Christians Must Challenge American Messianic Nationalism:

A Call to the Churches

Rosemary Radford Ruether

Rosemary Radford Ruether is the Carpenter Professor of Feminist Theology at Pacific School of Religion, and the author of many important books in feminist theology and social analysis, including Sexism and God-Talk; WomenChurch; Women and Redemption: A Theological History; and Gaia and God: Ecofeminist Theology and Earth Healing.

In this shorter essay she presents a theological critique of the new American religion of "messianic nationalism," following in the great tradition of the Barmen Declaration drafted by German Christians to critique the Nazi regime.   [To read the Barmen Declaration, which is part of the Presbyterian Book of Confessions, you'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader; go to the link above and scroll down the left column till you come to The Theological Declaration of Barmen (near the end of the list).  Click on the title, and with a little luck you'll have it right before your eyes.]

We are posting this paper here with the very kind permission of Dr. Ruether.  You may also want to look at a talk she presented on receiving an award from the Catholic Peace Ministry in Des Moines, Iowa.

For some other articles on the subject of American empire, click here.

[3-23-04]

Religious language is always double edged. It is properly used as prophetic critique that calls for repentance. But it can be twisted into a self-sacralizing rhetoric that associates God with human projects of power. The United States has often fallen into this temptation to use religious language as idolatrous messianic nationalism. When this happens it is the duty of the churches to challenge such language and reveal its opposition to the authentic good news of the gospel. In 1934 the German theologians of the Confessing Church disassociated themselves from a German Christianity that identified Christianity with Aryan nationalism. I believe the Americans churches must make a similar critique of American messianic nationalism today.

What is American messianic nationalism? This is an ideology rooted in the belief that the United States of America is uniquely an elect nation chosen by God to impose its way of life on the rest of the world by coercive economic means, and even by military force, if it deems necessary. Nations who pursue other ways of economic development than "free market capitalism" can be regarded as enemies, not only of the United States, but of God. This is particularly the case if they seek to mobilize a counter-bloc of nations against the global hegemony of the United States.

The ideology that the United States is an elect nation divinely chosen to be a model and mentor to other countries has long been entertained by dominant American culture. During the Cold War the struggle against communism was typically couched as a "war against evil." The conflict between two strategies of economic development, capitalism and communism, was defined as if it were a war against demonic powers in which capitalist countries were the agents of divine goodness.

This language has returned with new force under the administration of George W. Bush in its "war against terrorism." The language of holy war, "crusade" and the apocalyptic conflict between good and evil, God and Satan, are freely used in its war rhetoric, directed first against the Taliban in Afghanistan and then against Saddam Hussein in Iraq. These wars were depicted as if they were episodes in an apocalyptic drama of good against evil, angels of light against the forces of darkness, God's chosen people against God's enemies. This language of apocalyptic warfare assumes an U.S. mission to the rest of the nations of the world. America in general, and President Bush in particular, are depicted as messianic agents chosen by God to combat evil and to establish good; namely American hegemonic power and its economic, cultural and political "way of life" over the rest of the world.

This messianic nationalism was expressed in its most blatant form by General William Boykin, an American military leader charged with the hunt against Osama bin Laden. In a speech to his fellow believers Boykin declared that the United States is an object of hatred by other nations because we are uniquely a "Christian nation." He went on to claim that "our spiritual enemy can only be conquered when we confront them in the name of God" (i.e. their spiritual identity is that of Satan). He said that Muslims worship an idol and not the true God. Moreover God has put George W. Bush in office at this time to carry out a world redemptive mission: "We are an army of God raised up for such a time as this."

In other words, George W. Bush is God's elect messiah put in the White House at this time of final crisis in the conflict between God and Satan to lead God's forces of good against the forces of evil. To defeat U.S. America's enemies and put in place the American "free market" system equals defeating evil and establishing the Reign of God over the earth. Although the Pentagon distanced itself from Boykin's language, they did nothing to counteract it. This language creeps continually into official White House declarations of their identity and role. Neo-conservatives, such as Richard Perle, adopt such language, as in his recent book on "How to win the war against terrorism" which he entitled The End of Evil.

In her recently released "New Pentagon Papers," former military intelligence officer Karen Kwiatkowski, revealed the fanatical atmosphere that had taken over Pentagon policy intelligence in the months before the Iraq war, suppressing any objective information on the Middle East. She writes, "I saw a dead philosophy - Cold War anti-communism and neo-imperialism - walking the corridors of the Pentagon. It wore the clothing of counterterrorism and spoke the language of a holy war between good and evil. The evil was recognized by the leadership to be resident mainly in the Middle East and articulated by Islamic clerics and radicals. But there were other enemies within, anyone who dared voice any skepticism about their grand plans."

This language of apocalyptic warfare and messianic nationalism is enormously dangerous at a time when the peoples of the earth are becoming increasingly divided by aggressive American power. Many see this as impoverishing the earth, disabling authentic democracy, undermining cultural diversity, destabilizing social integrity and aggravating the gap between rich and poor. The Christian churches should be involved in many kinds of alternative development to this dominant system, together with other groups, religious and secular. But the first responsibility of the Church is to rebuke the blatant misuse of its own religious language.

I suggest that this "Americanist" messianic nationalist Christianity needs to be critically analyzed and rejected theologically. This denunciation needs to be communicated to American churches of all denominations as a call to conscience. There are four basic heresies involved in this "Americanist" Christianity. They have to do with the nature of God, the nature of the relation of God to human nations, the nature of evil and how evil is overcome or at least lessened in human affairs. I refer to these as "false theological ideas." By "false" I mean that these theological ideas are both idolatrous, pretending that the American nation is uniquely a representative of God, and also conducive to destructive violence, and hence blasphemous when attributed to the will of God.

1. False Theological Idea One: God chooses one nation above all other nations. In Christian tradition God is a God of all nations. "In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek": (Gal 3:21). Christianity confirmed a development within universalist Judaism that God is the creator of the whole world, loves all peoples and nations equally and chooses no one nation above or to the exclusion of others.

2. False Theological Idea Two: The United States is God's uniquely chosen nation. Since God is a God of all peoples and loves all peoples equally, God cannot be seen as choosing the United States for some unique mission over other peoples of the world. Although the concept of "election" can be seen as a way in which every person, and every cultural and national community, grapples with their responsibilities before God, this idea cannot be translated into an objective positioning of one nation over others.

3. False Theological Idea Three: Evil is socially located in the enemies of the United States. In Christian teachings all humans are created in the image of God and all have a potential for good and yet all have sinned and fall short of the will of God. Evil exists particularly in the way in which humans violate their relation to one another. To usurp power and monopolize wealth in one person's or group's hands, depriving other people of the bare means of existence, is the basis of evil on earth. To defend injustice as divinely given is blasphemy, attributing evil to the will of God.

Every person and nation must struggle with how they have helped to construct systems of evil that are impoverishing the earth and the majority of humans and how they have blasphemously sought to defend such evil systems as good and divinely ordained. Although there is undoubtedly responsibility for evils in other peoples and nations, the United States and its citizens must grapple with evil by first asking how they are contributing to it and helping to perpetuate it.

4. False Theological Idea Four: Evil can be conquered by external coercion, ultimately by military force. Local, national and international societies have limited rights to use coercive force in order to constrain abuse of people and the environment within their jurisdictions. The coercive role of government must include those who use power to abuse others, such as paying below living wages and allowing toxic environments that injure health. The proper role of governments is not limited to police functions of restraining outlaws, but includes the use of the sanctions of the law to encourage justice and fair treatment for all.

But it must be clear that such coercive means, whether within or between nations, cannot be construed theologically as "overcoming evil." Evil can only be overcome by conversion, which takes place in the hearts of persons in community. Those who monopolize wealth and power to lord it over, impoverish and abuse others must be changed inwardly to recognize their evil doing. This change is a mystery of divine grace that calls us, empowers us to change and opens us to this call and transformation. Conversion means giving up unjust power and privilege, reconstructing one's relation to others, so that the means of life are justly shared. In Jesus' words to the rich ruler, "sell all that you have and distribute to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven" (Luke 18:22).

Conversion always happens in a social context, not as isolated individuals in no relation to society. Personal conversion is extended in a struggle to change communities. Persuaded by converted mentors, communities recognize that they are using their wealth and power to abuse others and to spiritually impoverish themselves. They decide to change their ways in order to create more just and life giving social relations for all.

Thus, for example, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can never be ended by the endless cycle of Israeli assassination of Palestinian leaders and Palestinian suicide bombers taking revenge by randomly killing Israelis. Although the international community can play a role in defining and encouraging a more just sharing of the land between Israelis and Palestinians, a real break-through to a just sharing of the land can only happen as Israelis and Palestinians become converted from enmity toward each other to seeing each other as fellow human beings with whom they wish to live together as neighbors.

Apartheid in South Africa was overcome, not by external coercion, although sanctions may have played a positive role, but ultimately when whites and blacks were converted to one another and determined that they must live together as equal fellow citizens of one national community. Although all "evil" has hardly been overcome in South Africa, the end of apartheid has lessened one aspect of the evil of racist monopolizing of political power by whites. This has laid the basis for new efforts to create a more just sharing of resources between white and blacks.

Conversion is the only way evil is "overcome." Military violence generally worsens evil, imposing one unjust system in place of another. Non-violent coercion and social reforms may constrain social evils. But coercion never actually "overcomes" evil. This only happens when people are converted from enmity and abuse of others to love of one's neighbor as oneself

American Christians need to come together through local, regional and national networks and church bodies to repudiate Americanist Christianity and to call on all American Christians to distance themselves from its false theological claims. Only in this way can we hope, with other Americans, to forge a new national and international policy that will lessen the evil the United States is doing in the world and the enmity that this is causing. Only in this way can Americans hope to reestablish their country as a nation among other nations that, together with other peoples of the world, might actually lessen the evils of social injustice and environmental degradation and create a beginning of a sustainable future for humanity.