A theology for the Bildungsbürgertum: Albrecht Ritschl in context

Introduction -- Part I: History -- A new turn in historical criticism -- Ritschl's emancipation from the Tübingen School -- Ritschl and the quest for the historical Jesus -- Part II: Metaphysics -- Scientific materialism and late idealism -- Ritschl's late idealist metaphysics -- Ritschl&#...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Svensson, Leif (Author)
Format: Print Book
Language:English
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Published: Berlin Boston De Gruyter [2020]
In: Theologische Bibliothek Töpelmann (volume 189)
Year: 2020
Series/Journal:Theologische Bibliothek Töpelmann volume 189
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Ritschl, Albrecht 1822-1889 / Theology / Educated class
B Ritschl, Albrecht 1822-1889 / Theology / Metaphysics / Idealism / Criticism
B Ritschl, Albrecht 1822-1889 / Theological ethics
B Ritschl, Albrecht 1822-1889 / Historical criticism
B Ritschl, Albrecht 1822-1889 / Kulturprotestantismus / Educated class
Further subjects:B Ritschl, Albrecht (1822-1889)
B Thesis
Online Access: Inhaltsverzeichnis (Verlag)
Parallel Edition:Erscheint auch als: 9783110626469
Erscheint auch als: 9783110626261
Description
Summary:Introduction -- Part I: History -- A new turn in historical criticism -- Ritschl's emancipation from the Tübingen School -- Ritschl and the quest for the historical Jesus -- Part II: Metaphysics -- Scientific materialism and late idealism -- Ritschl's late idealist metaphysics -- Ritschl's rejection of classical metaphysical theology -- Part III: Ethics -- The values of the Bildungsbürgertum -- Ritschl's controversy with Lagarde -- Ritschl's ethics in context -- Conclusion.
"This book provides a new approach to Albrecht Ritschl's theology. Leif Svensson argues that Ritschl's theological project must be related to three cultural developments - historical criticism, materialism, and anti-Lutheran polemics - and understood in the context of the de-Christianization of the Bildungsbürgertum in nineteenth-century Germany." --
Item Description:The subject of this historical-theological investigation is the German Lutheran theologian Albrecht Ritschl (1822-1889). Ritschl's theology is understood in the context of the de-Christianization of the German Bildungsbürgertum (educated middle class). It is demonstrated that an ambition to counteract this tendency runs all through Ritschl's theological thinking. More specifically, the study argues that Ritschl's theology can be seen as a response to three intellectual challenges to Christianity in general and Lutheranism in particular - historical criticism, materialism, and anti-Lutheran polemics. Part I concentrates on historical criticism and Ritschl's interpretation of history. Chapter 1, which presents Leopold von Ranke's historicist-oriented historical school at the University of Berlin and Ferdinand Christian Baur's theological Tübingen school, provides the wider setting of Ritschl's historical analysis. It is argued, in chapter 2, that those schools had a significant impact - albeit in different ways - on Ritschl's understanding of history. The contribution of Ritschl to the so-called first quest for the historical Jesus is analyzed in chapter 3, which also points out that Johannes Weiss' and Albert Schweitzer's apocalyptic critique of the first quest undermined the historical foundation of Ritschl's theology. In part II, the focus is on materialism and the metaphysical framework of Ritschl's theology. Chapter 4 discusses anthropological materialism, scientific materialism, and late idealism - three intellectual movements of relevance to Ritschl's metaphysics. In chapter 5, Ritschl's metaphysical framework is described as an attempt to safeguard the spiritual dimension of existence against the threat of materialism. This chapter also argues that Ritschl's metaphysics is indebted to Hermann Lotze's late idealist philosophy. Chapter 6 highlights the relationship between Ritschl's metaphysics and his protest against "classical metaphysical theology," and examines how Ritschl's metaphysical framework leads him to reject natural theology and the classical Christological and trinitarian dogmas. Part III discusses Ritschl's theological ethics or understanding of Christian life in the context of the values of the Bildungsbürgertum and against the background of anti-Lutheran polemics. In chapter 7, an overview of the ethos of the educated middle class is provided. The subject of chapter 8 is Ritschl's defense of Luther's cultural importance against Paul de Lagarde's criticism of the Lutheran Reformation. Chapter 9 carries out an analysis of Ritschl's thinking on Christian life and its modern sources, especially noting the influences of Immanuel Kant and Friedrich Schleiermacher, and exploring the similarities between Ritschl's ethics and the values of the educated middle class. In the Conclusion, the findings of the investigation are summarized in the claim that Ritschl's responses to historical criticism, materialism, and anti-Lutheran polemics demonstrate that his theology in many respects was a theology for the Bildungsbürgertum . The concluding chapter also reflects on the implications of the present study for the common characterization of Ritschl as a Kulturprotestant (mediator between the Protestant Reformation and modern culture), problematizes Ritschl's interpretation of the historical Jesus, and argues that Ritschl's theological project was essentially abandoned by his most famous students. -- Abstract from dissertation record in library catalog of Umeå University
Includes bibliographical references (pages 321-341) and index
ISBN:3110625598