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Ladataan... Faith in conflict : the impact of the Great War on the faith of the people of Britain (vuoden 2017 painos)Tekijä: Stuart Bell
TeostiedotFaith in conflict : the impact of the Great War on the faith of the people of Britain (tekijä: Stuart Bell)
- Ei tämänhetkisiä Keskustelu-viestiketjuja tästä kirjasta.  JmGallen | Mar 1, 2023 |  ei arvosteluja | lisää arvostelu
It may seem obvious that the Great War, with its immense cost in terms of lives lost and injuries of body and mind incurred, must have had a significant impact on the religious faith of the British people. There is much anecdotal evidence to support that perception, but how typical of the wider population of combatants and civilians were those stories? In Faith in Conflict, Stuart Bell examines a wide range of published and archival sources to explore how the war affected the beliefs of the churchgoers of wartime Britain, as well as the majority who rarely attended church, but who believed in God and in the afterlife. The language which they heard from the pulpits and the hymns that they sang expressed a variety of responses. Undergirding everything was a firm belief that God was on the side of Britain - a nation divinely chosen to ensure the triumph of right over military might. Faith in Conflict explores how ordinary soldiers pondered how an all-powerful God could allow such carnage and shows that the well-known First World War fatalism was the least problematic response to the apparent randomness of falling shells. The language of the 'God of Battles' and 'Lord of Hosts' is analysed to show how confidence in divine support was founded on a belief that Britain was, like the Israel of the Old Testament, fighting with God's support. Two particular features of wartime faith are identified: the first is the practice of praying for the dead, which very soon after the start of the war, became almost universal across the Church of England; the second is the idea of a suffering God, which was promoted by the famous chaplain Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy (also known as 'Woodbine Willie'). He argued that rather than a 'passionless potentate', the only understanding of God which made moral sense in the midst of the fighting was a 'comrade God' who wept and shared in his children's suffering. Stuart Bell shows how the language of chivalry and martyrdom was used to express both the country's confidence in the righteousness of the cause and the belief that those who died in what was a Holy War were assured of eternal salvation. The memoirs of five soldiers - representative of a wide spectrum of faith - are examined; finally, he explores the reasons for the very limited influence of the war on religious practice. 'This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the First World War and its impact on religious faith. Stuart Bell carefully examines a range of sources, including hymns, local newspapers, letters, war diaries, the theology of G Studdert Kennedy, memorial services and other liturgical material, and he comes to the striking conclusion that the influence on faith was limited. This undermines and replaces what has been the widely accepted view on the effects of the War on religious faith. Bell's elegantly written exploration of religious attitudes is characterized by thoroughness, evenhandedness and sound judgment, and the book holds the reader's attention from first to last'. Professor Frances Knight, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Nottingham. "This is a very thoroughly researched and clearly argued book. I especially liked the author's sensitivity to the nature of the different sources used and the problems involved in their interpretation. A memorable chapter analyses the poems and other writings of the celebrity chaplain Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy, who might be regarded as the book's hero, and whom Stuart Bell regards as an outstanding, and wrongly neglected, exponent of the idea of a 'Suffering God'." Hugh McLeod, Emeritus Professor of Church History, University of Birmingham. Kirjastojen kuvailuja ei löytynyt. |
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 Google Books — Ladataan...LajityypitMelvil Decimal System (DDC)940.478History and Geography Europe Europe Military History Of World War I Prisons, hospitals, charities Religious life, chaplains, etc.Kongressin kirjaston luokitusArvio (tähdet)Keskiarvo: (5)
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The Glossary of Ecclesiastical and Military Terms is a helpful reference. The photos put names to faces. The cover, reproduced among the other photos, of the Bishop of London addressing reclining troops in France is uniquely powerful. The chapters are topically arranged. The First Chapter Sets The Scene of the Churches, natures of religious practice, local jurisdictions, primary sources, excerpts from diaries and letters and the ubiquity of hymnody.
In the Second Chapter, “A Holy War And Favored Nation” I find parallels to the tradition of American Exceptionalism. Reports of German soldiers brutalizing Belgian civilians alleviated doubt “It is a holy war”. (p.41) The characterization of Britain as “A Favored Nation” and that its Empire were divinely ordained for the benefit of the less privileged seems a novel concept to this Irish-American, but, to the Archdeacon of Montreal “Britain is the elect nation of the world today.” (p. 46)
Chapter Three documents the use of terms, “God of Battles”, God of Hosts” and “ God of Peace” in hymns, sermons, poetry, rhetoric and literature from peace through war to Armistice.
Chapter Four examines the seeming contradiction between an omnipotent and providential God and the horror of war. One officer “doubts as to the existence of God, or, if He exists, doubts as to his power to interfere with the world-order” (p. 79) while another believed skeptics at home cannot understand the mystery of God’s providence, but they are assured of His presence and love.” (p. 78)
The Fifth Chapter, “Sacrifice and Memorialisation”, studies several themes where the martial and spiritual meet. Is sacrifice, whether material, or even “Supreme”, human or Christian? Did one achieve salvation through sacrifice? Was a combat fatality “a martyr for his nation?” How should the fallen, individually, or the War itself, be commemorated? The extension of the practice of offering of prayers for the dead beyond Catholicism and Anglo-Catholicism was one change associated with the War.
Probably the most intensely theological Chapter is the Sixth “Beyond Sacrifice to a Suffering God”. In it the author draws heavily on the writings of Western Front Chaplain Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy. Kennedy rejected the understanding that God willed the War and could have stopped it and posited, instead, a God of sorrow who shares His world’s sufferings. Adopted by a few other quoted theologians, the doctrine of a suffering God is presented as having crests and ebbs in following, but I still detect echoes in orations about a God saddened by our sin.
The Seventh Chapter sports a familiar term, “Ecumenism” with a World War I perspective. As the War forced chaplains from competing denominations into military cooperation, questions of exchange of pulpits, and consolidation of prayer books and hymnals led to discussion of reunion of churches. Although reforms continued for a few years their enduring power was limited.
The ultimate chapter, “Faith At The Front” consists of analysis of and quotes from writings of five Western Front soldiers reflecting their own religious views. Jack Titterton of the 200th Siege Battery wondered:
O if there be a God of grace
Above this toiling world…
Why stays he then upon His throne…
To see His children die? (p.179)
Ernest Goodridge’ diary included:
On Guard, or march, O Prince of Peace…
Be thou my Captain and my Guide
And in the conflict shield
Dismiss me to the Warrior rest
On Heaven’s white tented field. (p.193)
Faith In Conflict is for some, but not all readers. Author Stuart Bell has crafted an intensely researched investigation of the interaction between the War and religion in Britain during the Great War. Each chapter is largely independent. This work provides insights into the religious environment of early Twentieth Century Britain. The reader who opens it pages should be ready to think and reflect. He will be challenged to compare his own religiosity with the that of century ago. It poses question as contemporary as historic: “Are we to have peace at any price and allow a maniac to dominate this country and the whole of Europe?” We study history to learn how our world came to be. “Faith In Conflict” delivers. (