The First World War and the Mobilization of Biblical Scholarship

This fascinating collection of essays charts, for the first time, the range of responses by scholars on both sides of the conflict to the outbreak of war in August 1914. The volume examines how biblical scholars, like their compatriots from every walk of life, responded to the great crisis they faced, and, with relatively few exceptions, were keen to contribute to the war effort. Some joined up as soldiers. More commonly, however, biblical scholars and theologians put pen to paper as part of the torrent of patriotic publication that arose both in the United Kingdom and in Germany. The contributors reveal that, in many cases, scholars were repeating or refining common arguments about the responsibility for the war. In Germany and Britain, where the Bible was still central to a Protestant national culture, we also find numerous more specialized works, where biblical scholars brought their own disciplinary expertise to bear on the matter of war in general, and this war in particular. The volume’s contributors thus offer new insights into the place of both the Bible and biblical scholarship in early 20th-century culture.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Abbreviations Notes on Contributors Part 1: Introduction 1. Biblical Scholarship at War, 1914–18 - Andrew Mein, University of Durham, UK Part 2: Individuals and Institutions 2. Maintaining the Light of Truth? The Mobilization of University Academics, 1914–15 - Tomás Irish, University of Swansea, UK 3. For Christ and Kaiser: Caspar René Gregory and the First World War - Timothy J. Demy, US Naval War College, USA 4. Between Prophetic Critique and Raison D’état: Rudolf Kittel on German Jews during the Great War and on Old Testament Hebrews in Biblical Wars - Lukas Bormann, University of Marburg, Germany 5. William Sanday, Modernism, and the First World War - Mark D. Chapman, University of Oxford, UK 6. SOTS, SBL, and WWI: Anglo-American Scholarly Societies and the Great War - Matthew A. Collins, University of Chester, UK Part 3: Biblical Texts and Themes 7. Thou Shalt not Kill, Unless…: The Decalogue in a Kaiserreich at War - Paul Michael Kurtz, University of Cambridge, UK 8. Holy War and the Great War in German Protestant Scholarship on the Old Testament - Nathan MacDonald, University of Cambridge, UK 9. Psalms, Patriotism and Propaganda: A Favourite Book in Wartime Biblical Scholarship - Andrew Mein, University of Durham, UK 10. Ecstasy versus Ethics: The Impact of the First World War on German Biblical Scholarship on the Hebrew Prophets - Susannah Heschel, Dartmouth College, USA 11. Martyr: Title and First World War Context - Jan Willem van Henten, Free University Amsterdam, Netherlands 12. The First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the Fate of Social-Scientific Approaches to the New Testament and Christian Origins - James Crossley, St Mary’s University Twickenham, UK 13. A Disconnected Dialogue: Adolf von Harnack, C. J. Cadoux, and the Biblical Case for Peace at the Outbreak of the First World War - Hugh S. Pyper, University of Sheffield, UK Part 4: Response 14. The Great War and the Bible: Some Reflections - Suzanne L. Marchand, Louisiana State University, USA Bibliography Name Index References Index