Gottlieb Christoph Adolf von Harless
Gottlieb Christoph Adolf von Harless (German: von Harleß; 21 November 1806 – 5 September 1879), was a German
Life
He was born on 21 November 1806 in
Harless wanted to understand the reasons for the importance of the Christian religion in the life of the people and the history of the world. He first thought that the philosophy of
In 1828 Harless returned from Halle to
In 1850 he moved to
A new hymn-book in the spirit of orthodox Lutheranism was soon introduced. The introduction of a new order of church service was more difficult. Here the question of private confession, which was confused with auricular confession, led to opposition, but the organization of the State Church, firmly established under Harless, finally achieved a victory.[1]
Harless now became the acknowledged leader of the whole Lutheran Church. He presided for a long time over the missionary board at Leipzig. During his latter years he was almost blind from
Works
His three most important works were written while professor at Erlangen, as his later public activity left him little time for literary work. They are:[2]
- Commentar über den Brief Pauli an die Ephesier (Erlangen, 1834);
- Theologische Encyclopädie und Methodologie vom Standpunkte der Protestantischen Kirche (Nuremberg,-1837);
- Christliche Etik (Stuttgart, 1842; Eng. transl., Edinburgh, 1868).
The commentary and the work on ethics marked an epoch in their respective spheres. The encyclopedia is less important for its methodological arrangement than for Harless' clear and energetic views of the Church, the main points being the close relation of theology to the Church; the unity of theory and practise in a common living faith; the living continuity of the Church from her very foundation as an ideal factor of history, the emphasis of a common faith as the basis of
The Christliche Etik (Eng. transl., System of Christian Ethics, Edinburgh, 1868) is without doubt Harless' most important work. Its chief excellence are its scientific structure, the emphasis and consistent application of the Christian ethical principle, and the interrelation and connection of the Biblical factor with the historical factor in the more general sense of the word.[3]
He died on 5 September 1879, having, a few years earlier, written an autobiography under the title Bruchstücke aus dem Leben eines süddeutschen Theologen.[4]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f Stähelin 1909, p. 150.
- ^ Stähelin 1909, pp. 150–151.
- ^ a b Stähelin 1909, p. 151.
- ^ Chisholm 1911, p. 995.
References
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 995.
Further reading
- Lee II, James Ambrose (2022). Confessional Lutheranism and German Theological Wissenschaft: Adolf Harleß, August Vilmar, and Johannes Christian Konrad von Hofmann, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter. 978-3110760538.
Attribution
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the New Schaff–Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. Vol. 5 (third ed.). London and New York: Funk and Wagnalls. pp. 150–151.
External links
Media related to Adolf Harleß at Wikimedia Commons