Nationhood, Providence, and Witness

In this eloquently argued work Carys Moseley provides an original angle of criticism on the issue of nationhood and Christianity, asserting that Christianity must relate to nationhood as the nation structure is part of God's plan for humanity. The book addresses three major themes in the field of theology and nationhood. The first is that anti-nationalism and anti-Zionism are often two sides of the same coin, and involve taking leave of a providential reading of the Bible as well as a willingness to understand history in broadly providential terms. The second is that such an approach tends to involve a reluctance to recognise subordinated Gentile nations, especially those that have lost independence. Moseley studies the work of four theologians - Reinhold Niebuhr, Rowan Williams, John Milbank and Karl Barth - to examine the difference between nationhood and statehood. She provides a perspective on Wales as a stateless nation, as an example of a Gentile parallel to Israel. Thirdly, Moseley links social theorists to the theologians to explore their affinities.Niebuhr is paired with Mark Juergensmeyer, and Rowan Williams is juxtaposed to the debate between Adrian Hastings and Anthon Smith. Nationhood, Recognition and Providence will interest anyone concerned with nationhood and Israel in protestant theology, and offers unique insights into stateless nations from the Welsh-born author's perspective.

Moseley's book will prove to be a significant voice in the unremitting discussion of the so-called 'problem of Israel', and warrants careful deliberation by theologians of every stripe. Tavis A Bollinger, Theological Book Review, volume 26, no 1, 2014 Moseley has a claim to make about the internal structure of Christian theology: what a theologian says about nation and how state will correlate with what that theologian has to say about nations and nationhood more generally. Jeremy Worthen, Theology vol.118, issue 2, 2015 Contrary to myriad theoretically sophisticated predictions ... nations continue to exist. What to make of this fact? That theology ought rigorously to take up anew this pressing and significant fact is the merit of Moseley's welcome book.a call has been given for nationality to assume 'its due regard as a topic in theology'. The facts of history demand no less. Steven Grosby, Heythrop Journal, vol 56 issue 3, May 2015 Moseley's attempt to bring a theological perspective to bear on the topic of nationhood is ... a timely one, while her sustained critique of anti-nationalism in Christian theology should certainly warn readers against any facile dismissal of the powerful forces that may be released by invoking the idea of the nation in contemporary political discourse. Jeremy Worthen, Studies in Christian Ethics, vol 28 issue 2, 2015 "Moseley's study is to be welcomed to the extent that more critical theological engagements with the complex realities of nations and nationalism are sorely needed." Alain Epp Weaver, Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology, 69 (4), October 2015 "If anything can be said about this book it is that is surely has the momentum. .... [T]he book offers a thorough and provocative assessment of four important voices in modern theology on the matter of nationhood and national identities. .... Yet, Moseley shares her praiseworthy concerns and motives, illustrated by her decision to understand nationhood in the context of missiology." Ruben van de Belt, Journal of Reformed Theology, Volume 10, Issue 4, 2016

Carys Moseley studied Classics and Theology at the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford and Edinburgh, and has taught Theology and Christian Ethics at the University of Edinburgh. She is the author of Nations and Nationalism in the Theology of Karl Barth (2013).