Nationalism, Nation and Sacrifice in the Chinese Church

What are we to make of Christian nationalism in China, and its biblical and theological justifications? This talk begins with understandings of “nation” in the early twentieth century as the dynastic empire was reinvented as a nation state, and Christian nationalism developed as both a constructive cause—building a new republic, creating a citizenship that could take charge of its own destiny—and a reaction to foreign imperialism. Using a series of articles from Tian Feng 天風 in 1950-53, the talk focuses on the new discourse on nation and Christian sacrifice that emerged among liberal Protestants in the early People’s Republic of China. Sacrifice was a central motif in Christian writings in this time of war, as believers were called on to sacrifice old ways and old ideas, as well as to make the ultimate sacrifice of their lives, in the name of the nation.