NC Pastor Rit Varriale endorses placing the Christian Flag above the American Flag

Rit Varriale, the Senior Pastor at Elizabeth Baptist Church in Shelby, North Carolina, dedicated a special ceremonyraising the Christian Flag above the American Flag in protest of SCOTUS's Obergefell v. Hodges decision to grant marriage equality across the 50 states and its territories. He also launched GodBeforeGovernment.org as a way to encourage more churches (largely of the fundie/evangelical strain) to do what Elizabeth Baptist Church did, by raising the Christian Flag above the flag of the United States, which in of itself is a violation of flag code.

Key rule, of which Varriale's violating:

No other flag should be placed above it. The flag of the United States is always the first flag raised and the last to be lowered.

Tamara Christine at Opposing Views on Christian and American Flag etiquette:

Christian Flag Code
The Christian flag code states that the Christian flag should be placed either at floor level, outside the railing to the right of the congregation, or on the right side of the altar, pulpit or choir as they face the congregation. When displayed with the American flag, it should be on the same level, to the right of the American flag and dips only to the cross at the altar.

U.S. Flag Code
U.S. flag code unequivocally states that the American flag is always to be placed to the right or above any other flag. The only exception is for naval ships at sea that may fly the Christian flag above the American flag on the ship during onboard church services.

Charles Johnson at Little Green Footballs:

Two Baptist pastors in North Carolina’s Cleveland County have decided it would be a great idea to raise a “Christian flag” above the American flag. Who knew there was a “Christian flag?”

Yes, these are the same people who freak out if anyone looks cross-eyed at a US flag, and are throwing huge tantrums over taking down the Confederate battle flag from the South Carolina statehouse grounds.

[...]

And of course, the main impetus behind this bizarre idea is the Supreme Court’s ruling making same sex marriage legal throughout the US; the ruling that has apparently driven most of the religious right over the cliffs of insanity.

David Edwards at The Raw Story:

A North Carolina pastor is calling on churches across the United States to install flag poles so that they can fly the Christian flag above the American flag to protest same-sex marriage.

In a video posted to YouTube last week, Pastor Rit Varriale of Elizabeth Baptist Church in Shelby explained that his church had installed a flag pole so it could hold a “special ceremony” to raise the Christian flag above the American flag.

[...]

“We should be flying the Christian flag above the American flag as a demonstration that Christians will respect and obey the federal government up to the point that the government asks something that is inconsistent with what God has called His people to do,” he opined.

Varriale pointed to LGBT rights as proof that things in the country were “going wrong.”

Queerily:

Dear Dr. Rit Varriale, pastor of Elizabeth Baptist Church, Shelby, North Carolina, USA,
I am writing to you from a beautifully sunny London having just stumbled across your incredible blog, God Before Government, and, more specifically, the video you made last week explaining why your church would be flying the Christian flag above the US flag on Independence Weekend (which, as you know, goes against years of tradition). I was bowled over by your reasoning and your heartfelt explanation of the immense struggles faced by Christians in America today as a result of the Supreme Court's ruling on "gay" marriage, and I hope you don't mind me outlining some of my thoughts here.

[...]

P.P.S. Just FYI, there are many Christians who don't believe the same as you about the recent Supreme Court decision, rather they celebrate it. Shocking that some Christians might be celebrating love and joy and commitment, but there you go, the times they are a-changin'!

K. Allan Blume at BPNews.net:

"If you stop and think about it, [flag etiquette] is inconsistent with what the Bible teaches us," Varriale said. "We are first and foremost Christians who are called to serve the living God."

[...]

The Sunday morning message was titled, "God Before Government," which also is the name of the church's newly launched website GodBeforeGovernment.org and Facebook page.

Varriale said he hopes other churches will join the public witness, including sending photos of their flag displays through the website or through Instagram via godbeforegovernment.

"If a church already has a flagpole, start flying the flags in that order. If they don't have a flagpole, go get one, and fly the flags in that order, so any person who drives by their church will see the Christian flag in the highest place and know they are driving by a church that has made the commitment to honor God before anything else."

On Fox and Friends this morning, Varriale defended his decision to fly the Christian Flag over the American Flag. On Fox and Friends' Facebook Page, most of the commenters (who are largely Evangelical Christian Conservatives) oppose seeing the Christian Flag placed above the American one.

From the 07.07.2015 edition of FNC's Fox and Friends: