Christian Gerson
Christian Gerson , actually Gerson ben Meir Biberach (born August 1, 1567 in Recklinghausen , † September 25, 1622 in Bernburg ), was a Protestant theologian and polemical author as a convert .
Life
Christian Gerson was born in Recklinghausen in 1569 as Gerson ben Meir Biberach into a Jewish family. He had a meticulous traditional education. He studied at various Jewish high schools for twelve years and thus acquired a profound knowledge of the Talmud. After completing his studies, he worked for four years as a Talmud teacher in several places ( Frankfurt am Main , Jülich , Trier and Essen ). Their marriage in 1595 resulted in two sons, the second of whom soon died.
The information about his early life, as well as his conversion story, Gerson has reproduced in his published edition Der Jüden Thalmut . According to this information, he received a Bible as pledge from a Christian neighbor for a loan. He leafed through it together with his relatives and made fun of the contents. He later reread the Bible in secret and was convinced of the truth of the New Testament. After initial scruples, he left Recklinghausen and his family and moved to Halberstadt , where he was publicly baptized on October 19, 1600 and took the name Christian (us) . After his baptism he moved to Helmstedt , where he lectured in Hebrew. At the instigation of the King of Denmark, he accepted a position at the Theological Faculty of Copenhagen , where he also gave lectures in Hebrew. He was in correspondence with other Hebrews, for example with the Basel scholar Johann Buxtorf .
With his conversion to Christianity, Gerson, as he himself emphasized, lost all his belongings. His wife did not want to understand his step and submitted the separation. However, Gerson managed to convince his son and one of his brothers of Christianity, so that the two were baptized in 1605, also in Halberstadt. In 1608 Gerson took the position of a preacher in Bernburg without having previously received any actual theological training. As a preacher, he is said to have been very popular. Gerson served first as a deacon and later as a pastor of the ward. A son and two daughters were born from his second marriage to a township daughter from Bernburg.
Twenty-two years after converting to Christianity, Gerson was killed in an accident. When he was on his way home after the marriage of the daughter of a neighboring pastor in Latdorf , the horses in the carriage burned out and only stopped when the vehicle tipped over in the hall . Pastor Gerson drowned in the river on September 25th.
Works
- The Jüden Thalmvd for the most part, and refutation , Goslar 1607
- Chelec: or Thalmudischer Judenschatz , Helmstedt 1610
literature
- Martin Friedrich: Between defense and conversion. The position of German Protestant theology on Judaism in the 17th century. Tübingen 1988
- Nathanja Hüttenmeister : A Jewish family in the tense relationship between Judaism and Christianity, the convert Christian Gerson in conflict with his Jewish relatives. In: Vestische Zeitschrift , 99 (2002), pp. 47–59.
- Rotraud Ries: Individualization in the field of tension between different cultures: Position determination and experimental redefinitions in the Jewish minority. In: Kaspar von Greyerz (ed.): Self-testimonies in the early modern period: Individualization methods from an interdisciplinary perspective. , Munich 2007, pp. 79–112.
- JFA de le Roi: Christian Gerson, the first evangelical preacher from the converted Jews. In: Dibre Emeth or Voices of Truth to Israelites and Friends of Israel , 35 (1879), pp. 97–110 ( digitized version ), p. 129–140 ( digitized version ).
Web links
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gerson, Christian |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Gerson ben Meir Biberach (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Jewish convert and Protestant theologian |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 1, 1567 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Recklinghausen |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 25, 1622 |
| Place of death | Bernburg |