The Pledge of Allegiance (Featuring Charles Dorn)

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Who wrote the Pledge of Allegiance for the United States? On this episode of Truce, we examine the conditions under which the Pledge was written and Francis Bellamy, the man responsible for our famous creed.

Along the way we learn about Bellamy's belief in Christian Socialism, the Social Gospel, and Charles Sheldon's book "In His Steps". Even though it is one of the most popular works of fiction in history, it's filled with controversial stuff.

Our guest this episode is Professor Charles Dorn of Bowdoin College. His books are Patriotic Education in a Global Age and For the Common Good: A New History of Higher Education in America.

Helpful Links:

• Additional voice over work done by Cale Nelson and his family. He's the host of the Modern Christian Men Podcast
• Helpful article by Charles Dorn
• Complete text of "In His Steps" by Charles Sheldon
• Britannica article about Social Gospel
• Gospel Coalition critique of "In His Steps"

Subjects covered:

• Is patriotic education okay in public schools?
• When did US flags first appear in schools?
• Who wrote the Pledge of Allegiance?
• When was the Pledge of Allegiance written?
• When did they add "under God" into the Pledge of Allegiance?
• What is Christian socialism?
• Where does the phrase WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) come from?

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