The Great and Holy War

How World War I Became a Religious Crusade

Nonfiction, History, Military, World War I, Religion & Spirituality, Reference, World History
Cover of the book The Great and Holy War by Philip Jenkins, HarperOne
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Philip Jenkins ISBN: 9780062105103
Publisher: HarperOne Publication: April 29, 2014
Imprint: HarperOne Language: English
Author: Philip Jenkins
ISBN: 9780062105103
Publisher: HarperOne
Publication: April 29, 2014
Imprint: HarperOne
Language: English

The Great and Holy War offers the first look at how religion created and prolonged the First World War. At the one-hundredth anniversary of the outbreak of the war, historian Philip Jenkins reveals the powerful religious dimensions of this modern-day crusade, a period that marked a traumatic crisis for Western civilization, with effects that echoed throughout the rest of the twentieth century.

The war was fought by the world's leading Christian nations, who presented the conflict as a holy war. Thanks to the emergence of modern media, a steady stream of patriotic and militaristic rhetoric was given to an unprecedented audience, using language that spoke of holy war and crusade, of apocalypse and Armageddon. But this rhetoric was not mere state propaganda. Jenkins reveals how the widespread belief in angels and apparitions, visions and the supernatural was a driving force throughout the war and shaped all three of the major religions—Christianity, Judaism and Islam—paving the way for modern views of religion and violence. The disappointed hopes and moral compromises that followed the war also shaped the political climate of the rest of the century, giving rise to such phenomena as Nazism, totalitarianism, and communism.

Connecting numerous remarkable incidents and characters—from Karl Barth to Carl Jung, the Christmas Truce to the Armenian Genocide—Jenkins creates a powerful and persuasive narrative that brings together global politics, history, and spiritual crisis as never before and shows how religion informed and motivated circumstances on all sides of the war.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The Great and Holy War offers the first look at how religion created and prolonged the First World War. At the one-hundredth anniversary of the outbreak of the war, historian Philip Jenkins reveals the powerful religious dimensions of this modern-day crusade, a period that marked a traumatic crisis for Western civilization, with effects that echoed throughout the rest of the twentieth century.

The war was fought by the world's leading Christian nations, who presented the conflict as a holy war. Thanks to the emergence of modern media, a steady stream of patriotic and militaristic rhetoric was given to an unprecedented audience, using language that spoke of holy war and crusade, of apocalypse and Armageddon. But this rhetoric was not mere state propaganda. Jenkins reveals how the widespread belief in angels and apparitions, visions and the supernatural was a driving force throughout the war and shaped all three of the major religions—Christianity, Judaism and Islam—paving the way for modern views of religion and violence. The disappointed hopes and moral compromises that followed the war also shaped the political climate of the rest of the century, giving rise to such phenomena as Nazism, totalitarianism, and communism.

Connecting numerous remarkable incidents and characters—from Karl Barth to Carl Jung, the Christmas Truce to the Armenian Genocide—Jenkins creates a powerful and persuasive narrative that brings together global politics, history, and spiritual crisis as never before and shows how religion informed and motivated circumstances on all sides of the war.

More books from HarperOne

Cover of the book Lily Dale by Philip Jenkins
Cover of the book Awakening the Heroes Within by Philip Jenkins
Cover of the book The Easter Moment by Philip Jenkins
Cover of the book The Allure of Gentleness by Philip Jenkins
Cover of the book Why Am I Always So Tired? by Philip Jenkins
Cover of the book Miracles Happen by Philip Jenkins
Cover of the book Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World by Philip Jenkins
Cover of the book A New Christianity for a New World by Philip Jenkins
Cover of the book You Are Here by Philip Jenkins
Cover of the book Rumi: The Book of Love by Philip Jenkins
Cover of the book Lit From Within by Philip Jenkins
Cover of the book How to Win at Feminism by Philip Jenkins
Cover of the book Mariel Hemingway's Healthy Living from the Inside Out by Philip Jenkins
Cover of the book Christianity and the Social Crisis in the 21st Century by Philip Jenkins
Cover of the book The Gospel of Jesus by Philip Jenkins
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy