, the Ben Franklin Museum, the Revolutionary War Museum and the Philadelphia Society of the Bible.

Our tour will also include the Philadelphia Museum (The Rocky Steps) and one a stop at one of the the famous Philly Steak & Cheese shops. We’ll also head to Lancaster and experience the world-famous Smorgasboards (included in pricing), the Tabernacle experience, and will also include an afternoon presentation at the Sight and Sound Theater in Lancaster for a performance of Joshua!

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Notice the attribution of supernatural intervention in connection with American Independence and the drafting of the US Constitution. Such a statement (heretical as it is) all but declares these acts (the rebellion and the creation of the Constitution) were Divinely guided and inspired.

We can set aside the mythology concerning Betsy Ross. Her house is an easy walk from Independence Hall, but I'm far more concerned in terms of the reverence (almost icon-like) given to the US flag. Remember for these idolaters, this is a sacred pilgrimage akin to Compostela during the Middle Ages.

I too have been to these places (more than once) with the exception of the museums and the Bible society, and yet my take on them is far more reflective. Visiting such places my mind is flooded with thoughts regarding the radicalism and the error, the audaciousness and novelty, the genius and the myopia. I think about the assumptions behind what the Founders were doing and how mythology has created a unity that really wasn't there. I think about how many things were relegated for future debate and the absurdity of the Originalist school. I also think about the hypocrisy both then and in the days and years after the late 18th century. Only through manipulation of the narrative can one be led to believe the great experiment lives on to the present, as in reality it has gone through various stages of existential re-ordering. I think some of the Founders would nevertheless be pleased or even proud of what America has become even while I think others would be horrified and would probably take it all back if they were able to see the course it took.

But such reflections are out of bounds when you've declared it a triumphant miracle - a holy work of God which is what the false teachers associated with VCY aggressively teach.

Ben Franklin was a godless wretch, but since he was instrumental in the American founding, he must be good and even to some extent, godly. The other things (pop culture and traditions) are worthwhile and godly by virtue of the fact that they are American and represent iconic episodes or experiences. It's all confused with Christianity and the Christian experience.

I too have been to the famous steps and I have certainly eaten many a cheese-steak sandwich. I can assure you I have no interest in the smorgasbord or the campy and mostly sacrilegious dramas they plan to attend. There's a great deal more to be examined in the Lancaster area but it would seem they just want to pursue the Christo-Americana tourism that characterizes the area and other places like Branson, Missouri. And let's no forget the real reason that brings people to Lancaster - the shopping.

For my part when I'm in the area I'm interested in Reformed and Lutheran history. I visit nearby places like Ephrata and Lititz and I certainly reflect on the tourist-driven nature of Amish culture in that area and contrast it with the kind of 'real world' Amish that one encounters in other parts of Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio.

Needless to say I have no interest in VCY's offering and even if I hadn't been to these places, I would want to be part of their tour. Even this little promotional reveals a great deal about the what's going on in their hearts, wherein we find not the love of Christ but temples reared to idols and a discernment lost and handed over to Bircherite mythology.