Albert Eichhorn the author of Das Abendmahl im Neuen Testament, was one of the founders of the discipline of history of religions

History of religions

The history of religion refers to the written record of human religious experiences and ideas. This period of religious history begins with the invention of writing about 5,000 years ago in the Near East. The prehistory of religion relates to a study of religious beliefs that existed prior to the...

, an approach that sought to understand all religions, including Christianity and Judaism, as socio-cultural phenomena that developed in comparable ways. His pioneering work on the role of the contemporary needs, beliefs, and culture that shaped the New Testament reports of Jesus’ Last Supper

Last Supper

The Last Supper is the final meal that, according to Christian belief, Jesus shared with his Twelve Apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. The Last Supper provides the scriptural basis for the Eucharist, also known as "communion" or "the Lord's Supper".The First Epistle to the Corinthians is...

 argued that this early Christian sacramental meal reflected the influence of Near Eastern “gnostic” (using the term broadly) ideas.

Publications

• Albert Eichhorn, Das Abendmahl im Neuen Testament. Leipzig: Mohr Siebeck, 1898. Translated by Jeffrey F. Cayzer as The Lord’s Supper in the New Testament. With an introductory essay by Hugo Gressmann, “Albert Eichhorn and the History of Religion School.” Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, forthcoming (2007).
• Albert Eichhorn, Athanasii De vita ascetica testimonia collecta. Habilitation
  Habilitation
  Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...
  
  , Halle, 1886.
• Albert Eichhorn, “Etwas vom Predigen.” Die Christliche Welt (1895): cols. 273–76, 308–10.
• Albert Eichhorn, “Heilige Geschichte,” in Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart (ed. Friedrich Michael Schiele and Leopold Zscharnack; 5 vols.; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1909–13), 2:2023–27.
• Albert Eichhorn, “Die Rechtfertigungslehre der Apologie.” TSK 59 (1887): 415–91.

Further reading

• Hugo Gressmann
  Hugo Gressmann
  Hugo Gressmann was born on March 21, 1877 in Mölln . He was a prominent Old Testament scholar and a friend and associate of the eminent scholar Hermann Gunkel.-Gattungsgeschichte Method:...
  
  , Albert Eichhorn und die religionsgeschichtliche Schule. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1914 (see Publications above for English translation).
• Hans Rollmann, "Eichhorn, Karl Albert August Ludwig," in Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation (ed. John H. Hayes; 2 vols.; Nashville: Abingdon, 1999), 1:324–25.
• Suelzer, Alexa and J. Kselman, "Modern Old Testament Criticism," in The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (Prentice Hall: Englewood Cliffs) 1990.