Adolf Harnack, Das Wesen des Christentums (1900)

Adolf Harnack’s Das Wesen des Christentums (1900) is an extremely influential publication, which sold more than 100.000 copies. The first English edition appeared already in 1902 under the title What is Christianity? In the preface, the church historian and liberal theologian Harnack (1851-1930) characterized the book as a ‘short and plain statement of the Gospel and its history’. The present article explores Harnack’s career as one of the great scholars of his time. Furthermore, Harnack’s crucial historical approach (historicism), his characterisation of the essence of Christianity (‘God and the human soul, the soul and its God’), and the reception of Das Wesen des Christentums (Alfred Loisy, Leo Baeck) are discussed. Finally, its strengths and weaknesses (its hegemonial liberal stance) are outlined