Gottfried Menken (theologian)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gottfried Menken (born May 29, 1768 in Bremen , † June 1, 1831 in Bremen) was a Protestant pastor and is considered to be the most important representative of the theology of revival in northwest Germany.

biography

Menken was born as the son of the merchant Gottje Menken and his wife, a pastor's daughter and granddaughter of Friedrich Adolf Lampe . His family was considered middle-class and art-loving and associated with the leading families in Bremen at the time, in which pietism and the related Bible study in conventicles was widespread. He was the brother of the painter Johann Heinrich Menken (1766-1838) and uncle of the painter of the same name Gottfried Menken (1799-1838).

Menken began studying theology at the University of Jena in 1788 . At the university he dealt with rationalism and began to deal with Jakob Böhme in this context . During the student days, the notion that God worked personally through Jesus Christ in the life of the individual solidified. In 1790 Menken moved to the University of Duisburg , where he maintained contact with Friedrich Arnold Hasenkamp and was largely shaped by the connection between natural philosophy and pietistic biblicism, as taught there by Samuel Collenbusch . Menken passed his exam in 1791, but did not leave Duisburg until 1793. In that year he had published a polemical work against the Duisburg professor of theology Heinrich Adolph Grimm , in which he accused him of giving up basic biblical messages in favor of ingratiation to opponents of Christianity. Menken preached in the 1790s on side trips, for example in Wuppertal and other places on the Lower Rhine. Finally he became assistant preacher in Uedem near Kleve . From 1794 to 1796 he was a pastor in the Reformed community of Frankfurt am Main , from 1796 to 1802 he was pastor of the Reformed community in Wetzlar . In October 1802 he returned to his hometown as the second preacher of the St. Pauli congregation in Bremen Neustadt . He married on May 12, 1806, but soon separated from his wife. In August 1811 he became pastor primarius in St. Martini . From 1823, for health reasons, support was provided by Friedrich Matthias Perthes as vicar, in 1825 he had to take up his post and hand it over to his colleague and successor, Georg Gottfried Treviranus . He was honored with an honorary doctorate by the theological faculty of the University of Dorpat .

Menken was important as a preacher and writer. Together with Friedrich Ludwig Mallet and his successor Treviranus, he was considered a "triumvirate of great zealots for the faith."

Honors

A street in Bremer Neustadt , from Gastfeldstraße to Thedinghauser Straße , was named Gottfried-Menken-Straße .

Publications

  • Contribution to demonology or refutation of Professor Grimm's exegetical essays by a clergyman . 1793.
  • Christian homilies. Raw, Nuremberg 1797; 2nd edition, ibid. 1817 ( digitized version ).
  • New collection of Christian homilies. 1800.
  • Christian homilies on the story of the prophet Elias. 1804.
  • Seek guidance in teaching the truths of the Scriptures for yourself. Hermann, Frankfurt a. M. 1805 ( digitized version ), (2nd edition 1824, 3rd edition 1832).
  • Reflections on the Gospel of Matthew. Vol. 1, Hermann, Frankfurt a. M. 1809; Vol. 2, Kaiser, Bremen / Leipzig 1822 ( digitized version ).
  • The Messiah has come. According to 1. Joh. 6-12. Hermann, Frankfurt a. M. 1809 ( digitized version ).
  • About the brazen serpent and its symbolic relation to the person and history of Jesus Christ. Hermann, Frankfurt a. M. 1812 ( digitized version ); 2nd probably edition Kaiser, Bremen 1929 ( digitized version ).
  • The Creed of the Christian Church. 1816-1828.
  • Sermon at the third centenary celebration of the Reformation on Nov. 2, 1817 in the Church of St. Martini in Bremen. 1817 ( digitized ).
  • Explanation of the eleven chapters of the letter to the Hebrews. Fourteen homilies. Kaiser, Bremen / Leipzig 1821.
  • Sermons. 1825; Reprint, London: Forgotten Books, 2013 [1]
  • Look into the life of the apostle Paul and the first Christian communities (according to Acts 15-20). 1828.
  • Old and new - essays. 1828.
  • Homilies on the ninth and tenth chapters of the Epistle to the Hebrews - together with appendix ethical homilies on passages from the twelfth chapter. 1831.
  • Homiletic sheets. Kaiser, Bremen 1835 ( digitized version ).
  • About happiness and victory of the wicked. A political pamphlet from 1795. 2nd edition Raw, Nuremberg 1797. New ed. by K. Goebel, ibid. 1849 ( digitized version ).
  • Menkens writings in full edition. 7 vols., 1858, register volume 1865.
  • Letters from Dr. Gottfried Menken to HN Achelis. 1868.
  • Ceremonial sermons from the written estate. 1868.
  • Biblical reflections. 1879.

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Menken, Gottfried
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Protestant pastor and representative of the revival movement
DATE OF BIRTH May 29, 1768
PLACE OF BIRTH Bremen
DATE OF DEATH June 1, 1831
Place of death Bremen