Arthur Titius

Arthur Titius

Arthur Titius (born July 28, 1864 in Sensburg , Masuria , † September 7, 1936 in Berlin ) was a German Protestant theologian .

biography

Titius came from a middle-class family in Sendsberg near Königsberg and studied Protestant theology and philosophy there for four semesters after graduating from school until he moved to Berlin in 1885. There he came into contact with the theologians Julius Kaftan and Bernhard Weiß , who clearly influenced his future path. After receiving his doctorate in 1890 and his habilitation a year later, he was initially associate professor for the New Testament at the University of Kiel from 1895 to 1900 , then from 1900 on a systematic chair, where he worked closely with Otto Baumgarten . In 1906 he was appointed to a systematic chair at the Faculty in Göttingen. From 1921 he held a chair at the University of Berlin until he left office in 1934. He was married to Emma Brandstetter, the marriage remained childless.

Titius was editor of the Theologische Literaturzeitung from 1910 to 1921 , later changed from the function of editor to the wider group of editors. After the ecumenical meeting in Stockholm in 1925 he became one of the editors of the international social science journal Stockholm . With Georg Wobbermin he founded the journal Studies on Systematic Theology , which was published by Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht in Göttingen.

theology

In the nineties of the 19th century he was heavily involved in the Evangelical Social Congress on the side of the "boys". With Adolf Stoecker's exit from the ESK, the conservative direction left this socio-politically active organization. In spite of imperial criticism of "political pastors" and a warning from the Evangelical Upper Church Council against the socio-political activities of the clergy, Titius stuck to his collaboration. Along with Friedrich Naumann , he was one of the founding members of the National Social Association, which aimed for even more direct political effectiveness. However, they parted ways when Naumann increasingly renounced a Christian justification of his socio-political views. Titius, on the other hand, worked on the concept of bliss in a comprehensive work on the New Testament in order to draw the conclusion that a contemporary interpretation of this concept could succeed in re-introducing intellectuals and workers to the Christian faith.

Political attitude and ecumenical activity

Although Titius was entirely national, he very soon struck critical and conciliatory tones during the First World War, in contrast to the mainstream of the time. In the late summer of 1917 he came to a harsh verdict on the war, which in Germany must also be understood as a call to penance against the Sedan smile. After the war and the collapse of the Empire and the Summit episcopate , Titius fought for a democratic renewal of the church, for which, in the worst case, he would also accept a church split. In order to develop political effectiveness, he founded the Volkskirchenbund, which at least in the founding year became an evangelical mass movement and influenced the negotiations on the constitutional articles that affected church affairs.

At the first German Evangelical Church Congress , he was one of the two main speakers and used this opportunity to deal with the war and all backward-looking glorification of military greatness and to advocate disarmament, reconciliation and joining the League of Nations , for which he was hissed down by a number of participants. Nevertheless, he became a member of the German Evangelical Church Committee , the body that represented Protestantism vis-à-vis the Reich and abroad and which, despite the large number of independent regional churches , tried to create a certain degree of harmony.

He saw the cooperation in the upcoming ecumenical cooperation as an opportunity to support the state efforts to achieve a peaceful balance of interests between the peoples through church cooperation between the denominations. That is why he worked very early and resolutely in the ecumenical movement, when most church leaders were still very hesitant. At the 1925 Stockholm Conference he passionately campaigned for an international social science institute as a permanent institution of the ecumenical movement and for the magazine Stockholm , which was supposed to serve the exchange of socio-political ideas. In his work in the movement for faith and church constitution , he warned to respect the confessional traditions of the individual churches. The unity must be believed and experienced in hearing the word of God together.

At the beginning of the 1930s, he dealt very critically with National Socialism and representatives of the German faith. In National Socialism and related theological drafts, Titius sees the concept of peoplehood stylized as a concept of God, the biblical Christ is replaced by a heroic Aryan redeemer and Christianity is instrumentalized for party and state purposes. He expected devastating consequences if fascism , as it expressly called National Socialism, became the state's design principle. At the conference of the Ecumenical Council for Practical Christianity on the Danish island of Fanö , however, Titius defended the situation in Germany against inquiries from abroad and criticism from German ranks. In the further course of the year Titius tried to overcome the German church conflict through a meeting with representatives of the main trends, especially from the work organizations. However, this attempt was unsuccessful. After the autumn of 1934, his theological position also gradually weakened. In the writings that appeared up to his death in 1935 he finally came to the conclusion that race was of considerable importance for all historical and spiritual life, a view that he had rejected in 1933 and 1934.

Despite the problematic turn towards the end of his life, it should be noted that Titius was one of the most important figures in liberal Protestant theology in the early 20th century. He helped shape and guide the decisive milestones in the theological and political development in Germany between 1895 and 1936. He was also valued outside of Germany for his outstanding commitment to the ecumenical movement .

Works

• Luther's basic view of the moral compared with the Kantian. In: Lectures of the theological conference in Kiel. Kiel 1899
• The New Testament doctrine of beatitude and its significance for the present . First part: Jesus' teaching on the kingdom of God, Freiburg i. B., Leipzig 1895
• The New Testament doctrine of beatitude and its significance for the present. Second section of the historical account: Paulinism from the point of view of bliss, Tübingen, Freiburg i. B., Leipzig 1900
• The New Testament doctrine of beatitude and its significance for the present. The third section of the historical presentation: The Johannine view from the point of view of bliss Tübingen, Freiburg i. B., Leipzig 1900
• The New Testament doctrine of beatitude and its significance for the present. the fourth (final) section of the historical account: The vulgar view of bliss in early Christianity. Their development up to the transition to Catholic forms, Tübingen, Freiburg i. B., Leipzig 1900
• On the Dogmatics of the Present , in: Theologische Rundschau, 10th year, 1907, pp. 365–379; 399-411; 447-469
• Dogmatic Problems of the Present I , in: Theologische Rundschau, XIII. Vol., 1910, pp. 77-94.
• The Origin of Faith in God , in: Journal for Theology and Church, 23rd year, 1913
• Albrecht Ritschl and the Present , in: Theological Studies and Criticisms. A journal for the entire field of theology, 86th year, 1913, 1st issue
• Laws and Limits of Evolutionism in Ethics , in: Fifth World Congress for Free Christianity and Religious Progress before August 5-9, 1910 in Berlin, Berlin 1911
• Science and ethics. Speech at the university's annual celebration on June 28, 1916, Göttingen 1916
• The current status of the Christian social movement , in: The Truth, 6th Jg., Stuttgart 1896
• Our war . Ethical considerations, in: Religionsgeschichtliche Volksbücher, V. series, H. 17/18, Tübingen 1915
• England and us , in: Die Hilfe, 21st year, Berlin 1915
• The current crisis of culture and Christianity , in: Negotiations of the 26th Evangelical Social Congress in Berlin on April 11 and 12, 1917, Göttingen 1917
• What do we expect from the Church's right? , in: Rolffs, Meyer (Ed.) The future tasks of the Protestant churches in Lower Saxony, Hanover 1918.
• Volkskirchenbund , in: Christian World, 32nd year, 1918
• About the union of the Protestant regional churches , in: F. Thimme (Ed.), Revolution und Kirche. Regarding the ordinance of church affairs in the German People's State, Berlin 1919
• Evangelical Christianity as a cultural factor , in: DEKA (ed.), Negotiations of DEKT 1919 in Dresden, September 5, 1919, Berlin no year.
• On the People's Church Movement , in: The Evangelical Germany. Central body for efforts to unite in German Protestantism, 4th year, March 1920
• The Prussian Church Policy , in: Frankfurter Zeitung, 64th vol., No. 933 of December 14, 1919
• The Federation of German Protestant Regional Churches , in: Der Türmer, 24. Jg., 1921
• Evangelical marriage and family life and its significance in the present , in: German Evangelical Church Committee (ed.), Negotiations of the first German Evangelical Church Congress 1924 in Bethel Bielefeld, Berlin o.
• The social renewal of humanity as a task of Christianity , in: Die Eiche, 14. Jg., 1926, H. 3
• Anglo-Saxon activism and Luther , in: Christliche Welt, 40th vol., No. 14, 1926
• Education for a brotherly attitude in one's own people , in: A. Deißmann, The Stockholm World Church Conference. Prehistory, service and work of the World Conference on Practical Christianity August 19, 30, 1925. Official German report on behalf of the Continuation Committee, Berlin 1926
• Julius Kaftan , in: Zeitschrift für Theologie und Kirche, NF 8, Tübingen 1927, no.1
• On the question of disarmament , in: Die Eiche, 16.Jg., No. 3, 1928
• On the question of disarmament , in: The Evangelical Germany. Church review for the entire area of ​​the German Evangelical Church Federation, 5th year, 1928
• The question of ecumenical Christianity in politics, economy and popular life , in: Stockholm. International Social and Church Journal, 1st year, 1929
• Is there a religious instinct? , in: Zeitschrift für Theologie und Kirche, NF 10, Göttingen 1929, no.5
• Political peace and the Christmas message , in: Die Hilfe, 35th year, 1929
• The church's ecumenical task and its theological problems , in: Stockholm. International Social Church Journal, 4th year, 1931
• Archbishop D. Söderblom , in: The Evangelical Germany. Church review for the entire area of ​​the German Evangelical Church Federation, 8th year, 1931
• The marriage trouble in the ecclesiastical judgment , in: Das Evangelische Deutschland. Church review for the entire area of ​​the German Evangelical Church Federation, 8th year, 1931
• Denomination and denominational studies , magazine for theology and church, NF 12, Tübingen 1931, H. 4/5
• Opinion in: L. Klotz (Ed.), The Church and the Third Reich, Vol. II
• On the race question, in: Christian World , No. 9, May 5, 1934, year 48, 1934
• The beginnings of religion among Aryans and Israelites , in: Studies on systematic theology, ed. by A. Titius and G. Wobbermin, H. 16, Göttingen 1934
• On the problem of religious worldview , Journal for Theology and Church, NF 15, 1934, no.4
• The importance of the conception of nature for the formation of religion , Journal for Theology and Church, NF 17, 1936, no.2
• The foundation of the certainty of faith , in: Das Evangelische Deutschland. Church review for the entire area of ​​the German Evangelical Church, 13th year, 1936
• Contributions to the philosophy of religion . Edited from the estate by Lic. Marie Horstmeier, Göttingen 1937
• Religion and science . One answer to Professor Ladenburg . Tubingen 1904
• Religion Past and Present , Protestant Lexicon (1909ff.)
• Nature and god. An attempt at an understanding between science and theology . Goettingen 1926

literature

• Heinz-Georg Henning: Arthur Titius - Theological Science and Church Politics, Social and Ecumenical Engagement between 1890 and 1936 , Dissertation, Kassel 2008
• Eckhard Lessing : History of German-speaking Protestant Theology from Albrecht Ritschl to the Present , Volume 1, Göttingen 2000, pp. 308-313
• Heinz Montada: About the relationship between natural science and theology in Arthur Titius , Bonn: Neuendorff, 1936

Web links

Commons : Arthur Titius  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Arthur Titius in the catalog of the German National Library
• On the influence of Titius Werk on the writer Karl May