{"id":3587,"date":"2015-01-14T21:43:00","date_gmt":"2015-01-14T21:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=3587"},"modified":"2015-01-14T21:43:00","modified_gmt":"2015-01-14T21:43:00","slug":"nationalism-a-pathology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/nationalism-a-pathology\/","title":{"rendered":"Nationalism a pathology?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Ford\u2019s \u201cTheology: A very short introduction<\/em>\u201d[1]<\/a> an insightful concept was offered that should be considered here. In his discussion on salvation, Ford used the word \u2018intensification\u2019<\/em>. After setting a pattern of discussing theology from an academic, broad-minded, critical and historical perspective, he indicates that with some topics there is an intensification of thought, passion, and commitment to one\u2019s doctrinal position. It seems to me that Benedict Anderson brings that same kind of intensification<\/em> to his discussion on nationalism.<\/p>\n

Anderson\u2019s survey of nationalism, called \u201cImagined Communities,<\/em>\u201d[2]<\/a> is somewhat of an academic, historical survey shaped by his theory that nationalism is little more than a cultural artifact; a nation is fundamentally an imagined community. In his analysis we see a steady intensification of his Marxist theory. \u00a0Nationalism as \u201cimagined?\u201d Yes. He argues, \u201cIt is an imagined political community\u2014and imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign. It is imagined because members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion.\u201d[3]<\/a> From the beginning the author is undermining nationalism, eroding one\u2019s presumably unjustifiable commitment to it. How could one commit to an entity, a community of people that you really don\u2019t know, nor have you met?<\/p>\n

In the historical treatment of nationalism during the early modern period, Anderson shows that the spread of publishing in the vernacular language as well of the erosion of Latin as the ruling, or sacred language played a significant role in the weakening of religious communities and the eventual strengthening of sovereign communities. Print languages then allowed for an exchange of information and communication that strengthened those burgeoning communities, precursors to nations.\u00a0\u00a0 It is also interesting to consider the role that newspapers had in Latin America; in the eighteenth century they \u201ccreated an imagined community among a specific assemblage of fellow-readers, to whom these ships, brides, bishops, and prices belonged.\u201d [4]<\/a> These newspapers offered the inspiration to some of the liberation movements. In much the same way Europe saw a steady growth of nationalism between 1820 through 1920. Why? The nation \u201cbecame something capable of being consciously aspired to from early on,\u201d which was inspired by what was happening in Latin America.[5]<\/a> Furthermore an expansion of books, periodicals, and newspapers along the lines of common languages enabled greater growth in European nationalism.<\/p>\n

What I found most challenging about Anderson\u2019s theory isn\u2019t that nations are \u201cimagined communities,\u201d or by his reasoning that so, too, are churches; it was his proposition that because they are little more than an imagined thing why then would anyone do the illogical thing of dying for it, or killing for it? He recognizes that people do this, and they do around the world. He points out that every successful revolution since WWII has defined itself in national terms. Again, the nation, a wholly imagined entity, calls upon its sons and daughters: real people, part of real families, toward making ultimate sacrifices for itself. The author makes the point that national identity has become so ingrained into our psyche that we treat it like a given: I\u2019m Caucasian, I\u2019m male, I\u2019m 48, I\u2019m an American. There is no choice in the matter \u201cit just is,\u201d and, as such, it has about it \u201ca halo of disinterestedness.\u201d[6]<\/a> And \u201cjust for that reason, it can ask for sacrifices.\u201d[7]<\/a> In this, Anderson\u2019s convictions display their greatest intensification; here he views a sacrifice for one\u2019s nation as a pathology. Nationalism, to the author, is a disease to be treated.<\/p>\n

While I believe the author made many good points, and caused me to think deeply about my own nationalism, my own sense of being American and specifically if I believe one can be called upon to offer one\u2019s life, for me and for those in my imagined community of Christ followers, I believe sacrifice isn\u2019t a pathology but rather a sign of fidelity. Jesus said \u201cGreater love has no one than this: to lay down one\u2019s life for one\u2019s friends.\u201d[8]<\/a> Jesus had an imagined community of followers, for whom He laid down His life, and thus set an example that such martyrdom isn\u2019t pathology but an honor. It\u2019s not too much of a stretch to apply this theological perspective to nationalism and to thus offer such high sacrifices to one\u2019s nation. On the other hand, I can also make the argument that Jesus\u2019 example and teaching was about voluntary sacrifice and wouldn\u2019t be applicable to killing others, or to forcing one to sacrifice their lives involuntarily.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> David Ford, Theology: a Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)<\/em>, 2 ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014), 109-115.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections On the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, Revised Edition<\/em>, Revised ed. (New York: Verso, 2006), 1.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Ibid. 6,<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Ibid. 62,<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Ibid. 67,<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Ibid. 143,<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Ibid. 144,<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> John 15:13 (NIV).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Ford\u2019s \u201cTheology: A very short introduction\u201d[1] an insightful concept was offered that should be considered here. In his discussion on salvation, Ford used the word \u2018intensification\u2019. After setting a pattern of discussing theology from an academic, broad-minded, critical and historical perspective, he indicates that with some topics there is an intensification of thought, passion, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[583,582,585,584],"class_list":["post-3587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-anderson","tag-benedict","tag-imagined-communities","tag-nationalism","cohort-lgp5"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3587"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3589,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3587\/revisions\/3589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}