4

NATIONAliSM MV Nation. Under God

IF JRSUS "'F.RIC t\1.1\''' TOntiI', would he b~ p,urio ric? G OI your a"swcr~

Actually. that i. not ~a]jy the 'lue. lion I want 10 pu,""c. \Vha! inte ....

e," me;" whether you " .. "mcd that I woo ask ing whether Jcru, would

be a p atriotic /I""r;lllll? O f course , we arc aware lha1 Jc . us was <101 an

American duri'lg hi, cUlhl~' life, so there is no reason 10 think that he wou ld be an Amcriean ifhe was alive today. In (~ct, odds HC slim that

he would be a U.S. citizen. This CDUnI,,' is horne to onl" about 3 to"

ptrcem of the worM', population, and there arc ahnO~l tWO hundred

recognized nation •. furrhermore. We km)\v that when Jesus did reside

on this planet. his place ofbirrh was not one of that era', superpowers.

I roadily admit that my tollow·"p 'lueotion about J~su" patriotism

toward the United Slale> i, n ul ent irely lair. Since m oS! who re"d thi s

book will be U.S. citilen •• il i. natural w ponder the 'lueSlion within

our own frame <>f rdercna. At the same time, it is important to ~"n'

sid .. also whether it is uncomfortable to think that Jesu. might ha"e

been horn into another nation had his incarnation occurred wday. be­

caUSe the idea that one's oWn nal ion is utliqudy fa~red by G od and an

62

integral p~rt of God's plan (an id~a known as cx""prionruism) holds the

seeds of a reliKious nationalism.

Religious nationalism;' rather di~ tjnClive among the world'-;ews

sun'eyed in this buok because, in this country. it is most frequently

found within con.ervat; ... C hrisrian circles. Our supupower ,mills and

the longe" ity of our political .yuem provide a potent seedbed for na­

tional;>! ideas. ,"Vhm this i. combined with a rather widespn:"d belief

that the United State, is (or in Some cases, was) a Christian nation .

nationa l;;;m becomes a seductive worldview for Christians. To be lUre,

not "II form. of nmionalism arc rdigious in orientation , but for ",asons

we will examine below, most arc.

\Vhen we speak of nationalism as a lived world .. i,,," in compet ition

with Chrit;tionity, thi •• hou ld not be taken as a condemnation of pa­

triOTism. \Vc " 'ant IU say as e~rlici tly and (orcdully a~ 'V" can thaI pa­

TriOTism, Ihe lov" of one'. cOllnlry, is" good and nece.sary thing. H ow­

e,'er, we walll to say juST as forcefu lly thm a patriOTism That lose,

per ' peel i'·e :md offers ollr highe •• loyalty to a speci ftc S1 ale is an evil

and dUmlcli.-e thing. In essence, na tionalism i . Ihe imb"hnced an,]

distorted form of something thou is good-patriotism. There i. no sim­

ple way to determine with prec ision when good patriotism degenemte.

into nationalism, but we ,.-ill allempt 10 gi,'c .mne potenTia] bench­

mark~ for ,df-cxamin,uion. Before we gel 1o thaI . however, it is im pot­

mot 10 tah a clo.cr look al the naTure of nation •• 0 We ~~m llnder.land

why religion, rerh" I" our OW", is so U(len cn-opud hy nalionali,m.

NATION CRE ATION

N,"i t>ns arc nnl elernal en titie ., Thq COme ;mn and g() ,,\11 of exis­

lenCe. "["h\l' , a v;t al lhcme in our d i!lc ".~i()n is Ih~1 nal";ons arc crc:lIed

Ihing'S, and rather artificial creations al that. For example, whal ha,

hem included wirhin Tbe I",rdcfs oftbe Uniled S tate~ and under the

j urisdi~lion of iI, law. I"" varied significantly within ;1, relatively brief

history. Through rehellion, scn\cmcnt , pllr~h"sc , con'l" c~ l, mlll,x"lion

"ud t"", .;liol\ frorn territory tn stu le, the Hl;tP of lhi . cm,,!!r)" h ,,~ gone

Ihrn"gh nUmerOu S (orms. Even I huugh We think oj i\ . borden i" r"h­

ti,·ely Slable now, hi'Tor~' shou ld remind u. that il is u"likely Ihal ~thc

63

United Smt •• of Am.rieaM will re fer to exactly the same land m,,,, a

century in the future, and it mar not exi,t at all. If you find this hard to

imagine, compare ~ globe from a hundred yean "-go with a current one.

You will get the pictur<:.

Nation. are not simply artificial in the sens. that borde .. are often

fluid and the means by which they are establi ,hed i. frequently arbi­

nary. No . ingle justification cxi,u to c.>:pbin why one group of people

become" a"ocialed with one particubr nation rather than another.

Sometime, nario'" arc ddined by old colonia l . Ullotllr • • or a common

h;,(ory. In other cases , ling uist ic, .UIIU,.,.I, traditional , tribal, racial or

religious commonalities provide the ba,i. for flmionhood. In Au,! .. .!ia

and other island countri •• , bo rd~rs ~re establi.hed by gcogr~phy, even

though the people within those ge()gr:\phic~1 hound~r ic. di tTer radi­

c~II~' on numerou~ I~" ek In yeT other casn, the demenH ~b ,we "r. the

very things that mu st be transcended in order for a nation to emerge. In

Amerirn's early hi stor~', the dive r •• linguistic, cu ltura l, religious and

historical backgrounds of people in the colonies made un ity e;'(tremci.l' dim.ul!. In; ti,,)!)', then, h~rmony w:.s found in COmmOn goals Or idea ls,

. uch as liherty and equality. O,'er time, howe""" much of the United

Smr~s' national identit\' h as ,hifted from the.e common ideal, to in­

dud. also a common history. In ,hor t , nat ional character is not a stat ic

th ing bm .omelhinl': that change, over time. The poim is twofold here:

the ",w malerials for na tion-crea tion vary widciy from one .0Hm,.\' to

a"",her, :md wh", I',<",i<l". the basi. for th" ~t a te ill one circumst"n,c

may hc rhe gre",cs! "h>tadc t" a cohcsi,'. ' I"IC ill """lher si,u alion.

While the pa",graph above spe, k. , bou t jll,! .ome of the <v'l's na­

t ion. find ius!ifim!i"n (or becoming political e ntit ies wilh un i'l"e id~n­

tities, it ,toes not re:tlly Iell u ~ why nations come il1lo being. A! the ri,k

of oversimplification, thi . que. tion can be boiled down fO power, which

manifests irsd rin three dosely rdated w3y.~$tab ili!y, m ilitary power/

defen<ibil it \' ;lnd "conom ic dOllr. r.,1 ost of ", do "ot I h ink " r Ihe nation­

state in the "Ve~ t"rn world as a modern phenomenon, but that is the

re , lily. The (,,"dalis!ic social ~ !Tu "tures that existed for mm,h of the

Illedie,,:t lperiud .:onsi. tcd ,,(flucl uating ,,,n(eden,l inn. (",,",cd by mi­

nor nob ili ty, each cOl] trolling small . w:tth. of «"I eSl ate. Si1l1 ilar typ"s

,

of splems arc slil! found in parts of Ihe worid in which warlords or

tribal gronp. hold aCll1al control within the border. of a counlry. Now.

a$ in ,he medicv~l period, these saueture. laek . t"bility and all that

goes with it. Nations pro mi. e, and have a g reater cap:lcit)" to deli'·n. the

politiml, military :lnd economic stab ility and strenglh that cannot be

,ntained by smaller politicaJ units.

To say lhat power is the main reasoJ) for the existence of nation. is

not To pronounce judgmem on it. The idc~ that political , military or

economic power is an evil per Se i. 6r too simplist ic. A lot of good ,e­

,ults fro m political and social stabil ity, military delerrcna and eco­

nomic sTrength; and pa triotism i. properly directed when it acknowl­

edge. these posit i,·. a'pecl>I. H ow.ver, to achieve and maim"in power,

n~lions mU.1 . eCure Ihe J0Y'llt)" of cilium. Withon. thi~ loyalty, the

pO\\'cr and " ah ility of the ""Ie is in jeopardy.

T he mea ns by which nmions pursue pnw .. can lead to nmionali, m,

so the tooJ, used b)"" nation to leg itimale ilselfbecome an imporwm

isslle. Le'·' be honeS!. I f a na,ion '''y', '·We arc a vui:,blc and aui rici:!!

cmit~' thaI ~omctimes fi,i l. in OUr monl dllt ics , bill We wam Y"'" ~lIe­

g,ance in order to in c r~:tse ou r pow~r and .ec"ril y,~ Ihis i. nol a p<tr­

ticnlarly effect i"e w:t~ ' to g:t in the fervmllop hy of cilizen<. in<lcad. a

nat ion .c~ks to win alleg iance by attach ing i"elf to somelhing thai

gives it the credibility of ,he .u perio, Qr the eterna l. T his can happen by

making cla ims (or a n atio n'~ idcals. people, his tory or somcthing else.

I-I "w~"cr, in moS! case<, ~ppca l i. made In the divin" ,'" the founJ:uinn

for what i.i '''perin , or ele rnal "buul a ,"unlry. \~hen G od i. ,·;"wed as

the ab."lule authority. nmio", ofl"n attempt W CO -OI'l this author i' )· to

give them legitimacy. This is why a nat iona li. t ic world"iew is usually

religiou. in na", re and i. generally adopted b)' individuals with a St ro"g

religious oriematioll. 0", of it . belief in 'Ome form oC superiority, then,

nal;"'n:t lists dai'" Ihat G od has give n thei r cOllntry" specia l mi .. ion to

thc rest of the world.

A CAlf STUDY IN NATIO NALISM

Several cle!!,enl' mentioned above p]:,.,·ed " put in what i. perh"ps the

mo .. impormm histor ic"J developmcnt in the last ccmur~-t!,e birth of

65

the Nazi party in Germany. 11 i. irnponant CO recall that the N in N"zi

srood for ··Il.uionali.r; and at the hcart ofGnman nationalism was belief

in the super io rity of the Aryan r~ce. It pomayed the German 1'011: as the

highe' l exprc.,ion of hum miry, and thUI the destined rukn of all other

rac.s~on the ba,;, ofthei. preeminen"" in their h istory. intellectual ac­

complishment. and m oral nature. Thi. w as a111 inkod to Christianit.v by

procbiming Jesus to be the fr ue Aryatl and the fou nder of a Kpo5 ili~c

Christian i ty~ that had becn lo.t whcn the Jewish Old T<:'lament was at­

tached to the Bibk. Thus, the German nation W:l, the candl1;! through

which this purified Christianity would be reint roduced 10 the world.

Through G ermany, the world would tcceil'e the true rcii!)ion.

The,e idea, were combined with a G erman trad ition that encour­

ages the obed i,nce of the church to politj.,al ;luchoritiu . Th •• resuhed

in a i~·.t ern inrended to linite an the Prote;;ran' churches in Germ~n)"

under a ' ingle bishop, who was then accountable to ~the l eade r~ (i.e. ,

the Fiihr,r) , who w as, of course, Hitln The next <fep of this .o-called

Germa n C hri,t ian mOVemen' W"S co expel ,,11 Ch ril li"n ' ofJewish de­

~~em from mini>!r}' po,il iom , and bIer from membcr$hip in ch urch , so

that a proper Aryan puri ty and pos itiv" Chri.tianity could be attained.

The extent to which . ignifi"anr parN of the Germa" church wa. co­

op ted by nationali.m can b •• ecn in a u .olm ion pas<ed in 1933 by the

Reich C hurch, ,,,hieh , tme. ill part: "Gud hn. cremcd nrc a G erm ,m.

Germanism i. a gifl of G od. G od w,mts me to fight for m.'· Germany .

.. The go~1 " f the 'Fairh l\1')\'cIl' cnt of "Genna" Chri. ti an " i< an

e"angd;,,~l German Reich."

You MAY BE A NATIONAliST If

11 i~ e.ISY to look b:tck on ~ n:ltionali sm a. obviuusly deS lrIl cti vc ~s N,,-

7.i'm and think we are im<nune jrom <u~h nonsense. !-Iow e"er, the h is­

tory, trad iti ons and the i<nme'lse power ,,(Ihe United SI"tes hold 1'0-

tem factors Ih,u can and do le,,,1 to na t ional iSl ie tendcncics. On b" lance.

the sto ry of the United States is , ill oor opinion . " good one, but tI,,,! good ness is pHt of ,he ,bnKer. Nationa lism becuntes tentpt"tion pre­

cisely .... hen ",uion, h,,,"e , ,, fri.-.ien' "reng th u r good ness to iusl'ire

deep-seated l"yah ie,. A s a res" It, cit iZen, of nalions that aroHse Sf ronK

66

patriotism do not app reciate being compared to Nazi nationalisn. This

pre.ents di fficu lt Ob5t"cl~, for tho ... who consider themselves highly

patriotic 10 honestly appraise their attitudes. Given the tOllchy nalUre

of the topic, J will make a feeble ,nempl10 lighten lip oUr exposition of nnt;onaJi.m's character,.!i •• by modifying Jeff Foxworthy's weJl­

known ~you maybe" redneck if .. ." routine. The iment isto provide

a ConteXt for examining how you can u"dculand the place of co<mt')'

within your own overall world"iew.

1. If you fulie'l!~ thaI God's pit", for hi~lory 'WoulJ Iu $MJeuly ham­

peud iflbe U,.i/~d Sial .. , did nol "x ;1I in a h .mJud Jean, twmty-Jiu<,

y~Qrs, or .... 'en n"xt y .. ar,JoII may br " "ationalist. From the earliest Set­

tlement of this countr," by Eu ropean immigrants, \Vinth rop's vision of

Amer;c~ as a "City upon ~ Hill" (1630) has h"d" profound dr~c{ on our

nation"l sdf-undetsr3nding. In P'''' o(his address (wi'h o Ur upd~rcd

spel ling~) 10 h is band of serders, Winthrop say.,

For we mu" COIl ,ider th", We s.haU be ,~ ~ Ci,y upon 3 Hill. Ihe eye< of

~II people ~re upon uo;.., ,h~, ifw" .rull deal falsely wi,h ourGod in ,hio

work We h~"e "nden~kc n and <;<,~"use hi", to w;,hdr.<w his present help

from us. We shall be made a story and a bywonlthrough the world. we

shall oJkn ,he mouth. of enemies to speak evil of t he ways of God and

aU prof.sroN fo r God's >Jke-, We slmllshame the f3ccs of many of Go,! ',

wonhy """ "a nlS, ~nd .. " s(: thei, l' ... ve!"S 1\J be '''med ;n'o curse. "pan I"

un,il We are consumed out of the good land where We arc going. L

This concep' o f America:u Ihe heir ofGnd ·. coVen~m pbn,:t NeW

Israci, Ih"l Ihe enli,e world wi ll look to as G od'. modd ji), all nad"",

is d.e pl~· embedded in our nm ional psyche. Similarly, here we find ,he

ide" rhm we will pro.pcr onder G od', unique protection "s long "" we

rem,,;n f:,ilhful.

\¥imh rop's "C iIY "pon .\ Hill~ "'a." nOI ,o!l!cllf to rema in i.ol,ucd

upon !h~ hjll for kll'g. It ~oon bCC'UllC America's -M,mif"st D"Sl i ny~ Ie)

spread the idc:ds, ~ "d tho bortlers , of ' he "alion from one oc"~" 10 ,," ­

other. In the process. the .opposed goodne .. . md god liness of our end,

'S« AU," Cord". /""iroN TI",.'~'J ;" IIm,,;,o: /I.':'r.~ .nJ /,iI';. ffi''''''''N'~ C,"' ",] M. , _~"",,,(G r...,J R.p~!" B,k<r. l ~O). rp. n·lO.

67

w: .. oft~n used as" nationali,tic ju,tification tor some pretty coere;,",

means of arriving at rhi, divine destiny. As th~ physical expansionism

of the United State. began to wind down 1O"'~td the middle of the

nineleenth century, the idea of Amerka a. a cho.en "arion Wa, increa'­

ingly framed in rui!!enn;,,] bnguage. I n this view, the United State. "'".

the touma;n from which God', millenn;a] kingdom would stretch

acrO •• the globe. America" rni .. ionar), and """ngeli,!ic impulses would

provide the engine. while oUr politica l ,yotcm and principle, .upplied the heart of the God', kingdom on "arth.

Gi,'en the.e link. between G od'. plan and the role of the United

State., the idea Ihm ,hi, country conld cea,e 10 ex;'t is unthinbblc.

H owever, while many m"~' b.lieve that the ·City upon" Hi!!" has lost

some of it~ ,heen, thar our Manifest Destiny to expand rhe phy.ic~ \

bound~r ies has been ~atisfied, or th~t posunilknnialisn, , hould h.

shelved for sO me other eschatological model, th.s. "iews demonst""t.

thm the idea of Ameri""n exceptionalism rnn !lex with the circum­

sTanCe •. If, ,herdore. rO\l belie"e for any re:",em ,ha, G od's "him:ne

plan for :tli the n:l,ion~ i~ inextricably bound ul' wilh ,h. far. of the

Uniled Stares. you may be a nntiona list.

2. IJyollfind it IIl1tbi"It"bI. thai" drizm would nor be ablero pledge

allegi''''re 10 tb~ flag or sing the lIatiollal anlh .. ", fo~ re/igiolls remOIlS,

yo" III")' h~ a lI"tiollalisl. It i, f",h ion"blc in ma"y Christi"n cirde.

tod",v to be dismissive of long-nanding Christian rituals, The word

HIU'"8)' ",'o k e~ PWllS, reciting creed, is viewed as ",chaie. :",d the

. "c,m"enlS a,e treated ""her c"~",, lJy, Hnwevcl, whcn it come< to

naliuna l rituals. pcoplc gN pretty fired "I" You may remember thc

recent (uror ",hen jud icial "C!iUll questioned the inclusi,,,, of ,he

phrase uUn<\cr G,>(!~ in the pledge of Allegi~n,e (a phrase which, by

the w"y. WaS nOI parr of the pledge Itntil 1954). My poinl i~ nOI

whet her the phra~e ihuuJd or shou ld nut be in this pledge (a lthuugh

bter I will ask how i, should be understood), but whether our attitude

toward n."ional rilll a is tell . u. somcthinK about ,he alignment, or

IT, isal ign me"', of Oll r lo,va It ics,

Ritual always r;"ds" place in religion, <;! i'tenship :md football te i,m.

bec:ouse it pro"ides "n enent i:d w"Y 10 expre,. ult r .h~rc<1 '''" U'' it ntenl.

in a community setting. By engaging in rirua], we buy into the g ronp .

organization or team. Convcrsd}" then, when we refuse to engage in

pledges , s:d"tcs Or a1l1hcm., it appear; to bc a «jection of ~uch an as­

sociation. As a «suh, re(us~lto pluce ~n American n~g in the chuTch

or part icipate in our national ritual. look. like a fai lure of pmriot ism.

Thi. creates a real ten.ion for some Christians, who view pledg .. of

nation,,1 lovaln· as a form of idohlr\" and in contlie! wilh lheir allc-. . . gunec ro G od. I\bn~' lime., this grows out of conCcrn about thc .imi­

britics benvcen patriotic ri[>Inl s and rdigious ritunl s. The<e para llels,

and the fact that the . epa",," obligations to God and country are often

combined, lead SOme Ch ristians to avoid all nat ionalist r it u"ls. Another

factor is historical in natUre. ]I.·Ian)" Christ ian tmditions, p~rhaps ~·ou rs ,

wer. bi fthed OUt of di •• ent :lg-~inst !I:Hc-ehu rch. ,. The.e ,tate-ehu reh. I

frequently responded by COlwincing the govern",e'" If) persecute, and

in some cases execute, members of the di",cnting church . Thus, chureh­

state a l1i,l.!lc~, h~ve often led to n~tion. p.neeuling Christi:m . in the

name ofChrini~nily. Th;. d anJ:cr. in addition TO Ihe dangu ,ha( one i

faith ",m be co-opted Or "b~orbed imo Ol' r political idcmiry, leads many

Chri,{ i,,,,s to ~"oid all such nat ion al ceremon ie •.

On the one h and, au . view ~ that ritual . proclaiming one'. pbce

within a national ("nily ~ re not neee .. arily" violation of our primary

commitment to Chri>t and his church. On the o ther hand, we ~rc gbd

that there :I re Christ ian. who refuse participation in our national rilt,­

als. T hey provide a ne,c~s"r.v remindef that the balance between my

" ,U iona l :lllegiancc and my com mitme'" to rhe ("ith dem""d~ ,n" . t'''ll

,mention so d,e two are not <:onfu,;cd. 1t: however. it i. unthinkable to

.vou thaI nags. " at i,,,,,, I am hems or pat riot ic I'ledge ~ call attain a sa<.:m­

me,ua l s tatuS tilat riv"I., undercut~ or co-Opt . om:". Chri,tian alle­

giance, you may be a nationalist.

J. /fyo" fhink our D~darafion of In,f~pt'"d~lU~ ~mho"i~~ ~f~rutlf

pr;IIdpln orfhllllh~ Consfirllliotl .holl/d n~tJ~r berhtlng,J,)'Oll "'"Y h~ a

ntlliona/isl. The Semence abo ,·c i, a bit sncakr since OUf C"nstitu(ioll,

ill ",e!. has been changed by "",<ndme'" s..-cr,,] t imcs. The nccessity

of doing this ~hnuld make cle,," that eVen good foundat iona1 dOClllncn ts

.I" not re ;o ch the le'·c1 of i nf.~l1 jhjlit y or perfection. but "Pl'a rendy th is is

69

not the ca.e for some. A eollrague of ours reported that h~lf ofh;s stu­

dent. in a cbs. (ovem-helmingly Chri.tian) put the inspiration of the

Declaration of Independence on par with that of Scripture.

A .. We mentioned .",lier. "atiom often seck to solid ify the loy ~ l ty of

citizens by claiming that their foundations arc grounded in eternal

truth, . For .ecub. nationalism, the •• unshakable verities are what sel

them "part from other nations and make them exception"l. It then be­

comes their mi,sion to disperse these truths, sometimes by force if nec·

.,.ary. Religious nationnli,m equales political truth, with r.'·chu;an

found in holy text. Dr G od', will. The sudbcd fOT 'lIeh idea. appcar. in

our Dcchrat ion of Independence, in ",hi,h righu of "life. Jib~rt~, ~nd

the pursuit of h~ppiness~ ~re ·in~lien~bJe rights~ p,eci~d~' because we

~re endowed with the,e by ou, Creator. \Vhcn ,hi. i. gi"en a nalional­

i.t ic twiil, then, one's na,ion be,omc~ ,he in.truOlen! by which this

divine message is prochimed.

Constitution. and olher n~tion31 documents ~re impormm guide.

for political doclfinc. Howe"er, natioll3lism cOrnel into exi,lenee when

political doctrines become d"Km'l ,md aSSUme ,I sc riptur.,I1c,·eI of au­

thority. A couple of ob. ervation;; can hdp guard "gainS! th" d~nger of

giving sitch status to political document •. The fir" i. tn note thnt n

c",d"l reading of nn)' constitution reveals dn •• pamllel. with the idea.

,md circumstances of the age in which it WaS written. The (o"nJinl;

documents of the Uniled 5r-dtCS, for cX"mple, a,e .trongly ' haped by

Enlightenment philoool'hy, nn intellect""l mO"em"nl often in profound

",nO io with C hri<tianity.

T he second obse"~lTion i. rdated. The United 5t"t", C01m itut ion

has . in our opinion, se rved this count ,.,· p'«tl y wdl for" good st,elch ur

time. At the Same time, We h~tve ,ecogni7.c<1 ils ;;hortcom ings "vcr lime.

For example, We ,,,,reeted (by 'lmendmcnt) the ide,\ th~t ~\Ve the peo­

ple" exdud~d those who were .bves or femak Th~ point is thai, whi!~

we honor fUlld:tmenta] docum~nts and id,,~~ of a cou ntry, We , hou ld

combine this with a recugnition o fthc imperfection ~ and time-bound

ideas within them. I fthi~ Sen!c " fhumil ity i,; ah.em, you may be well

down the ,o<td to becomi"g" ""Iion"li,!.

.J. if )"'" b~/i".,,, Ibm ""~ .1lI1 i"n 'W" ,,1d fi .. ,,11y b .. OK if;1 'W",l/Ii j " sl

70

g~1 bark /a "haw;/ '100'" at some eariiu s/ageoj,mr hi,/ory. )'Ou may be a

nat;,malisl. A couple of decades ago. conscrmt;v~ Chr;,ti"n. had n

.nong sense ofb~;ng pulitical and soci",1 outsider •. E"cn w;th recent

increased political cluut. the feding fh~t evangelicals an: on the lnsing

. ide of" cultu,.., war ..,main •. The exnct nature of the cultural problem

i •• om.time. toggy. but it often includes thing. lik. the absence of

pra),er or the t.achinl; of ."01ution in public schools, Or the bank. O"er

abortion and g;:oy marriage. The ' '' pposed antidote for the nmion'. ill, i. sought by a reconry of _om. golden :lge within OUT national history

when tho.e thing. did nor exist. U.ually, thi. ble<!cd and right ';me i .

not spccificall.,. identified. but it ofren looks :l lot like the world the

C!e~ver famih' inhabited,

This i~ ruti(lOali,m with a ,wist bec~u sc it sees ;I. country's rresent

~ tale as a dcpanun:: from G od', will. However, the e~cep,io n:ll;.,n th~t

tarms nationali.m', core i. pre'ent in the ide" that the nation once ,va,

the beneficiary of G od', unique b!e5<ing, Moreover, th i, b!e .. ing can be

regained by a return TO the proper imerpr.':l!ion of th. Con, {;t mion Or

th. COrree! eulnITal nOrm" In , hort, lhen, unc'5 dUlY:lS:I Christ ian is

brought into int imate connection Ivith one', d uty ",,, citizen,

Several problem. emerge immcdi:ltely from thi. id." . Fir't, when

"golden crn,H arc defined by " narrowly con.tmcd •• t of i"uc', they

(luick l)' ta ke on • Ill }' t hi ca l chua,'!er in whith .11 the blemishes of th"t

gilded age 'If. ignored or glon.d oVer, Thu., it i. ~'(>mmon to hear a

d. , ire to return to the C h riSlianity of nllT fou nd ing father, wi,hom

tccogni,,;ng ,hal many nf them w~re dciu. who t~ l kcd " 10\ 'Ibml! G od

but were hostile toward C h r i,tianity, A ,cco",1 problem is that wc run

the ri. k oflll rning G od into a vcnding "':t ,h ine wilh the ide" thm he

will provide us wilh the nat iooal protect ion, st,uus ~ml wcll-being if We

behave in pwper ""lyS, Finally, our re tll rll to G od ', {avor is KcnCTally

Ihought '0 be orches lrated by pol itical aClions that will ge t u50 back <>tl

Ihc right cullll r"! and rnon,l track, In each ClSC , Christ ians arc tempted

10 rely on politi.:al methods and g()al s 10 define Our mi •• ion,

Nosta lgia in moderate doses i. a good thing, because it is a reminda

of:lll the 1'<>",.;1 \\'e Irave eXl' er i e n ~ed in the 1'"'" Moreover, it is hard 10

d i:! l'"t . thai $ome of 1 hc things "f our I'''sl 'h'" have dis"pp."n::d from

,

71

the present "r<: ,ad 10.,,,,. At the same time. nonalgia :tlway. has a

Ill~·th ica l tinge to it because it filters out all the ncgath.., junk from a

bygone period. Nationalist ic belief i" a ~g<>l don era" ~lIffCfS from the

. arne tYre offi ltradon prOet h, '0 if ~'o o believe Ih::u God', pbn i, de­

pendent on removing specifIC social ill, by recn"cTing a piece o f th~

past, you may be a nationa lisr.

SOME POSITIVE Amm WI IHI~ NATIONALIS M

Nationalism is built a round "<!Tong .en,,, of nalion") identity and cOm­

mitment to o ne', country, and while a nationalist worldview as:l whole

is problem."ic, thes" two dements h",'. positive :l~pect' . For one th ing,

they offer a corrective to the ;odi ,-idu"li,t;" notion that nalions are , irn­

rl~' a collection of indiv iduals joined rogethn by common aSSelll. In

"ddilioll to obvious functions, such :1s providing o legal f':l",cwo rk ,hal

outli nes the r ight. and respomibil itie. of ,itizens ,md off~ ring protec­

tion , notionoli.m recognize. that a country creates on environment thm

precede, the individuals w ith in il and shape. their identit y. i\'hrch of

thi . happen. throu);:h ~bsor pt i on. Howe\'e r, political stability i. al >o

dependent on a citizenry that ocr i"dy identifje, with the hi,rory and

ideal. of th. country. It i. , therdo, e, in the best intc,e't of the ,rotc to

.m·ourage th.>e volu nta,y commitments, and much "ositi,'c <"<m result

from the,e di',,!:..v' of p"rr iOli'm. 1. ,va' ioll,,1 Ment ity rtln h .. lp liS n'IJoid inditliJ ualistll . O ne I'0'i'i\"<:

aspc~1 of nur n:1t ional :1lkgiancc< i~ that they can ft""t in" a. a cnUlllcr­

bol:.nce to indi"id""lisrie and scl fi , h !cndenei.>. \Villingncs< to make

sacrifice, for something bigger than the indiv id ual sci fis nut .r natural

tendency, but .nlller hing We m~l!;( 1c"rn. Fulfilling the obligations or

driunship is (lllc or the w"Y~ We gain the ,l iscipjines aSiodated with

unodfjshneii. C iti 'len.hip is also a useful training grnund fo r rhe "irtue

or gnuir "dc . \ ,Vhilc they ",c alw:1ys ihwcd, Illnst Ilations orr~ r ~Otl1C

Illc;tSllfC " f protection :1I1d stability for cvcryd"y lirc, :tn" wc h:1"c "

Ino,,,1 (Ibligation !O acknowledge this g""d through Ollr loya lTY.

1. Notio" ,,1 identity (lin help ""er ro ,,, e m rrroW trib"/il"'. " COmmOn

trend to,j~y, especi"II~' in ' Vester" nat;""s, ;~ th", popul:lt;OIlS :Ire be­

Com ing IllOre J iVer.s<: - r"c ;'111)', rei igioll sly. I i"g";s\ ic~ lIy ""d ot herw ;se.

71

In this proC~'8, we have the opport unity to ~ngag~ , under<tand and

w ork with p~opl ~ whos~ differences might orh . ",,;sc .eparate us . Our

default tendency is to ~tay within ci rcles wherc We fcd rno" comfort­

able. T his fr.qu emly leads to stereotyping and pr<:j ud ices again ' llhuse

who arc different in some w ay. \Vhen nation:il tie s and duties force us

to get beyond these differences , the d iyisions and biases of tribalim,

(sec chapter eight) can be overcome, In shon. life within nalional

bOll nd"r ; •• can help craSe other boundaries 1hat might keep u. "pan;

CO mlllon , irjunship c:>.n provide the oonre'" in which we become m ore

::twa..., of the commo""l ities of human nature. The pOUllt;:>.l nntions

prOVide for helping us di scover the common humanity of a!!. then, i, a

po.iti,·~ .t~ment of our lives with in th •• mt".

J. N(1tirms ran pro"'id.: for th~ tOtl! m~" g{J()'(. H i ~tory rem ind, u, rh~r

life c an be in lie~u re and r<:nuou,. \\'e rnenli (>oed ~ bove rhatthe emer­

gence oflhe na l;on- OInt<: in recent centurie, has been, in Inrg., pan, an

~ttempt 10 reduce the ri,k ~nd in, . euri! .,· of life by providing ~ Inrger

ent it~' for the prolection ~nd n ou Ti . hing of cit i·tens. In , hon, n~lions

offer ,he ,cale ~ nd size !h ~1 ,,1Iow for" me,,$"Te ofl'ro tection nnd eCo­

nomic developmenl nol found in , ,,,aller social units.

Adminedly, nalioll< h",·e a mixed track record of providing phy .. ica l

protection and pre, erving even rhe ",oi! bas ic rights of citizens. r..-Iore­

Mer, the ,,,Idi t;onal mili ta ry power found in the na1 ion-'tate h:l' often

led ro empire-huilding. D c.pite this Spott y background,;t is frighten­

illg 1o conlemplate what "'hcr oplion" hold for u<. While ,he modern

n,uion-~I :"c sr ructure hold. il ~ own dangers, We c m find 'luile a ",nn­

ber o f ,,,,,"" ri ,," around Ihe world Ihat provide for rhe internal :lI1d ex­

lernal d c f~",e :lnd work in posi t ;\"e wa~'s w "ffcr edue:uio",,) 0pporllr ­

nil ie<. health Ca rc and scrvices Ih~ r advance the wdl-being of cili 1.en~.

V\'hen l hi ~ occurs, We should applaud these as pos itive ,nntribmionj 10

human lit". oJ. National Mmt it y , an aid IIJ in "'''(~rstanding o"r$<'lvn. Ahhough

generali zalion. can be misleading 3nd d :o ngerou~ , we think it is .ai" \{)

say thai Americ,,,,., despire 0" , great diversity, tend to be rarher imli­

vidl"tli sr i.::, cff"icicr1C~·-orien,ed "nd more p nl!lrnalk lh:ln rhcoreli<:ally

oriented. How did We gel Ihere? It is diffi cult 10 lInder'l"nd this wilh-

73

out knowing something of our history. It will no! occur to me Wh~';1

seems so nalural 10 be lieve that I have the right to yale tor political

kader. without consuhing a religious or nibal authority. choose my

spouse ruther than having One assigned !O mo by ffi)' parent~, Or mOVe

fifteen hund",d mile. away from family apart from some awarene .. of

a legacy provided by my narional identity. ~'l uch ofwhm we believe to

be true. good or JUSl proper m~nncrs is not filtned through conscious

de"ision-making proces,es. but is a m aner of absorption. \Vhen I rec·

ognize lhal much ofwh:11 1 do and bdieve has been Iran.mined through

cultural praclic"s, it can acl as a reminder that I ,hould be reflective

about what I sim ply accept no tluth.

Similarly, awarenes. of cu ltural ideas a nd norm. in other coumries

can chalknge my a~sumpti(m. abollttllc HUC, the good and ,he beauli­

ful in h~"hhy way~ . For exampk, when [ am around Olhers from cul ­

lu res Ihat are nOt as time- obsessed as ours , it forces me to rethink pri­

oriti • • . V.'h~r e n aliona! t",dilion dictales . hutting ever)'thin.~ down for

,he aflernoon, I begin to examine my as"uml'!ion ~ about how life should

be li'·cd . \ Vhen I bc~o",e conscio ll s Ih,,, nOI ~ll nations have thc COO­

C~ pl of family Ihal I have as~umed to b~ Ih~ norm , 1 can b~ mo,""

thoughtfu l aboul my presuppo.itions aboul Ihe , tr"clUre and place of

my own f~mily. In sh or!, gr~mer awarene .. of differenc~~ betw~"n cul­

Iu n:~ ca ll remind li S of Ihe rd~ti"iI Y of onc·, own nmiom.! lr.tditions,

idc:!" ,md a ,~ump!ion •.

POll. NIIAL PROBLEMS WITH IN NAII ONAlISM

Our ov~rarchillg nili,!ue of :1 n,Hiona!'''t wor1d\'i~w is that if take. some­

thing th:u i. a rd,livc good. an.1 !'OllIelimc. vny good, and tr"n.form~ it

jnw an ab~oh'!e !,:olld . Viewing one's nalion <>r cu lt"r:)1 idea.,,~ wprcmc

i$ olicn done unl"()l1sciou.ly, ~nd it occu rs under a 'lumber or conditions

that ort~n ",is", in t;lnJenl with each other. /'u the 1001 of n:tlionalisrll is

"lack ofhistoric"l PC"l'cc[ ive, in which We forget the Ir:""itory n,nure

or nn[ions and empi res. liow many empires, im"gined in !h",;r [;me TO be

etern,,], :Ire UC>W jusl f" int tnen>or;Ci tilr "II bul the Itislori,", '

This histo rical bE"d spot :tll ows u S tn Il oo sedLl~ed by wealth, tnilitary

pn wer and political influcnce, which in turn, creates the impression

that a nation i. doing all the right thing. and i. ~nt itlcd to that power.

E"en when nationalist" look back on the crumbled and failed empire,

of th. past , the~' anu rne that their cou!1lry i. the exception to the rule.

In order 10 make the ea. e for exceptiunali,m , nationali,m frequently

wraps ro ligiou. idea. around Ihe story ofth. nalion. Thus, when "God

and coUntfy~ bng uage are intertwined, one's "ational culture can be

viewed a~ God', will manifest on e~rth. Regurdless of Ihe particular

palh taken to Il ation:>.lism, Iransiorming the rebrive good of one', na­

t;on ;1110 the h;ghcif good result< in a , ';].ri ety of p roblems.

1. Nationalism tra"iforms that wh,'cb sholiid b~ m~a$ared i,,/o the

standard o/mcaSllum"nt. The bdid" Ihat our nalional identity i. a reb­

l ive )(ood implies a duty 10 conslantly re";sil, evaluate. and correc l our

idea, :md tradition,. Relative good , arc alway, gnod rdati,"" to the

Slandard again.t which ,hose goodi :.tre measured. H owever, if We looe

sighl of th .. fill ul . talldard against which nation. should he judged, we

have nothing to fc,· .. al their ambiguities and imperfeclions.

\Vhen this happen ~. OUr cultur~ 1 hori'lon and nalion,,1 Ir"dilion. he­

CO rne the y:.rdst ick by which e"crYlhin!: cI . e i, me:ls llred. The n~lion

Ihat should be subject 10 j udgment becomes, instead. rhe judge. Ener­

gies ~ re directed away from e",luation and improvement . and arc ori­

entcd tow3rd protecting and maintaining the status quo-whelher de­

fine d by Our history, eons litution. supcrpower statu. or th"olog;c:ll

imerprelalions o fnalional role. C hange i~ therefore ~ec n, nOt as a 1'0-

tcn!ia1 imprn"cmcm but ao , d cviation from the true and tbe guod.

Defaulting 10 the statu . quo "0 " henchm:lrk i. p :' rli~ul:trly e nl i ~i ng

because our outlook On life is.o oft en absorbed fro m nmional and cul­

tuml more. ralher Ihan consciously <·hosen. At Ihe same lime, ,in~.., the

StatUs quo lend. to sup pOrt Oll r own hi" ' '' i an(1 duire ~, the re iult i~ !lSll­

:111." n:ltiun"l arrogance.

2. lj",l"r nationalism, ·fb~ a/her " is viewcti 1IJ n challeng~r. N"linna)

arrogance is a naluml outcome of "hso)ulizing Ihe ideulug ies of a counlry.

\Vhen nationali,rn draw. on iu own his l()r~" fi,unding documents and

r ilual. "S Ihe embodiment of tr uth aga ins t which ,,11 olher. should he

.iudged. other groul'~ will be considered wrong or in ferior Wht<l any

d irfcrence is !)oted. Al the very kisl. this sellSe "f nal;on,,1 ;nJ:,l1il>il ily

,

75

dimu13tes th~ poss ibil ity of using other traditions as backdrops and op·

portunities for careful reflection on our own political standards. In the

Wont cases, when outsideN do not conform 10 oll r I'0 litic~l Haws quo.

nationalism h". rdeptcd "the other 10 the place of a dangerous chal­

lenger that milO! b. defeated. The result h as often been horrific blood­

shed. usually carried out under the slogan of "God i. on our side."

J. N ut;oual;sm overr.a~he$ in its tln/lamJ for /oyalt) ., Earlier. We ga~c

due credillo n ationalism for re cognizing that human being> arc inher­

ently soc; ,,1 be ings a nd that citizenship i. one of the places where We

find our identity. In view of th is, it is entird y leg itimate fOT our coun t ry

to seck our loyally and patriot ism. H owever, nationalism ,uises when

nations stake a greater cla im on our loyalties than they d.serve. No

Christian can offer ab.olut" 10y:>1ty to any .ocial li l ' ucture-notion,

fami ly, school, individual chu rch congregation or work-because all

are TOlafive good •. Nationalism, however, i. a jealous god that doe. nol

laIc rate rdegation of n:lIional idontity to a position of rei3li,'c signifi­

CanCe. Thus,;t pl"ys on our patriotism and legit imate "ppreci~tion for the bcnefil ol provided by Ihe " ,,,ion und demands unli",i,,,d loyahy.

fre'Jucotl}' b~' co-opling rdigious language and goal. for adva"dng its

own agenda. \Vhen a nat ion make. ",ch demand, on our commil­

ment', it ".mbli,h", it,df '" a compe'ing religion.

4. Nat ionalism ignores the t ransnal ianal 'lal una/Christian ity . Per­

h"p' One of the maS! o"erlooked I"sso", in Scripwrc', a<"<:oun! ofren­

,,,W' I (Act, 2) i. Ihal C hriSlianity i, not fhe ;;olc pn'se •• ion nf any

parti cular Il:"ion . l n",ead , G nd', new work oow t",n"end, <>Id bound·

aric. and ~nwmpa .. c. all the nal'ons. Thus , while " Israel"' had 011 ce

al'l'l, ~d to" d ist,nctive nat ional/eth nic group. tho new "lsmd ,,( G od"

th'll Pau l refers tn in G:I\atian~ 6:16 refers I<> a chu rch thaI er:,sc~, among

other things , the barriers bel wren Jew and Genti le (G:llat ians 3:28).

Thc erlOr of rd ig;nu~ n"r,ona li< m is Ihat it att empls 10 d rag C h,;st;an­

it r back intn I he bou ndarie~ of a spccific nation.

Thi. i~ where the idea of" Chrislian n31ion hemme. problemalic.

\Vhi lc it is ;ndi , put"b1c Ih:u different na tions re f1ecI ""rying degrees of

Ch ris, i"" ;"f1uenee in Iheir histor ies :lml l'reSe nl li"e5, the idc:.h. m is­

sion and means of .. cur i"g or expressing power arc 'IC"cf the $"Ule for

76

Christinnilr as they are for any nation. Thus, the concept of a Christian

nat ion obscures the (act that the Christian'. prirnar~' <;()lid!lrit~· is not

with those who pledge allegiance to a p~ rtjcubr fhg, bUI ,hose who

confe.s Je511 ' as the Lord, regardlns of their nationality. The funda­

menial identity of a C h ristian i. not contained within the document'

and history of one's nation, but in the histo ry of God', revelatory work

among all people •. \V hCII Chri$fi<m and natian .ue fuscd, Christi anil~'

inevitably lakes on a secondary slalUs as the kgitimating mechanism for

the goal. o f the . lale and cease. to be n prophetic voice to the nation.

CONCLUSIO~

Every group has dd,nile idea. about which worldview i. the perpetra­

tor of socinl evils. C onserva';"e Chr;~ ria,,~ !lave le"d~d to f"cu s on phi­

l<>.<>phi~. l ike moral rebtiv;sm a~ the m"jor culprit< of ou, day. The

main roason for this concern is thnt" philo.oph~' like mornl rebti"iml

i. ,'iewed as an assault on trlllh, ~n apprehen. ion we al.o express in the

ncXt chapter. Howe,·er. in their p rcoccupaTion TO defcnd the ,e"lity of

trlllh, many ChrisTi"n. h:lve Ii,iled ' 0 recognize The dan)lers of world­

vicws, 5uch as nationali,m, that an:lch Ihem~dves 10 cbim' of truth.

Thi. is " dangerous blind spot. !-listory 'e,'cal< that fcIr more ha,'" .uf­

fcred and died llllder nntionalism's b:mncr of G od a nd Cu untrV than

under rdntivi . m'. r"llying cry of~whatc,'cr: Nation,,]i,m has been a

viole", world,·;ew. and it< de , l rucI;ve pow«, h:1vC been energi",d by it,

d " im. 10 he the ben'er of divine gnnd"e.~ and rnlth . IfChr; , I;""" who

generally ,csonate "cry p" sitively with thc ide" o f ccrtaint~., w",l1 W

undcrstand why Iruth cbims call" ma"y to cringe, the lIgl~' history uf

n:niona li. t; c destruction in the name of G od's truth sheds light 0"

the,c concerns. The liSe of G od', name t') undeTKin l " "t i"n~li s tic pmj­

e, IS is one of the biggest re aSOn! t<>r hos tility toward Christi'lnity.

Our intcllt i. nut to pro l\\ote relativism or dismiss the v" lue or good­

ness of truth. Iiowever, declarations of unambiguou. truth turn hlood)'

whcn ~lIachcd In something a< moraliy :tnd histor ically ambiguou s as

nat ions. ] t is c~')' fo' c it i'",n" !O " "crl""k ou, OWn n.t! ional moral ambi­

guities bc~"lIs e o"r so"i:.] nature coml'ds '" tv seck our phcc within

Ihe gro"p. Moreo\'er, We ""111 to belong 10 n win1ling group.

77

Those who are insider. within" powerful "ation. then. can believe

they reside in a New Israel , an ide" commonly linked with the United

Stale •. How.".r, in the nineteemh ccntur~', the slave popu lalion com­

monly referred 10 th. United St:l1e~ not "s a New Is rad but as the New

Egypt. Tragically, many Christians who pc,,,,,;vcd their ",lIion as th~

"Vromised Land~ enslaved olher Christians who sought G od', deliver­

ance in a n.wexodus. Those who find a comfOrTable platt within ioci­

cry 'lnd, ,honoror., have a positive bias fOwJrd our nalion can easily lurn

a blind eye to faults and imperfections thar arc de",ly.".n by tho •• on

the out.ide of power.

Power no l only make. it difficuh to see our mora! shortcomings, but

it a1.0 obscure. our hislorical ambiguity. Economic well -being ~nd

mili!~ry ~trengrh ~educe U~ into believing tha t a te'nponry ~scel\d~ncr

is ~n etem,,! reality. Every empire h~s view<.""d itself ~~ dc,tined by G od,

or the gods, to rule fore,·er. Every one of them was wrong. A ChriSTian

worldview might help exphin why. "Vhil. n:ltionali.m seeh " partner­

ship with religion to legitima'e il s claims, the G od ofScrip,ure is nOt

the ,;e rVa,ll of the n'l!io n ~ bill Iheir judge. God ref"se' to be used for

political purposes. r,.·lorc STrikingly, Scripture m"kes dear thaI the most

powerful of nations ,,'" particularly .lI bject to G od'. sc rutiny and judg­

ment. \Vhile "ariom may ha"e impre"ivc poweN, those powe" are

always temporary .nd pro,'i.ional.

The reminder th., G od ref" .es to submil lo the impe""ive. of any

!m,!iclllar neltiu" re"cal, that nat innali.m is rc,dly" corpor"!e varialinn

on Ihe . in of prid e. Thu., wh<."" .. "alional i,,,, speak. o f ~one n"tj,m un­

dcr God,~ it proclaims this ... a i:",·t rather than a tonfe .. iotl lh:u "ach

und cvcr~' nalion is ultimately "ccollntahl" to G"d . \·Vhcn nmionnlism

&ings "'God Blesi A merica.n it c:mnot dn i", Ih.,t God .... oltld eCju:dly

blcsi ""cry olher cou ntry on e"rrh or \lndcrs,~nd why G od might wan!

!O do so. Such pridefu l attitudes deatly contrudict our cnll to remain

hum!>!e "b"ut \lur socia! and polilical structures.

O ne of the mosl difficult ""ks or C hristian it y is learning how to

bal an~"C th e multiple good< ,h:u bring benefj t to oU r li,·c<. \Ve ~Ount

c;Iiy.enship ,"nong ,ht rchtivc goods, "".I when We le:lrn of atrociti es

engaged in by other governments, We arc gr~!ef"l far our nati ,m's rcb-

,

tive goodne ... On the on e hand, we are morally bound to give honor

and patrioti c loyalty to our nation for these bcn~ r1tS. Fai lur~ on th is

count ""·eals a bck of gratitud~ . On the other hand, We have a higher

moral obligation to qualify and limit OUr loy:.hy to rebt;'·e goods. No

nat ion is th~ manifc.!:.tion of absolute goodnes •. T hus, granting ulti­

mate loyalty to a country indicntes that we bave loot sight of what is

ab.ol utely good and have elnated the nation, a created, tran~ifOry and

pauial good, 10 a phce that should be reserved for G od alone.

,