François Samuel Robert Louis Gaussen
Encyclopedia
François Samuel Robert Louis Gaussen (25 August 1790 – 18 June 1863) was a Swiss
Protestant divine.
. His father, Georg Markus Gaussen, a member of the Council of Two Hundred, was descended from an old Languedoc
family which had been scattered at the time of the religious persecutions in France
. At the close of his university career at Geneva, Louis was in 1816 appointed pastor of the Swiss Reformed Church
at Satigny
near Geneva, where he formed a close relationship with J. E. Cellrier, who had preceded him in the pastorate, and also with the members of the dissenting congregation at Bourg-de-Four, which, together with the Église du témoignage, had been formed under the influence of the preaching of James and Robert Haldane
in 1817. The Swiss revival
was distasteful to the pastors of Geneva (Venérable Compagnie des Pasteurs), and on 7 May 1817 they passed an ordinance hostile to it.
As a protest against this ordinance, in 1819 Gaussen published in conjunction with Cellrier a French
translation of the Second Helvetic Confession, with a preface expounding the views he had reached upon the nature, use, and necessity of confessions of faith; and in 1830, for having discarded the official catechism
of his church as being insufficiently explicit on the divinity of Christ
, original sin and the doctrines of grace, he was censured and suspended by his ecclesiastical superiors. In the following year he took part in the formation of a Société Evangélique (Evangelische Gesellschaft). When this society contemplated, among other objects, the establishment of a new theological college, he was finally deprived of his charge.
After some time devoted to travel in Italy
and England
, he returned to Geneva and ministered to an independent congregation until 1834, when he joined Merle d'Aubigné
as professor of systematic theology
in the college which he had helped to found. This post he continued to occupy until 1857, when he retired from the active duties of the chair. He died at Les Grottes, Geneva, on 18 June 1863.
His best-known work, entitled La Théopneustie, ou pleine inspiration des saintes écritures, an elaborate defence of the doctrine of plenary inspiration, was originally published in Paris
in 1840, and rapidly gained a wide popularity in France, as also, through translations, in England and America
. It was followed in 1860 by a supplementary treatise on the canon (Le Canon des saintes écritures au double point de vue de la science et de la foi), which, though also popular, has hardly been so widely read.
See the article in Herzog-Hauck, Realencyklopädie (1899).
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
Protestant divine.
Life
Gaussen was born at GenevaGeneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
. His father, Georg Markus Gaussen, a member of the Council of Two Hundred, was descended from an old Languedoc
Languedoc
Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...
family which had been scattered at the time of the religious persecutions in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. At the close of his university career at Geneva, Louis was in 1816 appointed pastor of the Swiss Reformed Church
Swiss Reformed Church
The Reformed branch of Protestantism in Switzerland was started in Zürich by Huldrych Zwingli and spread within a few years to Basel , Bern , St...
at Satigny
Satigny
Satigny is a municipality of the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It is the largest wine-producing municipality in Switzerland.-History:Satigny is first mentioned in 91 as villam Satiniatis, though this comes from a 12th Century copy of the earlier document. In around 1128 it was mentioned as de...
near Geneva, where he formed a close relationship with J. E. Cellrier, who had preceded him in the pastorate, and also with the members of the dissenting congregation at Bourg-de-Four, which, together with the Église du témoignage, had been formed under the influence of the preaching of James and Robert Haldane
Robert Haldane
-Biography:Haldane was born in London, the son of James Haldane 2nd of Airthrey House, and his wife Katherine Duncan. His younger brother James Alexander Haldane was also a clergyman...
in 1817. The Swiss revival
Réveil
Réveil was a 1814 revival movement within the Swiss Reformed Church of Western Switzerland and Southern France .The supporters were also called pejoratively momiers. The movement was initially under the influence of Barbara von Krüdener and later British Methodists and members of Free Church of...
was distasteful to the pastors of Geneva (Venérable Compagnie des Pasteurs), and on 7 May 1817 they passed an ordinance hostile to it.
As a protest against this ordinance, in 1819 Gaussen published in conjunction with Cellrier a French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
translation of the Second Helvetic Confession, with a preface expounding the views he had reached upon the nature, use, and necessity of confessions of faith; and in 1830, for having discarded the official catechism
Catechism
A catechism , i.e. to indoctrinate) is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...
of his church as being insufficiently explicit on the divinity of Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
, original sin and the doctrines of grace, he was censured and suspended by his ecclesiastical superiors. In the following year he took part in the formation of a Société Evangélique (Evangelische Gesellschaft). When this society contemplated, among other objects, the establishment of a new theological college, he was finally deprived of his charge.
After some time devoted to travel in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, he returned to Geneva and ministered to an independent congregation until 1834, when he joined Merle d'Aubigné
Jean-Henri Merle d'Aubigné
Jean-Henri Merle d'Aubigné was a Swiss Protestant minister and historian of the Reformation.He was born at Eaux Vives, a neighbourhood of Geneva. A street in the area is named after him. The ancestors of his father Robert Merle d'Aubigné , were French Protestant refugees...
as professor of systematic theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
in the college which he had helped to found. This post he continued to occupy until 1857, when he retired from the active duties of the chair. He died at Les Grottes, Geneva, on 18 June 1863.
His best-known work, entitled La Théopneustie, ou pleine inspiration des saintes écritures, an elaborate defence of the doctrine of plenary inspiration, was originally published in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1840, and rapidly gained a wide popularity in France, as also, through translations, in England and America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was followed in 1860 by a supplementary treatise on the canon (Le Canon des saintes écritures au double point de vue de la science et de la foi), which, though also popular, has hardly been so widely read.
See the article in Herzog-Hauck, Realencyklopädie (1899).
Publications
- La Théopneustie, ou pleine inspiration des saintes écritures, Paris, 1840
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- Le Canon des saintes écritures au double point de vue de la science et de la foi, 1860
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See also
- Edward Norris KirkEdward Norris KirkDr. Edward Norris Kirk - was a Christian missionary, pastor, teacher, evangelist and writer in the Presbyterian, Congregational and revivalist traditions in the USA...
• Translator of Gaussen's "Inspiration of the Scriptures" (New York, 1842)
External links
- Edward Norris Kirk
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