The christian historical consciousness: understanding war in twentieth‐century Europe
This article draws attention to the relationship between the Christian conception of historical meaning and the impetus to war in twentieth‐century Europe. It sets out with the suggestion that despite important alterations, the theological construction of history as the myth of salvation nonetheless...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis
2004
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| In: |
Totalitarian movements and political religions
Year: 2004, Volume: 5, Issue: 1, Pages: 59-93 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article draws attention to the relationship between the Christian conception of historical meaning and the impetus to war in twentieth‐century Europe. It sets out with the suggestion that despite important alterations, the theological construction of history as the myth of salvation nonetheless survived into the secular era. At the outset of the twentieth century the fascination with utopia located on the horizon of historical expectation permeated the entire European ideological climate, reflecting the need to escape the threat of nihilism in the wake of rationalisation and industrialisation. In this context, the article moves on to argue, destruction and self‐sacrifice paradoxically represented acts of spiritual well‐being: the horizon of historical expectation, or Erwartungshorizont, commanded and sanctified war as the motive force of progress towards fulfilment. The article subsequently examines the demise of the Erwartungshorizont with the onset of the nuclear era, itself a product of secular futurism, and describes the loss of deeper meaning and the reluctance to wage war as two interrelated phenomena engendered by the dissolution of grand historical visions. |
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| ISSN: | 1743-9647 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Totalitarian movements and political religions
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/1469076042000223400 |