Franz Volkmar Reinhard (12 March 1753 – 6 September 1812) was a German

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

born in

Vohenstrauß Vohenstrauß (or ''Vohenstrauss''; ) is a town in Germany, located in the north-eastern part of the Bavarian region Upper Palatinate The Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz, , ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany, ...

Biography

In 1780 he became an associate professor of

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and philosophy at the

University of Wittenberg Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university in ...

, where he served as

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

in 1790–91. In 1792 he was appointed ''Oberhofprediger'' (first preacher) to the Saxon court in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

. Reinhard was one of the more influential Protestant ministers of his era, and was an important representative of "enlightened theological supernaturalism". He was not opposed to contemporary rationalist thought, yet at the same time stressed the importance of divine supremacy and Biblical authority. In his sermons and lectures he attempted to establish the "truth of

Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

" by rational means. Reinhard was a prominent figure in the Leben-Jesu-Forschung (Quest for the Historical Jesus) movement, a concept initiated by Hermann Samuel Reimarus (1694-1768). He also exerted considerable influence upon the German educational system.

Published works

Among written works attributed to him was a 39-volume collection of his sermons that were published between 1793 and 1837. Other noted publications by Reinhard include: * ''Versuch über den Plan, welchen der Stifter der christlichen Religion..'' (1781); translated into English in 1831 as "Plan of the Founder of Christianity". * ''System der christlichen Moral'' (System of Christian morals); (1792). * ''Vorlesungen über die Dogmatik'' (Lectures on dogmatics); (1801).

References

Christian Classics Ethereal Library
(biography) {{DEFAULTSORT:Reinhard, Franz Volkmar 18th-century German Protestant theologians University of Wittenberg faculty People from Neustadt an der Waldnaab (district) 1753 births 1812 deaths German male non-fiction writers 18th-century German male writers