“Thanking God for the Humiliation”: Henry Scott Holland, British Idealism, and the Penitential Self

Abstract

Abstract This paper provides a new reading of the theology of Lux Mundi (1889), emphasising the creative and constructive theological leadership of Henry Scott Holland (1847–1918). A wide range of works by Holland are examined, showing his resistance to the philosophical Idealism of Thomas Hill Green (1836–1882). This usefully illustrates ways in which Holland provided inspiration for later Anglican Social Theology. Holland’s influence on key trends in Anglican interpretation of doctrine, including theories of sin, penitence, forgiveness, atonement, and sacrifice are explored with reference to the moral climates of both the finde-siècle and the Great War (1914–1918).