Gottlieb Christoph Adolf von Harless
Encyclopedia
Gottlieb Christoph Adolf von Harless (November 21, 1806 – September 5, 1879), was a German Lutheran theologian.
. As a youth, he was interested in music and poetry, and was attracted by ancient and German classical literature, especially by Jean Paul
. He was indifferent to Christianity. In 1823 he entered the University of Erlangen, at first studying philology
, then law; but he finally tried theology. The teacher who particularly influenced him was Georg Benedikt Winer
.
Harless wanted to understand the reasons for the importance of the Christian religion in the life of the people and the history of the world. He first thought that the philosophy of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
was adapted to the solution of this problem. Later he was led to the philosophy of Baruch Spinoza
, in whose system he searched for the roots of Hegel's and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling
's philosophy. He moved, in 1826, to the University of Halle, attracted by Friedrich Tholuck
. He conceived a plan of studying the literature of the ancient philosophers and theologians. Harless received a further impulse from his study of Blaise Pascal
's Pensées
, but at about this time he had a crisis of conscience; he turned to the
confessional writings of the Lutheran Church
and found their contents in conformity with the experience of his faith. The chief attraction in the Lutheran confession was, for him, the doctrine of justification
, which would become the central point of his theology.
In 1828 Harless returned from Halle to Erlangen
as privat-docent in theology, and three years later became professor of New Testament
exegesis
. The theological faculty at Erlangen owed its later conservative tendency chiefly to Harless. In 1836 he became ordinary professor, and as such lectured also on Christian ethics, theological encyclopedia, and methodology. In 1836 he became preacher of the university. He declined calls to Rostock, Berlin, Dorpat, and Zurich. In 1840 he was appointed delegate of the chamber of states in Munich to defend the rights
of the Lutheran Church against the measures of the ministry. Harless won popularity by defending the interests of his church but the opposition party succeeded in removing him in 1845 to Baireuth, as second councilor of the consistory
. In the same year, however, he was appointed professor of theology in Leipzig
, where he lectured for the first time on dogmatics. Within two years he was appointed preacher at St. Nicolai, in addition to his duties as professor.
In 1850 he moved to Dresden
as court preacher, reporting councillor in the ministry of public instruction, and vice-president of the state consistory, but two years later was called by King Maximilian II of Bavaria
to return to his native state as president of the supreme consistory. Here Wilhelm Löhe and his adherents opposed the existing condition of the State Church
, and insisted on an entire change, or, if this should be impossible, on separation. The influence of Harless, a friend of Löhe from former days, persuaded him not to separate himself from the State Church. A new hymn-book in the spirit of orthodox Lutheranism
was soon introduced. The introduction of a new order of church service was more difficult. Here the question of private confession
, which was confused with auricular confession, led to opposition, but the organization of the State Church, firmly established under Harless, finally achieved a victory.
Harless now became the acknowledged leader of the whole Lutheran Church. He presided for a long time over the missionary board at Leipsig. During his latter years he was almost blind from cataracts. He died at Munich
.
1842; Eng. transl., Edinburgh, 1868). The commentary and the work on ethics marked an epoch in their respective spheres. The encyclopedia is less important for its methodological arrangement than for Harless' clear and energetic views of the Church, the main points being the close relation of theology to the Church; the unity of theory and practise in a common living
faith; the living continuity of the Church from her very foundation as an ideal factor of history, the emphasis of a common faith as the basis of Protestant theology; the entire transformation of this theology by the principle of justification
; the necessity of preserving the principles of the Reformation in their purity; the obscurity caused by the later Protestant scholasticism
, which considered the dogmas laid down in the confessional writings of the Church as the final conclusion of all dogmatic knowledge; and the sound reaction against this tendency by the Pietistic
movement. The Christliche Etik (Eng. transl., System of Christian Ethics, Edinburgh, 1868) is without doubt Harless' most important work. Its chief excellence are its scientific structure, the emphasis and consistent application of the Christian ethical principle, and the interrelation and connection of the Biblical factor with the historical factor in the more
general sense of the word. He died on the 5th of September 1879, having, a few years earlier, written an autobiography under the title Bruchstücke aus dem Leben eines süddeutschen Theologen.
Life
He was born at NurembergNuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
. As a youth, he was interested in music and poetry, and was attracted by ancient and German classical literature, especially by Jean Paul
Jean Paul
Jean Paul , born Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, was a German Romantic writer, best known for his humorous novels and stories.-Life and work:...
. He was indifferent to Christianity. In 1823 he entered the University of Erlangen, at first studying philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
, then law; but he finally tried theology. The teacher who particularly influenced him was Georg Benedikt Winer
Georg Benedikt Winer
Georg Benedikt Winer , German Protestant theologian, was born at Leipzig.He studied theology at Leipzig, where eventually he became professor ordinarius. From 1824 to 1830 he edited with J. G. V...
.
Harless wanted to understand the reasons for the importance of the Christian religion in the life of the people and the history of the world. He first thought that the philosophy of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was a German philosopher, one of the creators of German Idealism. His historicist and idealist account of reality as a whole revolutionized European philosophy and was an important precursor to Continental philosophy and Marxism.Hegel developed a comprehensive...
was adapted to the solution of this problem. Later he was led to the philosophy of Baruch Spinoza
Baruch Spinoza
Baruch de Spinoza and later Benedict de Spinoza was a Dutch Jewish philosopher. Revealing considerable scientific aptitude, the breadth and importance of Spinoza's work was not fully realized until years after his death...
, in whose system he searched for the roots of Hegel's and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling
Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling
Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling , later von Schelling, was a German philosopher. Standard histories of philosophy make him the midpoint in the development of German idealism, situating him between Fichte, his mentor prior to 1800, and Hegel, his former university roommate and erstwhile friend...
's philosophy. He moved, in 1826, to the University of Halle, attracted by Friedrich Tholuck
Friedrich Tholuck
Friedrich August Gottreu Tholuck , known as August Tholuck, was a German Protestant theologian and church leader.-Biography:...
. He conceived a plan of studying the literature of the ancient philosophers and theologians. Harless received a further impulse from his study of Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal , was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and Catholic philosopher. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen...
's Pensées
Pensées
The Pensées represented a defense of the Christian religion by Blaise Pascal, the renowned 17th century philosopher and mathematician. Pascal's religious conversion led him into a life of asceticism, and the Pensées was in many ways his life's work. "Pascal's Wager" is found here...
, but at about this time he had a crisis of conscience; he turned to the
confessional writings of the Lutheran Church
Book of Concord
The Book of Concord or Concordia is the historic doctrinal standard of the Lutheran Church, consisting of ten credal documents recognized as authoritative in Lutheranism since the 16th century...
and found their contents in conformity with the experience of his faith. The chief attraction in the Lutheran confession was, for him, the doctrine of justification
Justification (theology)
Rising out of the Protestant Reformation, Justification is the chief article of faith describing God's act of declaring or making a sinner righteous through Christ's atoning sacrifice....
, which would become the central point of his theology.
In 1828 Harless returned from Halle to Erlangen
Erlangen
Erlangen is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located at the confluence of the river Regnitz and its large tributary, the Untere Schwabach.Erlangen has more than 100,000 inhabitants....
as privat-docent in theology, and three years later became professor of New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
exegesis
Exegesis
Exegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially a religious text. Traditionally the term was used primarily for exegesis of the Bible; however, in contemporary usage it has broadened to mean a critical explanation of any text, and the term "Biblical exegesis" is used...
. The theological faculty at Erlangen owed its later conservative tendency chiefly to Harless. In 1836 he became ordinary professor, and as such lectured also on Christian ethics, theological encyclopedia, and methodology. In 1836 he became preacher of the university. He declined calls to Rostock, Berlin, Dorpat, and Zurich. In 1840 he was appointed delegate of the chamber of states in Munich to defend the rights
of the Lutheran Church against the measures of the ministry. Harless won popularity by defending the interests of his church but the opposition party succeeded in removing him in 1845 to Baireuth, as second councilor of the consistory
Consistory
-Antiquity:Originally, the Latin word consistorium meant simply 'sitting together', just as the Greek synedrion ....
. In the same year, however, he was appointed professor of theology in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, where he lectured for the first time on dogmatics. Within two years he was appointed preacher at St. Nicolai, in addition to his duties as professor.
In 1850 he moved to Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
as court preacher, reporting councillor in the ministry of public instruction, and vice-president of the state consistory, but two years later was called by King Maximilian II of Bavaria
Maximilian II of Bavaria
Maximilian II of Bavaria was king of Bavaria from 1848 until 1864. He was son of Ludwig I of Bavaria and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.-Crown Prince:...
to return to his native state as president of the supreme consistory. Here Wilhelm Löhe and his adherents opposed the existing condition of the State Church
State church
State churches are organizational bodies within a Christian denomination which are given official status or operated by a state.State churches are not necessarily national churches in the ethnic sense of the term, but the two concepts may overlap in the case of a nation state where the state...
, and insisted on an entire change, or, if this should be impossible, on separation. The influence of Harless, a friend of Löhe from former days, persuaded him not to separate himself from the State Church. A new hymn-book in the spirit of orthodox Lutheranism
Lutheran Orthodoxy
Lutheran orthodoxy was an era in the history of Lutheranism, which began in 1580 from the writing of the Book of Concord and ended at the Age of Enlightenment. Lutheran orthodoxy was paralleled by similar eras in Calvinism and tridentine Roman Catholicism after the...
was soon introduced. The introduction of a new order of church service was more difficult. Here the question of private confession
Confession
This article is for the religious practice of confessing one's sins.Confession is the acknowledgment of sin or wrongs...
, which was confused with auricular confession, led to opposition, but the organization of the State Church, firmly established under Harless, finally achieved a victory.
Harless now became the acknowledged leader of the whole Lutheran Church. He presided for a long time over the missionary board at Leipsig. During his latter years he was almost blind from cataracts. He died at Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
.
Works
His three most important works were written while professor at Erlangen, as his later public activity left him little time for literary work. They are: Commentar über den Brief Pauli an die Ephesier (Erlangen, 1834); Theologische Encyclopädie und Methodologie vom Standpunkte der Protestantischen Kirche (Nuremberg,-1837); and Christliche Etik (Stuttgart,1842; Eng. transl., Edinburgh, 1868). The commentary and the work on ethics marked an epoch in their respective spheres. The encyclopedia is less important for its methodological arrangement than for Harless' clear and energetic views of the Church, the main points being the close relation of theology to the Church; the unity of theory and practise in a common living
faith; the living continuity of the Church from her very foundation as an ideal factor of history, the emphasis of a common faith as the basis of Protestant theology; the entire transformation of this theology by the principle of justification
Justification (theology)
Rising out of the Protestant Reformation, Justification is the chief article of faith describing God's act of declaring or making a sinner righteous through Christ's atoning sacrifice....
; the necessity of preserving the principles of the Reformation in their purity; the obscurity caused by the later Protestant scholasticism
Scholasticism
Scholasticism is a method of critical thought which dominated teaching by the academics of medieval universities in Europe from about 1100–1500, and a program of employing that method in articulating and defending orthodoxy in an increasingly pluralistic context...
, which considered the dogmas laid down in the confessional writings of the Church as the final conclusion of all dogmatic knowledge; and the sound reaction against this tendency by the Pietistic
movement. The Christliche Etik (Eng. transl., System of Christian Ethics, Edinburgh, 1868) is without doubt Harless' most important work. Its chief excellence are its scientific structure, the emphasis and consistent application of the Christian ethical principle, and the interrelation and connection of the Biblical factor with the historical factor in the more
general sense of the word. He died on the 5th of September 1879, having, a few years earlier, written an autobiography under the title Bruchstücke aus dem Leben eines süddeutschen Theologen.