War zeal, nationalism and unity in Christ: evangelical missions in Germany during World War I
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Authors
Spohn, Elmar, 1967-
Sauer, Christof, 1963-
Issue Date
2009
Type
Article
Language
en
Keywords
Nationalism and unity , Evangelical mission , Christ
Alternative Title
Abstract
World War I brought unspeakable destitution to humankind. The question arises: Which
ideals drove people to march so enthusiastically toward battle and death? Church history
research has called attention to the role of theology and the church. World War I was not
merely welcomed; rather, it was understood to be God’s word and was vigorously
glorified theologically. To date, however, the role played by the evangelical missions has
not been addressed by church history research.
The historical evaluation of mission journals of important evangelical mission
societies of that era demonstrated that the evangelical missions also welcomed the war
and justified it, as did the other Protestants. They shared in the over-glorification of their
own nation and the propounding of negative platitudes about the wartime enemy. They
professed to uphold the unity of all evangelical Christians; nevertheless, irritations arose
between German missionaries and their international partners.
Description
Peer reviewed
Citation
Spohn,E & Christof, S. 2009,'
War zeal, nationalism and unity in Christ: evangelical missions in Germany during World War I',
Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae, vol. XXXV, no. 2, pp. 323-336.
Publisher
Church History Society of Southern Africa
License
Journal
Volume
Issue
PubMed ID
DOI
ISSN
1017-0499