Adolf Keller (theologian)

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Adolf Keller (born February 7, 1872 in Rüdlingen , † February 10, 1963 in Los Angeles , entitled to live in Rüdlingen) was a Swiss Protestant Reformed theologian .

Adolf Keller, 1912

Life

Adolf Keller was born on February 7, 1872 in Rüdlingen as the son of the teacher Johann Georg Keller and Margaretha, born Buchter. Keller, who attended grammar school in Schaffhausen , began studying theology in Basel and Berlin , with Adolf von Harnack and Adolf Schlatter , among others . He also studied philosophy , art history and later psychology in Geneva .

After his ordination in 1896, Adolf Keller worked as an assistant pastor in the German Protestant community in Cairo. In 1899, after his return to Switzerland, he was elected pastor in Burg bei Stein am Rhein . Subsequently, Keller was appointed pastor of the German-speaking Swiss community in Geneva in 1904. Karl Barth was one of his vicars there . Keller held his last pastor's office between 1909 and his resignation in 1923 in St. Peter in Zurich. Here he joined Carl Gustav Jung , gave lectures in his Psychological Club and also carried out analyzes himself. In addition, his commitment during the First World War was aimed at peace and cohesion in Switzerland.

Subsequently, Adolf Keller was a driving force of the ecumenical movement and, in his function as the second general secretary of the movement for practical Christianity ( Life and Work ), head of the International Institute of Social Sciences founded in 1926, associated with the nickname Weltadolf . In addition, until 1941, as the first and German-speaking secretary of the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches, which was founded in 1920, Keller held a key position between the Reformed churches in Switzerland and the Protestant , Anglican and Orthodox churches abroad. Furthermore, until 1945, Keller acted as general secretary of the European Central Agency for Church Aid Operations, which was founded in 1922 and dedicated itself to the reconstruction of Europe as well as Russian , Armenian , Assyrian and “non-Aryan” refugees.

In addition, Keller was the initiator of the first international Protestant loan cooperative, gave lectures abroad, especially in the USA, and taught as a lecturer on ecumenical issues at the universities of Zurich and Geneva from 1926 and 1929 respectively . The Ecumenical Seminary founded by Keller in 1934 was the forerunner of the Bossey Ecumenical Institute . Between 1938 and 1941 he also chaired the Swiss Church Aid Committee for Protestant Refugees.

From 1919, Keller was under the influence of dialectical theology . In the face of the church struggle, he took sides with the Confessing Church .

The versatile and interested Adolf Keller left a rich literary work. In addition to publications on the ecumenical movement, it also includes an introduction to the philosophy of Henri Bergson , articles on the relationship between psychoanalysis and Christianity, and several volumes in which “secular devotions” are collected. In various publications he endeavored to bring German-speaking and Anglo-Saxon theology and the church world closer together.

For his work he has received numerous honors, including honorary doctorates (including University of Geneva in 1922, Yale University 1927) and - professorships in the US and in Europe .

In 1954 Adolf Keller emigrated to the United States, to Evanston in California. He was married to Tina Keller , nee Jenny. Adolf Keller died on February 10, 1963, three days after turning 91 in Los Angeles. His grave is in Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) .

Fonts (selection)

  • A Philosophy of Life (Henri Bergson). Diederichs, Jena 1914.
  • Dynamis. Forms and Forces of American Protestantism. Mohr, Tübingen 1921.
  • The churches and peace with special consideration of their position in relation to the League of Nations. Furche, Berlin 1927.
  • On the threshold. Insights and views into the deeper reality. Wanderer-Verlag, Zurich 1929.
  • The path of dialectical theology through the ecclesiastical world. A little contemporary church history. Kaiser, Munich 1931.
  • From the Unknown God. Need and hope of the present. Wanderer-Verlag, Zurich; Klotz, Gotha 1933.
  • Of spirit and love. A picture book from life. Wanderer-Verlag, Zurich; Klotz, Gotha 1937.
  • At the foot of the lighthouse. Wanderer-Verlag, Zurich 1940.
  • American Christianity - Today. Evangelischer Verlag, Zollikon / Zurich 1943.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Marianne Jehle-Wildberger: Adolf Keller: Ecumenist, World Citizen, Philanthropist . Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2013, ISBN 978-1-62189-542-8 ( google.es [accessed September 28, 2017]).
personal data
SURNAME Keller, Adolf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss Protestant Reformed theologian
DATE OF BIRTH February 7, 1872
PLACE OF BIRTH Rudlingen
DATE OF DEATH February 10, 1963
Place of death los Angeles