Johann Salomo Semler

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Johann Salomo Semler

Johann Salomo Semler , also Salomon , (born December 18, 1725 in Saalfeld , Thuringia ; † March 14, 1791 in Halle (Saale) ) was a Protestant theologian and co-founder of Enlightenment theology , especially historical-critical biblical studies.

Life

Grave of Johann Salomo Semler on the Stadtgottesacker in Halle / Saale.

Semler was born into a Pietist family , studied in Halle and then became the editor of a magazine. From 1752 he worked as a theology professor at the University of Halle and became the founder of historical-critical research on scriptures : The biblical text should be critically analyzed. He made a clear distinction from the old Protestant orthodoxy , from Pietism and from the famous Enlightenmentists Voltaire and d'Holbach .

His grave is on Halle's Stadtgottesacker (arch 53).

Life's work

In 1771 his main work, Treatise on Free Investigation of the Canon, was published . The canon was determined by historical conditions and not "fell from heaven". The historical development process comes to the fore. He takes the view that the texts were written late after the time they report. From this he concluded that while the Word of God is in Scripture, it is not the Word of God. Therefore he rejects the orthodox principle of writing ( verbal inspiration ), rather there are errors, contradictions and additions in the texts.

From this he developed the demand that one must analyze critically and make the historical conditions clear. The New Testament came into being through accommodation , adjustment of Jesus to the horizon of understanding of the people of that time. It is not possible to translate statements into the present day at the same time, because the texts are due to their time. Christianity was passed on orally up to the 2nd century and only then was it fixed in writing.

Semler developed a direction of theology that was characterized by a distinction between public scientific theology and private living religion : Private religiosity is a dogma-free, emotional inner religion of the responsible individual that does not require a denomination. Public religion, on the other hand, is the necessary ecclesiastical form, an external religion that adheres to dogmas and traditional creeds. This distinction even made it possible for the actually liberal Semler to agree to the Prussian-conservative so-called Wöllner religious edict of 1788.

Works

  • Paraphrasis Epistolae ad Romanos cum Notis, Translatione Vetusta et Dissertatione de Appendice Cap. XV. XVI Halae Magdeburgicae, impensis Carol. Hermann, Hemmerde. 1769
  • Explanation of the Egyptian antiquities, through translation of Plutarch's writing from Isis and Osiris and the message from Egypt from Herodotus second book with annotations added. In addition to a preface victory. Jacob Baumgartens . Korn, Breslau and Leipzig 1748 ( digitized from Heidelberg University Library ).
  • Attempt to provide a closer guide to useful diligence in the whole of Godliness for budding Studiosos Theologiae . Single and new ed. by Dirk Fleischer. Reprint of the edition Halle, Gebauer, 1757 (= Knowledge and Criticism 23). Spenner, Waltrop 2001 (Vol. 1: ISBN 3-933688-54-X ; Vol. 2: ISBN 3-933688-55-8 ; Vol. 3: ISBN 3-933688-56-6 )
  • Attempt to facilitate the use of the sources in the state and church history of the ancient times . New ed. and a. by Dirk Fleischer. Reprint of the edition Halle, Gebauer, 1761 (= knowledge and criticism 5). Spenner, Waltrop 1996 ISBN 3-927718-24-6 .
  • Treatise on free investigation of the Canon , 4 vols., 1771–1775 (edited by Heinz Scheible, texts on the history of the church and theology 5, Gütersloher Verlagshaus Mohn, Gütersloh 2nd edition 1980, 94 pages, ISBN 3-579- 04430-3 ).
  • Collections of letters and essays on the Gassnerian and creative evocations. With many comments of my own . Ed. And incorporated. by Dirk Fleischer. 2 vols. Reprint of the Halle 1776 edition (= Knowledge and Criticism 21). Spenner, Waltrop 2004 (Part 1: ISBN 3-933688-33-7 ; Part 2: ISBN 3-933688-34-5 ).
  • Preface and appendix to: attempt at a biblical demonology, or investigation of the doctrine of the holy scriptures of the devil and his power by Otto Justus Basilius Hesse. New ed. and with an opening vers. by Dirk Fleischer. Reprint of the edition Halle, Hemmerde, 1776 (= Knowledge and Criticism 15). Spenner, Waltrop 1998 ISBN 3-933688-07-8
  • Answering the fragments of an unnamed person, especially about the purpose of Jesus and his disciples . New ed. and with an opening vers. by Dirk Fleischer. Reprint of the edition Halle 1779 (= Knowledge and Criticism 25). Spenner, Waltrop 2003 ISBN 3-89991-004-4 .
  • Christology and Soteriology. With introduction, commentary and register . Edited by Gottfried Hornig a. Hartmut R. Schulz. New edition of the “Preparation for the Royal British Task of the Deity of Christ”, Halle, Gebauer, 1787. Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 1990 ISBN 3-88479-469-8 .
  • Hugo Farmer's attempt on the demonic of the New Testament . Translated from English by LFA von Cölln, along with a preface by D. Joh. Sa. Semlers. Reprint of the edition Bremen and Leipzig 1776. Introduced and reissued by Dirk Fleischer (= Knowledge and Criticism Vol. 18). Waltrop 2000, ISBN 3-933688-21-3 .
  • Hugo Farmer's letters to D. Worthington on the demonic in the Gospels . With additions and a preface to improve the concept of inspiration, by D. Joh. Sal. Semler. Newly published and introduced by Dirk Fleischer, reprint of the Halle 1783 edition (= Knowledge and Criticism, Vol. 20). Waltrop 2000, ISBN 3-933688-24-8 .
  • On historical, social and moral religion of the Christians (1786). With supplements, edited, commented and introduced by Dirk Fleischer, (RELIGIOUS HISTORY OF EARLY MODERN AGE, Volume 10), Nordhausen 2009. ISBN 978-3-88309-539-4 .
  • New attempts to elucidate the church history of the first centuries (1788). With supplements, edited and introduced by Dirk Fleischer (RELIGION STORY OF EARLY MODERN AGE, Volume 7), Nordhausen 2010. ISBN 978-3-88309-501-1 .
  • Last creed supernatural and Christian religion . With supplements, edited, commented and introduced by Dirk Fleischer (RELIGION STORY OF EARLY MODERN AGE, vol. 12), Nordhausen 2012.
  • Conversations with Mr. Lavater about free practical religion; also about the revision of previous theology . Edited and introduced by Dirk Fleischer (= RELIGIOUS HISTORY OF EARLY MODERN AGE, Volume 13). Nordhausen 2012.
  • Joh. Moritz Schwager: Contribution to the history of intolerance or life, opinions and fates of the former Doct. of the theology and Reformed preacher in Amsterdam Balthasar Bekker mostly according to church documents. With a preface to Mr. Doct. Joh. Salomo Semler from an improved edition of the enchanted world which will soon be published under his supervision, (Leipzig 1780). Edited and introduced by Dirk Fleischer (= RELIGIOUS HISTORY OF EARLY MODERN AGE, Volume 18), Nordhausen 2013.
  • D. Johann Salomo Semler's attempt at some moral reflections on the many miraculous cures and miracles in ancient times; to promote the ever better use of church history (1767) , edited and introduced by Dirk Fleischer (= think history. Texts on the basics of the historical formation of meaning in modern times, vol. 2). Nordhausen 2014, pp. VII-XXVII.
  • Johann Salomo Semler: Whether the spirit of the anti-Christian characterizes our age? in frank letters to facilitate the private religion of Christians (1784), with enclosures, edited, commented and introduced by Dirk Fleischer (Religionsgeschichte der Early Modern Age, Vol. 21), Nordhausen 2015.
  • Mr. Caspar Lavaters and an unnamed opinion on Mr. CR Steinbart's system of pure Christianity. With many additions by D. Joh.Sal.Semler (Hall 1780), Nordhausen 2015.

literature

in order of appearance

  • Paul Tschackert :  Semler, Johann Salomo . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 33, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1891, pp. 698-704.
  • Trutz Rendtorff : Church and Theology. The systematic function of the concept of the church in modern theology . Gütersloh publishing house, Gütersloh 1966.
  • Hartmut HR Schulz: Johann Salomo Semler's determination of the essence of Christianity. A contribution to the study of Semler's theology . Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 1988, ISBN 3-88479-355-1 .
  • Andreas Lüder: History and Dogmatics. A contribution to the genesis and development of Johann Salomo Semler's understanding of the Old Testament . Supplements to the journal for Old Testament science 233. De Gruyter, Berlin 1995, ISBN 3-11-014627-4 .
  • Gottfried Hornig: Johann Salomo Semler. Studies on the life and work of the Enlightenment theologian from Halle . Hallesche's contributions to the European Enlightenment 2. Niemeyer, Tübingen 1996, ISBN 3-484-81002-5 .
  • Susanne Ehrhardt-Rein: Between the doctrine of faith and the truth of reason. Nature and creation among the theologians of Halle in the 18th century (= physics theology in a historical context, vol. 3). Lit, Münster 1996, ISBN 3-8258-2609-0 .
  • Werner Raupp :  Johann Salomo Semler. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 14, Bautz, Herzberg 1998, ISBN 3-88309-073-5 , Sp. 1444-1473.  ([ http://www.bautz.de/bbkl/s/s2/semler_j_s.shtml ( Memento from June 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) article / beginning of the article in the Internet archive])
  • Gottfried Hornig: Semler, Johann Salomo . In: Theologische Realenzyklopädie 31 (2000), pp. 142–148.
  • Christian Soboth: The alchemy on the toilet. Johann Salomo Semler and the hermetic downside of neology . In: Hermetics . Literary figurations between Babylon and cyberspace . Niemeyer, Tübingen 2002, pp. 67-99.
  • Christopher Spehr: Enlightenment and Ecumenism. Attempts at reunification between Catholics and Protestants in German-speaking countries in the later 18th century (Contributions to Historical Theology 132), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2005, ISBN 3-16-148576-9 , pp. 338–373.
  • Dirk Fleischer: Between Tradition and Progress: The Structural Change in Protestant Church Historiography in the German-speaking Discourse of the Enlightenment (= Knowledge and Criticism, Vol. 22). Waltrop 2006, ISBN 3-89991-053-2 , pp. 517-768
  • Dirk Fleischer: History and Meaning. Johann Salomo Semler as a history theorist . In: Zeitschrift für Geschichtswwissenschaft Vol. 56 (2008), pp. 397–417.
  • Dirk Fleischer: Johann Salomo Semler and the devil. Or: From Semler's arguments with devil believing Christians of his time . In: Ders .: Fulfilled time. Historical-theological attempts, Reken 2009, ISBN 3-9809744-5-6 , pp. 78-106.
  • Dirk Fleischer: Criticism and Identity Formation. On the historical thinking of Johann Salomo Semler , in: Johann Salomo Semler: New attempts to clarify the church history of the first centuries more (1788). With supplements, edited and introduced by Dirk Fleischer (= Religious History of the Early Modern Age, Vol. 7). Nordhausen 2010, ISBN 978-3-88309-501-1 .
  • Dirk Fleischer: Living history: Hermann Samuel Reimarus and Johann Salomo Semler in search of the biblical truth . In: Albrecht Beutel , Volker Leppin , Udo Sträter , Markus Wriedt (eds.): Enlightened Christianity. Contributions to the history of the church and theology of the 18th century . Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 2010, ISBN 978-3-374-02790-3 , pp. 75-92.
  • Dirk Fleischer:  Semler, Johann Salomo. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 24, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-428-11205-0 , p. 236 f. ( Digitized version ).
  • Werner Raupp: Semler, Johann Salomo . In: The Dictionary of Eighteenth-Century German Philosophers. General Editors Heiner F. Klemme, Manfred Kuehn, Vol. 3, London / New York 2010, pp. 1084-1086.
  • Marianne Schröter: Enlightenment through historicization. Johann Salomo Semler's Hermeneutics of Christianity (= Hallesche Contributions to the European Enlightenment, vol. 44). De Gruyter, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-11-026259-9 .
  • Dirk Fleischer: On the way to leading theological science. On the importance of church history in Johann Salomo Semler . In: D. Johann Salomo Semler's attempt at some moral considerations about the many miracle cures and miracles in the olden times; to promote the ever better use of church history (1767), edited and introduced by Dirk Fleischer (= think history. Texts on the basics of the historical formation of meaning in modern times, vol. 2). Nordhausen 2014, pp. VII – XXVII.
  • Dirk Fleischer: Introduction as foreword to the new edition by: Johann Gottfried Hoche (ed.): News of DJS Semler's death and funeral ceremony, along with a funeral speech, cantatas, poems and silhouette (1791). Newly edited, introduced and annotated by Dirk Fleischer, Saarbrücken 2015, pp. V – XV.

Web links

Wikisource: Johann Salomo Semler  - Sources and full texts
personal data
SURNAME Semler, Johann Solomon
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Protestant theologian
DATE OF BIRTH December 18, 1725
PLACE OF BIRTH Saalfeld , Thuringia
DATE OF DEATH March 14, 1791
Place of death Halle (Saale)