Christian Nationalism and Allegiance to Christ
Christian nationalism can blur the line between devotion to country and allegiance to Christ. Reflecting on the rise of Nazi Germany and the church’s complicity, Ethan Magness argues that followers of Jesus must resist tribalism, national arrogance, and excessive allegiance to the state.
- Christian nationalism becomes dangerous when national identity competes with loyalty to Christ.
- Jesus calls Christians beyond tribalism toward universal love, humility, service, and sacrifice.
- Christians may honor governing authorities while remembering that their ultimate citizenship and allegiance belong to God.
By Ethan Magness
A visit to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam is an unsettling experience. From the outside everything seems so normal. If not for the small line of tourists waiting to get in, it would be indistinguishable from other houses in the beautiful old neighborhood. Cobblestones and a quiet canal belie the dramatic story of good and evil that took place inside the silent building.
The house tour leads from the printing shop through the secret door and into the apartment. The furniture is simple and functional. Even the “hiding place” seems comfortable and would have been quite nice, I suppose, if two families weren’t crammed in there 24 hours a day for two years, living in fear for their lives. As I looked at the door through which the SS guards burst, I found myself wondering, How could such awful things have happened in this lovely house on such a lovely street?
The house tour leads to a museum about World War II and the social and political forces that allowed Hitler and the Nazi party to rise to power in Germany. It was not an extensive museum, and I am not an expert on the subject, but two realities were very clear. First, Hitler and his party rose to power by appealing to the nationalism of a demoralized Germany. Shamed by their defeat during the First World War, the pro-Germany appeal of the National Socialist party reinvigorated the nation, focusing exclusively, almost obsessively, on people’s pride in the German state.
Second, and more troubling, it is clear none of this would have been possible without the cooperation and support of the German church. Most Christians were convinced a strong Germany was essential for a strong church, and so the church supported a strong Germany.
This period epitomizes what Lesslie Newbigin wrote concerning the rise of nationalism:
In the twentieth century we have become accustomed to the fact that—in the name of the nation—Catholics will fight Catholics, Protestants will fight Protestants, and Marxists will fight Marxists. The charge of blasphemy, if it is ever made, is treated as a quaint anachronism; but the charge of treason, of placing another loyalty above that to the nation state, is treated as the unforgivable crime. The nation state has taken the place of God.1
These two realities, the hypernationalism of the German people and the cooperation of the church, were essential ingredients to the start of the Second World War and the Holocaust. Certainly there were minds of extraordinary evil that led the Nazi party, but it was very ordinary evil that brought it to power. It was the common error of citizens believing their nation was better than other nations and their people better than other people. It was the even more common error of ordinary Christians thinking a political party or nation could accomplish God’s purposes.
My visit to the Anne Frank House opened my eyes to the dangers of confusing Christian commitment and national loyalty. Dangerous nationalism depends upon at least three ideas: tribalism, arrogance, and excessive allegiance to the state. All three of these are rejected by Christ.
CHRIST CALLS FOR UNIVERSAL LOVE
One of the transformational marks of Jesus’ ministry was his universal love for all people. His contemporaries seem to have forgotten the prophecy of Isaiah that God’s good purposes would include all people (Isaiah 2:2). The scandal of the parable of the Good Samaritan is precisely that he is a Samaritan.
Paul and Peter took the gospel to the Gentiles because they understood that God’s blessing was too big for any one nation. In John’s revelation, he has a vision of God’s gathered people: “After this I looked,
