Dancing to the Beat of War Drums?
My dear friend Daniel Camacho has posted an incredibly moving video of a poem on war and resistance, by the Muslim poet Suheir Hammad.
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I’m often puzzled by how easily American Christians get swept up and overpowered by nationalistic narratives of war. Going beyond the debate about pacifism and just-war theory, I would at least expect Christians to be more suspicious of the grandiose narratives that nation-states use to justify violence. To be sure, we cannot underestimate the power of these narratives. Usually clothed in utilitarian language, and endorsed by most of the news sources available to us, they take on an aura of objectivity. They simply make sense. It becomes hard to resist them. One way to resist such narratives is to recognize that they are just that—narratives. They represent one way of looking at things. By no means are they absolute. Once this is realized, they are able to be called into question. “Perhaps, this story has missed the picture. Perhaps, its focus has sidelined important obligations that we should have never forgotten.”
Resistance to a nationalistic narrative of war requires an alternative narrative to counter it. And given the hegemony that militaristic narratives enjoy, any counter-narrative will almost always be a marginalized narrative. Christians need to recognize that the Gospel itself is a marginalized narration of the state-of-affairs, one in which the King of the cosmos conquers through death on a cross. So Christians do have the resources for resistance. But the question is, do we still have the imagination to question the primacy of militaristic narratives? Can we re-imagine things in such a way that there is room for us to love our enemies?
It seems as though many Christians remain quite comfortable with the mainstream narratives of war. But we need to resist; we need to remember our story. In the mean time, maybe we will have to find inspiration from Muslim, Palestinian poets in Brooklyn.
My name is Aaron Rathbun, and I'm a graduate student in philosophical theology at Yale Divinity School. Husband and father of three, my chief interests are postsecular political theology, critical theory, postfoundationalist epistemology and hermeneutics. My hope is to serve the Church, to best be "in this world, but not of it." 
“We need to remember our story.” Yes. And we need to retell it so people know there is more than one narrative…
Hey Aaron, Great post again.
Every read any John Howard Yoder? He proposes that the only way one can be for nonviolence is by remembering the Cross. Therefore, our story informs our politics.
Aaron: I think that nationalism has an interesting history within Christianity. Although Augustine seemingly corrected Eusebius’ position that fully integrated the Church and the State (esentially, Rome and Christianity as co-eternal), it seems that not far after Augustine’s death the major viewpoint in the West shifted back to a Eusebian position. This reversion seems to have occurred at the very latest by the rise of Charlemagne to the position of Holy Roman Emperor. From there, forward, the history of the West has continued to be profoundly influenced by what appears to be a tendency within Christianity towards nationalism. I think that Innocent III’s reference to himself as the sun and the princes of Europe as the moons, reflecting his glory, is an easy reference to see this viewpoint in the middle ages.
Anyhow, I would be curious to know if anyone has done any extensive work on nationalism within the first 1000 years of Church History, as it seems to have been present from the time of Constantine forward. I know that scholars like Markus and Dodaro have explored the point as part of other works that they are doing, especially as it relates to Augustine. However, I am not aware of much outside of my primary area of research.
Perhaps by better understanding Christian Nationalism’s roots in history we could help ourselves and others develop a better Christian approach to nations and wars.
@Rod, I’ve had all my Yoder intravenously through Hauerwas, Cavanaugh, and Smith
. But I am excited to dig into some primary Yoder texts in the coming semesters (I’m thinking I may change my concentration at Yale from philosophical theology to theological ethics).
@Brian, I’m reading William Cavanaugh’s new book right now, Migrations of the Holy: God, State, and the Political Meaning of the Church. In one essay, he talks about the fictional nature of the contemporary nation-state, and “nationalism” (as we currently know it) as a modern invention. In one footnote, he mentions one scholar who has done work on the history of nationalism, and it not going too far back. But I guess we’d have to define our terms, to set the parameters and scope of the inquiry. But I think when defined broadly, much more would show up on our radar (such as the examples you note).
@aaron, Dude, don’t trust secondary texts with Yoder, read him for yourself. You will see a completely different person. Hauerwas gets a lot wrong with Yoder, and with Bonhoeffer, I would argue.
Thanks for sharing this Aaron =).
Nice poem. War is over, if you want it.
I agree with you, Aaron… this needs to stop. But I would submit that it’s not just Christians who should abandon war, but all peoples of the world. We must put a stop to it for our children and theirs, and the continued survival and prosperity of the human species.