Ludwig August Kähler

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Ludwig August Kähler (born March 6, 1775 in Sommerfeld , † November 4, 1855 in Wogenab near Elbing ) was a German Protestant theologian , clergyman and writer .

Life

Ludwig August Kähler was born the son of a physician and trained at the Saxon State High School in Sankt Afra . In 1793 he then moved to Erlangen University to study theology for three years. After completing his studies, he worked as a private tutor for noble families until 1798 , before taking on the poorly paid job of parish priest in Canig (now Kaniów near Guben in Niederlausitz ). During this time he also published novels. In 1809 he was appointed as a deacon at the upper church St. Nikolai in Cottbus and promoted to archdeacon two years later .

Kähler received a call to Königsberg in 1819; he was offered positions as consistorial councilor , pastor , superintendent and professor at the university there . He accepted the offer. After the death of the General Superintendent of the Church Province of Prussia, Archbishop Ludwig Ernst von Borowski , Kähler took over his office for four years, before Sartorius succeeded as the new General Superintendent in 1835. In 1843 he had to give up his other offices because of an illness and moved to his son's estate in Wogen. He spent his twilight years there until he died there in 1855 at the age of 80.

Kähler's eldest son Siegfried August Kähler (1800–1895) was a consistorial councilor and military preacher and wrote a biography of his father. The theologian Martin Kähler was Kähler's grandson.

Work / reception according to Erbkam (ADB)

Kähler was less scientifically important, but he was an important preacher, reformed the church school system and introduced Prussian synodal conferences. He grew up with rationalism and made friends with representatives of this trend such as Christoph Ammon , Heinrich Carl Alexander Hänlein , Georg Friedrich Seiler and Johann Georg Jonathan Schuderoff . The thinking so formed was not dogmatic in Kähler ; his thirst for knowledge made him realize over time that his own point of view was limited, so that he gradually turned to supranaturalism , as was the fluctuation of the time. Over time, rationalism also changed. Kähler faced the changed rationalism without denying the foundations of his theology.

Kähler was a lively, imaginative man. He was able to empathize with the way of thinking of others, which is not least reflected in his literary work. Nonetheless, he remained true to his own way of thinking and conveyed to people who thought differently who faced him that their point of view was limited. To this end, he used a special rhetoric that he also used in his sermons. Thus he was influential on his immediate environment, which he knew how to use especially for his important pastoral position in Königsberg. Many people listened to his sermons and took a liking to them, so that Kähler printed some at the request of the audience.

As important as Kähler was as a pastor and preacher, the less influential was his professorship. His scholarly lectures were deficient due to a lack of specialist knowledge and his particular rhetoric, because of which he could not teach clearly, which he himself noticed and repeatedly asked the Ministry to dismiss him from the professorship.

Overall, he had an influence on the theology of the time, but did not establish his own. Nevertheless, he exerted influence on his environment through important writings. One of these writings was reflections on the twofold view: was Jesus just a Jewish land rabbi or the Son of God? from 1821, in which he renounced rationalism and thus caused a surprise to his like-minded people, and achieved a turn in their lives. Another publication appeared anonymously in 1824, ideas for assessing the introduction of the Prussian court church agendas from a moral point of view . In this Kähler dealt with the theological movement that triggered the introduction of the new agenda in the Prussian regional church . It covered how the agenda was introduced rather than describing its value. He came to the conclusion that the state authority that was used in the introduction must have a damaging effect on the church. He also advised that the agenda should first be checked by church officials before it was enforced by the state. Overall, this script was significant.

In addition to his theological, literary writings and his sermons, Kähler published a few scientific works, the most important of which is Scientific Outline of Christian Moral Doctrine according to Johannine Apostolic Principles 1835/1837. Because there is no clear view in the work, it has not found widespread use in the scientific world.

As a consistorial councilor, Kähler was responsible for the church regiment in East and West Prussia. In this office he ensured that Protestant church systems emerged in the previously Catholic Warmia . He also introduced synodal conferences; this concept was adopted by other provinces. In addition, he was an expert witness in the case of the theosophical sect Johann Wilhelm Ebels and Heinrich Diestels .

Works

  • Count Friedrich von Werben, or reward for renunciation. Roman von Filibert (two volumes, Leipzig 1802, second edition 1907)
  • Athanasia. Monument to the personal future of Emperor Alexander of Russia and King Friedrich Wilhelm III (no location 1802)
  • Farmer Martin, the murderer. A novel by Filibert (Leipzig 1803)
  • Hermann von Löbeneck, or Confessions of a Man (three volumes, Leipzig 1805–1807)
  • Theodore von Manstein (two volumes, Leipzig 1808)
  • Citizens' opinions on the hereditary nobility of the author of Herr von Lobeneill and Theodore von Mannstein (Leipzig 1808)
  • Sermon on the obligation to participate in public religious practice (Kottbus 1810)
  • New Year's present for patriots in two songs (Berlin 1814)
  • History of Kottbuss, during the years 1813–1814 together with a selection of sermons about the political events held during this period (Kottbus / Leipzig 1814; second edition 1816)
  • Supernaturalism and rationalism in their common origin, their discord, and higher unity. A word of reassurance for all who do not know whether they should know by believing or believe knowing (Leipzig 1818)
  • Glossa perpetua for Mr. Harm's translation of Luther's 95 theses for the jubilee year 1817 (Leipzig 1818)
  • Something about the relationship between medicine and theology (Kottbus 1818)
  • World studies, a means of higher intellectual education for the later female youth, or: manual of a descriptive, coherent, clear and complete instruction on astronomy, natural history, geography and ethnology, history and religion, for everyone for whom learning is unnecessary or dispensable is (two volumes, Leipzig 1818/1819)
  • Diss. Inaug. de eo, quod positivum est in ecclesia Christiana (Leipzig 1819)
  • Are church punishments an essential part of church discipline? Answered in relation to a contemporary arrangement (Magdeburg 1819)
  • Epheuranken, by the author of Hermann von Löbeneck (Leipzig 1819)
  • Synodal sermon given on September 16, 1818 in front of the clergy of the Kottbusser Kreis (Leipzig 1819)
  • Farewell sermon, given in Kottbus (Königsberg 1819)
  • Inaugural sermon, given in the Löbenichtskirche in Königsberg (Leipzig 1819)
  • Clear evidence that a Christian ruler is always the supreme bishop of the church in his country (Leipzig 1819)
  • A few more words about the truth: that a Christian sovereign is the supreme bishop of every church in his country (Königsberg 1820)
  • About enthusiasm, enthusiasm, apparent and true greatness, 3 sermons (Königsberg 1821)
  • Reflections on the twofold view of whether Jesus was just a Jewish land rabbi or the Son of God (Königsberg 1821)
  • Prussia's greatness, a speech (Königsberg 1821)
  • About religious tolerance and zeal for religion, 2 sermons (Königsberg 1822)
  • What do we have to think of the miracle workers of our time? A sermon (Königsberg 1823)
  • The glory of the Evangelical Christian Church. Sermon (Königsberg 1823)
  • Sermon at the 300-year jubilee celebration of the church reformation that began in the city of Königsberg (Königsberg 1823)
  • Philagathos. Allusions to the realm of goodness (two volumes, Königsberg 1823/1824)
  • Ideas for assessing the introduction of the Prussian court church agendas from the moral point of view (without location 1824)
  • Six sermons on the saving faith in Jesus Christ (Königsberg 1827)
  • Letter to Prof. D. Hahn in Leipzig, in relation to his writing: to the Evangelical Church, etc. A contribution to the right appreciation of rationalism (Königsberg 1827)
  • Contribution to recent attempts to idealize Catholicism in a letter to the Catholic publisher of the new Catholic-Protestant church newspaper (Königsberg 1828)
  • Judgment Day and Eternal Reconciliation, Christian Poetry (Königsberg 1829)
  • Protective speech for Christianity based on reason and its teachers. Caused by the dogmatic textbook of Prof. D. Hahn (Königsberg 1829)
  • Funeral speech at the funeral of Archbishop von Borowski (Königsberg 1831)
  • Christian teaching according to the Holy Scriptures. Briefly presented for his confirmands (Königsberg 1831, second edition 1836)
  • Answer to the letter from the parishioner. Wigand to Archbishop O. von Borowski, regarding the explanation of a letter issued by the Royal Consistory of Königsberg [...] about combating the belief in the devil (Königsberg 1831)
  • Christian ethics (Königsberg 1833)
  • Scientific outline of Christian moral doctrine according to Johannine apostolic principles (two volumes, Königsberg 1835–1837)
  • About the meaning and worth of the scriptures. Sermon (Königsberg 1837)
  • Christian farewell to my church friends (Königsberg 1843)
  • The three sisters . In: German Novellenschatz . Edited by Paul Heyse and Hermann Kurz. Vol. 11, 2nd ed. Berlin, [1910], pp. [1] -57. In: Weitin, Thomas (Ed.): Fully digitized corpus. The German Novellenschatz . Darmstadt / Konstanz, 2016 ( digitized and full text in the German text archive )

literature

Web links

Remarks

  1. ^ Hermann Hering , "Kähler, Ludwig August", in: Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge , 'vol. VI: Innocents - Liudger '.
  2. ↑ Siegfried August Kähler, Ludwig August Kähler, Mittheilungen about his life and his writings , Königsberg in Prussia: 1856.
predecessor Office successor
Ludwig Ernst von Borowski General Superintendent of the Old Prussian Church Province of Prussia
1831 - 1835
provisional 		Ernst Wilhelm Christian Sartorius
personal data
SURNAME Kähler, Ludwig August
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Protestant theologian, clergyman and writer
DATE OF BIRTH March 6, 1775
PLACE OF BIRTH Summer field
DATE OF DEATH November 4, 1855
Place of death Wogenab near Elbing