Karl Christoph Nestler

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Karl Christoph Nestler (born June 13, 1740 in Weinböhla ; † February 19, 1804 ) was a German Protestant theologian .

Life

Karl Christoph Nestler was born on June 13, 1740 in Weinböhla as the son of the local pastor Christian Siegmund and his wife Maria Eleonora née Tittel. He came from a well-known Electoral Saxon priestly house, while his grandfather Christian Siegmund was a count clerk. Karl Christoph Nestler's father could not take good care of his only surviving son, he himself suffered from epilepsy and was poor, he died in 1747, so that Nestler's mother, who was described as pious, serious and wise, took care of his upbringing. From May 4, 1750 he attended the Kreuzschule , where Johann Christian Schöttgen was one of his teachers. Nestler also supported von Miltitz from Dresden . He continued his education on February 5, 1754 at the Princely School in Meissen . In addition to the rector Johann Ulisch and the vice rector Johann Gottfried Höre , Kauderbach, Bielitz, Schreger, Weisse and Kleemann taught him history , rhetoric , dialectics , natural law and the older languages. The pastor and lecturer Christian Kästner taught him the Hebrew language . At the Princely School, Nestler was distinguished by good morals; one of his classmates was the later philologist Christian Adolph Klotz . After five years Nestler left the Princely School and gave his speech de sanctitate poetarum .

Prepared in this way, he was able to enter the University of Leipzig in 1759 , which was made possible for him by a scholarship . There he studied theology under Johann August Ernesti , Christian August Crusius , Körner, Johann Friedrich Bahrdt and Rehkopf. He also heard philosophical lectures by Crusius' and Johann Heinrich Winckler and moral lectures by Christian Fürchtegott Gellert . In addition, Rehkopf and Kruger taught him the Chaldean  ? the Syrian language . He financed his studies by working as a private tutor to a professor's brother, who died in 1803 at the age of 59 as a deacon , but his activities did not affect his studies. This was also shown by the awards he received, the University of Leipzig appointed him a master's degree on April 4, 1762 , whereupon he wanted to become a preacher at the university church in the afternoon . He had already preached several times in the pulpit near Leipzig and received applause; in 1762 he still gave his inaugural sermon in the university church. In addition, from this year he gave lectures at the Collegio Philobiblica in Leipzig, he gave his inaugural speech at Christmas, it was called Qualis esse debeat reverentia, quam mysterio incarnationis Christi debemus . Nestler was later to return to this school twice as a speaker.

In 1764 he received an appointment as pastor in Rammenau . He pursued this and devoted himself to scientific studies and teaching for the youth in addition to the priesthood. He liked this work so much that he did not pursue other calls for far more advantageous promotions, although they were brought before him repeatedly. In 1770 he finally changed his position and went to the Maria-und-Martha-Kirche in Bautzen as a catechist . In July 1770 he delivered the inaugural sermon on the reassuring certainty of the teachers of the Gospel of the blessed results of their work .

After the deacon of the main church Sankt Petri in Hamburg died in February 1772, Nestler took his place. This position was particularly important to him because the archdeacon Böhmer, who was friends with Nestler, worked there. His mother also died on the evening of Pentecost Tuesday 1774. On November 15 of this year, Nestler married his friend's sister-in-law, Christiane Henriette Luja, the daughter of a Dresden legal consultant , in Dresden. Another work by Nestler fell during this period, namely from 1779 he declared the penitential texts for Saxony, which he did until 1794. In 1781/1782 he also wrote articles for the new Budissiner weekly news and reviews for the library of small writings , which Gottlieb Christoph Harleß published in Erlangen . But it was a blow for Nestler when his friend Böhmer died in 1783. As a result, Nestler received his archdeaconate, in 1785 after the death of the second pastor, Magister Lange, also his position. In addition, the first pastor, Magister Jakobei, died in 1799, whose position was also transferred to Nestler.

From 1802 his strength decreased, among other things he suffered from chest cramps, which got worse and worse in 1804. On December 18, 1803 he stepped into the pulpit one last time and died of a stroke on February 19, 1804 . Many people accompanied him at his funeral, and some of his friends erected a memorial in his honor.

Reception by Döring

Nestler possessed the gift of good observation, through which he acquired knowledge of people and the world and had a great imagination. In this way he made abstracts appear real and could also present dry topics in an interesting way. He also had a good memory, which was useful for studying the older and newer languages. Other than that, he was still very sharp, which gave him a rare maturity. He strived for clarity and precision, for thorough knowledge and for firm convictions. He chose grammatical exegesis as the basis of his theology, but wanted to keep his theology free from the philosophy that Crusius advocated. He recognized Crusius' philosophical system in Immanuel Kant's philosophy, although he did not know much about the teachings of this philosopher.

From Nestler's keen intellect, his power of judgment is to be emphasized; he was not only theoretically as well as practically skilled, but also knew how to use wit and sagacity, taste and intelligence. This made him particularly good at dealing with people of all classes. His ingenuity also kept his presentation from being confused. His mind was saved from embarrassment by presence and independence. Overall, he was adept at dealing with people, he was able to change people emotionally. On the other hand, he was easily irritated, for example sensitive to those that made him feel provoked by indifference. In spite of this, Nestler generally had a cheerful mood that outweighed the sad one.

Although his life had consisted of obstacles, even his university days had not been easy, but through diligence he was able to get important positions, the awareness that he had achieved this has made him feel a certain self-worth, but not overestimating himself Possessed by religiosity, he was modest and humble, but it also gave him courage and resignation. Although he had no fear of men, he became anxious in his later life. So he gradually mistrusted eccentric people as well as vain and presumptuous people, whom he thought he could not change.

As a choleric he was restlessly active, he was against idleness , so that he also did not like work without complaining. He particularly liked literary collections, he collected on the history of catechism, topography and the history of preachers. He wrote many works, only a part of which appeared, and made registers of theological writings, church books and his sermons, which is an example of his orderliness and punctuality. He would also have been an incentive if he had had to deal with someone who could have surpassed him in talent and learning. This was one reason why his friendship with Böhmer was important to him.

Nestler's activity as a religion teacher was also important; his decency and clear pronunciation made him able to teach well in the pulpit. When he spoke, his words combined simple intelligibility and comprehensibility. He also strove to preach popularly, so he avoided declamations . Even if his sermons were about the explanation of the exegesian character of certain Bible passages, he did not forget to explain this in a way that was understandable for the people. His orthodoxy was not shaped by comfort and hierarchy, but by religiosity and respect for the properly understood script. But his sermons were especially praised for their forcefulness, heartfelt and conviction. Through his sermons he could make even the most reckless people serious. He brought touch, participation and emotion by incorporating surprise, unexpected twists, well-known verses of songs, good examples and current events into his sermons.

Nestler also campaigned to preserve the church cult, so he shortened the litany and was not opposed to an improved hymnbook that was more appropriate to the time, he edited some songs for the new Budissin hymnbook, which, however, was never used properly . Although he also wrote a selection of good religious chants, these also reflect his desire not to spoil the old established songs.

Nestler was practically active throughout his life, so that he had little time for literary work. Apart from journal articles, he has written some writings, some of which are homiletic . He had preached 173 times in his life in the villages around Leipzig, 112 times in Leipzig churches, of which 29 times in the university church.

family

His marriage to Christiane Henriette Luja in Dresden on November 15, 1774 had two children:

  1. Carl Christoph Siegmund Nestler (* August 13, 1775 - January 21, 1776)
  2. One daughter (* March 1777), married in 1802 to the early preacher Seidel; this marriage resulted in another child, with which Nestler became a grandfather.

Works

  • Sermon of the guilty obedience of Christians to the divine word (Bautzen 1768)
  • Talk of the conversion of every Jew, as a fruit of Jesus' intercession on the cross, through Luc. 23, 34; on the occasion of a baptism of Jews in Budissin; together with the attached baptismal act (Bautzen 1772)
  • Thoughts on the use that teachers in lower schools create in the ministry (Bautzen 1776)
  • De […] in Novo Testamento commemorata (Bautzen 1778)
  • Declaration of the two prescribed texts of the day of repentance ordered on March 12 in the Chursächsischen Länder (Leipzig 1779)
  • The power of Jesus over death and distress; a sermon (Leipzig 1781)
  • Afternoon sermon on the first holy day of Easter 1787 (Bautzen 1787)
  • Funeral sermon from Rom. 8, 33–34 (Bautzen 1787)
  • Explanation of the two texts of penance Ephes. 1, 7 and 2 Petr. 2, 24 us (Leipzig 1788)
  • Warning of riot; a sermon on the 15th of Trinit. etc (Bautzen 1790)
  • Two sermons, prompted by the current circumstances, and on the 3rd and 4th Sunday after Trinit. Performed in 1791 (Bautzen 1791)
  • A consoling prospect of blessed eternity at the death of our loved ones and friends; Memorial speech etc. (Bautzen 1792)
  • To Mr. D. Theodor Ernst Grohmann, practicing physician in Budissin (Bautzen 1793; available online )
  • Memorial speech for JC Prenzel (Bautzen 1794)

literature

personal data
SURNAME Nestler, Karl Christoph
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Protestant theologian
DATE OF BIRTH June 13, 1740
PLACE OF BIRTH Weinböhla
DATE OF DEATH February 19, 1804