This book presents a case study of the cultural crisis in Edwardian England that made Albert Schweitzer's eschatological interpretation of the historical Jesus such an appealing idea in biblical studies and theology. This book presents a case study of one distinctive theological theme - the eschatological interpetation of the historical Jesus in Edwardian England - as an attempt to add greater precision to the history of theology in a neglected period. Looking at the impact of Adolf Harnack, Alfred Loisy, Albert Schweitzer and Johannes Weiss on biblical studies and theology before the First World War, Chapman argues that the future course of theology, in which eschatology played such a crucial role, was already mapped at this time. Assessing the work of William Sanday F.C. Burkitt and George Tyrrell, Chapman looks at the theological diplomacy between Britain, France and Germany and uncovers a cultural crisis that made eschatology such an appealing idea.

Author Biography

Mark Chapman is Vice-Principal of Ripon College Cuddesdon, Oxford, and a Reader in Modern Theology at the University of Oxford, UK. He has written widely on modern church history, ethics and theology. His books include Ernst Troeltsch and Liberal Theology (Oxford), The Coming Crisis (Sheffield), Blair's Britain (DLT) and Anglicanism: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford).