They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love

DESCRIPTION: "We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord (x2)... And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love." The singer hopes for reunion of the Christian sects and promises to work together with others
AUTHOR: Peter Scholtes (1938-2009) (source: Wikipedia)
EARLIEST DATE: before 1970 (source: Wikipedia)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad campsong
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Averill-CampSongsFolkSongs, p.546, "They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love" (notes only)
NOTES [116 words]: Wikipedia says this was "inspired by" John 13;35, "by this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (Yes, the Greek says "have love," not "love" -- the word "love" is a noun, not a verb, though I have no clue if that is significant or why. None of the commentaries I checked had anything to say about the construction).
The reunion of the church is a particular issue for Catholics (which Scholtes was when he wrote this, although he later abandoned his vocation): They considered their theology to be correct, and the Orthodox to be in schism and most Protestant sects to be actual heresies; their goal is for all Christians to rejoin the true church. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.3
File: ACSF456K

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography