Adam Neuser

Adam Neuser (* around 1530 in Gunzenhausen ; † October 12, 1576 in Constantinople ) was a German theologian who is said to have converted to Islam as an opponent of the dogma of the Trinity .

Life

Since 1560 Adam Neuser was pastor at the Peterskirche in Heidelberg . In 1569 he was transferred to the Heidelberg Church of the Holy Spirit because he rejected the introduction of strictly Calvinist church discipline based on the Geneva model. Together with his friend Johannes Sylvanus , Neuser developed into an anti-Trinitarian . In 1570 Neuser gave a Transylvanian envoy a letter to the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire , in which he considered converting to Islam. This led to a charge of treason . Adam Neuser was arrested with Sylvanus and imprisoned at Heidelberg Castle . However, Adam Neuser managed to escape. After stays in London, Paris and Poland, Adam Neuser moved to Constantinople, where he is said to have converted to Islam because of his refusal to recognize Jesus Christ as being identical with God .

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing made Adam Neuser's fate the subject of a treatise.

literature

• Christopher J. Burchill: The Heidelberg antitrinitarians Johann Sylvan, Adam Neuser, Matthias Vehe, Jacob Suter, Johann Hasler (PDF; 2.6 MB) , Koerner, Baden-Baden 1989, pp. 107–156.
• Armin Kohnle : A short history of the Electoral Palatinate. G.Braun Verlag , Karlsruhe 2005, ISBN 3-7650-8329-1
• Erich Wenneker :  Adam Neuser. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 6, Bautz, Herzberg 1993, ISBN 3-88309-044-1 , Sp. 653-655.
• Paul Tschackert :  Sylvanus, Johann . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 37, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1894, p. 285 f. (Neuser is also treated here)
• Martin Mulsow : A case of religious double espionage and Koran worship. In: FAZ of April 27, 2011

Web links

• Surprising discovery ; Press release from the University of Erfurt on April 28, 2011