Brexit & a Godly Nationalism

Providence Magazine ^ | 2019 | Mark Tooley

[CondoleezzaProtege]

The Brexit vote recalls a prescient editorial from Reinhold Niebuhr’s journal Christianity & Crisis (a model for this magazine!) in January 1946 warning that “the movement toward centralized authority on a world scale contains a threat of world tyranny, particularly if the authority within the world is conceived merely in terms of police power in world government.”

In the aftermath of WWII’s murderous horrors, this editorial supported the emerging United Nations and some abridgments of national sovereignty. Though perhaps excessive and overly optimistic, his article was at least still aware of the accompanying dangers to liberty and self-government.

Increasing numbers of American Christians, especially Evangelicals, originally more on the left but now increasingly on the right, have become outspoken against nationalism, which is ostensibly idolatrous and at odds with the Gospel. There is of course much truth in their analysis, as many nationalisms in recent memory have calamitously claimed lordship for themselves that belongs only to God.

...Surely it is godly to pray that their peoples discover a national purpose, a harmonious nationalism, for living and prospering together in relative peace, united in national loyalty if not in religion or tribal identification.

The unique British sense of nationhood—reasserted at least for now by Brexit, and constructed over 1,000 years of shared experiences and political developments that have benefited all humanity, especially the United States—is surely a model for many in our world too often rent by tribe and tongue. Anglican Protestantism was both created by the British experience and an instrument in refining Britain’s special identity.

What can that Anglican legacy teach all of us, Christian or not, about building just and sustainable societies and nations? Very likely a great deal. Rather than critiquing nationalism, more of Christianity needs a theology of just and godly nationalism.

[YogicCowboy]

Nationalism is entirely consistent with Biblical Christianity, which is one more reason why the latter is a continual target for the left.

I have long been wary of Reinhold Niebuhr (not just because of James Comey currently), but on the face of it, I agree with him here.

The period of 1946-48 was pivotal, and mostly in a negative way, in global politics. The much-maligned John Birch Society were largely correct, as was Joseph McCarthy thereafter.

The United Nations, creation of the CIA (which was largely staffed by Marxists from the start), and the usurpation of the Republican Party by so-called Neoconservatives (globalist Trotskyists, such as Irving Kristol), struck a crippling blow to national sovereignty and genuine conservatism.

[Cronos]

There is no "British nationhood" - there are the 4 nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. These are separate and distinct nations and have their own nationalism

The "subordination of nation-states" is rot if you look at the facts that the nation states in the EU are in fact thriving - Ireland keeps its sense of nationality as does Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia far better than they did when under the thumb of larger neighbours. Scotland looks at the irish independence and compares it to its own subordination to the numerically larger English.

France, England destroyed the smaller nations under them in the 1800s with forced franconization and anglicization - the germans and russians tried the same and were only partially successful

The nations each have their own veto rights over legislation and even appointments to the bureaucrats so the entire article is kinda false

The article then talks about "resented Teutonic imposed economic stringency" - well it's only the Greeks - the Portuguese and Spanish implemented the reforms and opened up their economies and are now doing very well. The economic stringency talked about is basically ending decades of Greek corruption

Then the article goes on to state that "Britain was a national church and culture' - again, the author seems to have zero knowledge of history - the Brits were not under one church or one culture. he's conflating "British" with "English"

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Then this idiotic, yes, idiotic, author goes on to say Nationalism for many troubled nations would be a political salvation. Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, the Sudans, -- he has zero, ZERO knowledge of these countries. Syria has multiple nations - Kurds, Alawites, etc; - this idiotic author wants them to conform to one culture, one language and one religion - Sunni Islam. he's talking cultural, linguistic and religion suicide. Zero knowledge fool - the USA is a separate case and distinct from the UK as well as from Iraq --> he tries to squash them all into what he knows only of the USA - this is as bad as Democrats trying to say "why doesn't the USA become more like Denmark"

[Cronos]

"entirely consistent with .." -- it depends on what you mean by nationalism -- you must remember that the Bible says "there is no Greek, no Jew " - under Christ there is no Yorkshireman, Catalan, Breton etc.

But the concept of having a sense of culture and language is not disparaged in the Bible.

Btw, the CIA was formed in 1947 and the UN dates to 1942

Nationalism as in being proud of your nations past and culture and language is perfectly fine. But elevating it to a deity is wrong

Patriots, nationalists who love other humans are perfectly Christian