Artur Weiser

Artur Weiser (born November 18, 1893 in Karlsruhe , † August 5, 1978 in Tübingen ) was a German Protestant theologian and Old Testament scholar . He taught at the University of Tübingen from 1930 to 1962 .

Life

From 1912 Artur Weiser studied Protestant theology at the universities of Heidelberg , Göttingen and Rostock . During the First World War he interrupted his studies and did military service from 1914 to 1918. In 1920 he was ordained in Heidelberg and entered the vicariate of the Baden regional church . In 1921 he obtained a licentiate in theology, in 1922 he completed his habilitation in Heidelberg and worked there from then on as a private lecturer, but in 1928 as an associate professor. In 1930 he accepted a position as associate professor for the Old Testament at the University of Tübingen , where he worked until the end of his life. At the same time as his appointment, the Theological Faculty of Heidelberg University awarded him an honorary doctorate .

In the time of National Socialism , Weiser at least outwardly joined the prevailing ideology. Together with other Tübingen professors, he joined the NSDAP on May 1, 1933 . He also became a supporting member of the SS and was involved in NS mass organizations such as the NSLB , the NSV and the NSDDB . From 1934 to 1943, Weiser published the magazine Deutsche Theologie . Weiser also joined the German Christians ; after Reinhold Krause's speech at the Sportpalast , he turned away from them. From 1935 to 1945, Weiser was dean of the Evangelical Theological Faculty, and in 1937 he was appointed full professor.

After the end of the Second World War , Weiser initially continued his teaching activities unmolested. In the course of denazification , he was suspended because of his membership in several Nazi organizations and his exposed position as dean. In the pending proceedings, in which Hanns Rückert supported him in particular with a positive report, he was classified as "exonerated" in 1949 and initially retired. In 1951 he received another extraordinary professorship at the University of Tübingen (on the post of Paul Volz ), which was elevated to a chair in 1961. Weiser retired in 1962 .

Fonts (selection)

• The Importance of the Old Testament in Religious Education . Giessen 1925
• Religion and morality of Genesis in their relationship to Old Testament religious history . Heidelberg 1928
• The prophecy of Amos . Giessen 1929
• Faith and History in the Old Testament . Stuttgart 1931
• Introduction to the Old Testament . Stuttgart 1939. 2nd, revised edition, Göttingen 1949. 4th, revised and increased edition, Göttingen 1957. 5th, improved and increased edition, Göttingen 1963. 6th improved edition, Göttingen 1966
  • English translation by Dorothea M. Barton: Introduction to the Old Testament London 1961
  • Estonian translation by Elmar Salumaa: Vana Testamendi sissejuhatus: koostatud samanimelise teose põhjal . Tallinn 1994
• The Book of Job. Göttingen 1951 ( The Old Testament in German 13)
• The psalms. Volume 1: 1-60 . Göttingen 1950 ( The Old Testament German 14)
• The psalms. Sub-Volume 2: 61-150 . Göttingen 1950 ( The Old Testament German 15)
• Faith and History in the Old Testament and Other Selected Scriptures . Goettingen 1961

literature

• DBI 2, 626-27.
• Arvid S. Kapelrud: Artur Weiser † . In: Norsk teologisk tidsskrift . Volume 80 (1979), p. 55.
• Leonore Siegele-Wenschkewitz : Understanding of history in the face of National Socialism. The Tübingen church historian Hanns Rückert in the dispute with Karl Barth . In: Leonore Siegele-Wenschkewitz, Carsten Nicolaisen (Hrsg.): Theological faculties in National Socialism . Göttingen 1993, pp. 113-144 (on Weiser especially pp. 142-144).
• Irmela Bauer-Klöden, Johannes Michael Wischnath: The Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen . Erfurt 2001, p. 27 (picture).
• Lexicon of persons on German Protestantism 1919–1949. Compiled and edited by Hannelore Braun and Gertraud Grünzinger, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2006, ISBN 3-525-55761-2 , p. 272.
• Heinz-Dieter Neef :  Weiser, Artur. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 32, Bautz, Nordhausen 2011, ISBN 978-3-88309-615-5 , Sp. 1484-1486.

Web links

• Literature by and about Artur Weiser in the catalog of the German National Library