Fredrik Petersen (theologian)

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Fredrik Petersen (1891)

Fredrik Petersen (born April 23, 1839 in Stavanger , † January 9, 1903 in Kristiania ) was a Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran theologian .

Life

Family and education

Fredrik Petersen's father was a wealthy businessman, his mother the daughter of a baker from Denmark. He spent two years of his school time in the Moravian Brethren in Christiansfeld , Denmark , but did his Abitur in Stavanger. In 1857 Petersen began to study theology at the University of Kristiania against his father's wishes , which he graduated with the state examination in 1862. Shortly thereafter he took up a position at Aars og Voss' skole (school of Jacob Jonathan Aars and Peter Voss), a renowned private educational institution. From 1866 to 1868 he went on extensive study trips to Germany , Denmark and Sweden . In 1868 he received a university scholarship in Kristiania, from 1873 to 1875 he worked as a chaplain in Skien . In 1874 he married Alida Brun, a great-granddaughter of the theologian and writer Johan Nordahl Brun .

Professor in Kristiania

On February 6, 1875, Fredrik Petersen was appointed to Gisle Johnson's Chair in Systematic Theology at Kristiania University. In 1877 he published the three-volume work Dr. Søren Kierkegaards Christendomsforkyndelse (Dr. Søren Kierkegaard's Annunciation of Christianity), which is considered to be the world's first systematic theological reading of Kierkegaard's writings . Petersen himself emphasized the truth of personal belief, following Kierkegaard and partly deviating from the orthodox ideas of his time. In the following years, Petersen's main concern was to alleviate the tensions between faith and science through a compromise "in which both sides were allowed to keep their rights and their truth". In his widely acclaimed lecture Hvorledes bør Kirken møde Nutidens Vantro? (How should the church respond to contemporary superstition?) In 1880 he demanded that Christianity consider the results and challenges of modern research. In 1883 he began to publish his apologetically designed major work Om Skabelsen, Opholdelsen og Styrelsen (Of God's Creation, Conservation and Government of the World), in which he took the opinion that both science and religion are expressions of truth and not in one Contradicting relationship to each other. In practice, however, he viewed the modernization efforts of his time with skepticism and decided, for example. B. does not apply to contemporary biblical criticism .

Dogmatically, Petersen took a conservative position. Occasionally he went public with assessments of the socially critical literature of his time without showing any understanding for the new trends. Among other things, he rejected Henrik Ibsen's play Nora, which advertised the emancipation of women, or a doll's house , in which he missed the idea of ​​reconciliation.

With his will , Petersen made an annual amount of 2,000 kroner available for the promotion of young scientists (of every discipline).

Awards

In 1884 Fredrik Petersen entered the Norwegian Academy of Sciences . In 1887 he was appointed "First Class Knight" of the Order of Saint Olav .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Vidar L. Haanes: Fredrik Petersen . In: Store Norske Leksikon .
  2. ↑ Thor Arvid Dyrerud: You have no truth onboard! Kierkegaard's Influences on Norway. In: Jon Stewart (Ed.): Kierkegaard's International Reception. Tome 1: Northern and Western Europe. Farnham 2009, pp. 121–172, here: p. 143.
  3. ↑ a b Sigurd Hjelde: Sigmund Mowinckel and his time. Life and work of a Norwegian Old Testament scholar. Tübingen 2006, p. 26.
  4. ^ Kari Andresen: Tro som vitenskap , Museum for universitets- og vitenskapshistorie, February 6, 2013.
  5. ↑ Fredrik Petersen: Henrik Ibsen's drama "Et Dukkehjem". In: Aftenbladet , January 9 and 10, 1880. See: Toril Moi: Ibsens modernisme . Oslo 2006, p. 320 ff.

Fonts (selection)

  • Dr. Søren Kierkegaards Christendomsforkyndelse. Kristiania 1877.
  • Om Skabelsen, Opholdelsen and Styrelsen. 2 vols. Kristiania 1883-85.
  • Hvorfor tror jed paa Jesus Kristus. Kristiania 1884.
  • Forskningen og the Christian Tro. Kristiania 1886.
  • Ægteskab eller fri Kjærlighed. Kristiania 1887.
  • Om inspirations. Kristiania 1887.

literature

  • Vidar L. Haanes: Fredrik Petersen . - In: Store Norske Leksikon .
  • Ludvig Selmer: Professor Fredrik Petersen og hans samtid. Oslo 1948.
personal data
SURNAME Petersen, Fredrik
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Norwegian theologian
DATE OF BIRTH April 23, 1839
PLACE OF BIRTH Stavanger
DATE OF DEATH January 9, 1903
Place of death Kristiania