This essay puts Porteous into the context of the profoundly challenging events that shaped the Scottish church and state during the interwar period. This was a time when a clear break had been made with past certainties and when a new future was being forged amidst a period of grim economic and social realities. It looks in particular at the impact of the First World War on the Scottish churches; the social crisis that accompanied the post-war economic recession; and the growing international crisis that accompanied the rise of totalitarian regimes on the Continent