Positive Christianity

ORIGINS OF THE IDEA

Positive Christianity grew out of the Higher Criticism of the nineteenth century, with its emphasis on the distinction between the Historical Jesus , and the divine Jesus of theology. According to some schools of thought, the saviour-figure of orthodox Christianity was very different from the historical Galilean preacher. While many such scholars sought to place Jesus in the context of ancient Judaism, some writers reconstructed an historical Jesus who corresponded to anti-Semitic ideology. In the writings of such anti-Semites as Emile Burnouf , Houston Stewart Chamberlain and Paul De Lagarde Jesus was redefined as an " Aryan " hero who struggled against Judaism. Such writers either rejected or minimised the miraculous aspects of Gospel narratives, reducing the Crucifixion to a tragic coda to Jesus's life rather than its prefigured culmination. Both Burnouf and Chamberlain argued that the population of Galilee was racially distinct from that of Judea. Lagarde insisted that German Christianity must become "national" in character.

IN NAZI IDEOLOGY

; he is glaring at "racially alien" Jewish converts to Christianity.]]Such ideas were eagerly siezed upon by the Nazi movement which circulated them in its journals such as Der Stürmer and Völkischer Beobachter , both of which stressed the " Nordic " character of Jesus. Alfred Rosenberg, editor of the latter, further developed the concept in The Myth Of The Twentieth Century in which he argued that the Catholic and Protestant churches had distorted Christianity in such a way that the "heroic" and "Germanic" aspects of Jesus's life had been ignored. For Rosenberg, Positive Christianity was a transitional ideology that would pave the way to the revival of fully Aryan religions. Its symbol was the orb of the sun in the form of a Sun Cross .

Hitler distanced himself from Rosenberg's more radical ideas, wishing to retain the support of the conservative Christian electorate and social elite, but he emphasised the desirability of Positive Christianity. The German Christians led by Ludwig Müller were the principal agents in Hitler's early attempt to Nazify Christianity in Germany by uniting the Protestant churches under Müller's leadership, but this proposal met resistance, as it was rejected by many Christian pastors under the leadership of Martin Niemöller . Following this failure, Hitler backtracked on attempts to directly Nazify the churches.

The German Faith Movement founded by Jakob Wilhelm Hauer adopted a more thoroughly Aryanised form of the ideology, mixing aspects of Christianity with ideas derived from "Aryan" religions such as Vedic Hinduism . They attempted to separate Nazi officials from church affiliations, banning nativity plays and calling for an end to daily prayers in schools.

After 1945 Positive Christianity ceased to exist as a movement.

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Positive Christianity