Allard Pierson (8 April 1831 – 27 May 1896) was a Dutch

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 th ...

, historian, and art historian. He was a leading proponent of

radical criticism Radical criticism is a movement around the late 19th century that, typically, denied authentic authorship of the Pauline epistles. This went beyond the higher criticism of the Tübingen school which (with the exception of Bruno Bauer) held that a ...

in the Netherlands.

Life

Pierson's father was a merchant in Amsterdam, his mother an author of

pietist Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christian life, including a social concern for the needy and ...

works. The family was prominent in the Christian revival movement of the Reveil and attended the meetings of Isaac da Costa and

Nicolaas Beets Nicolaas Beets (13 September 1814 – 13 March 1903) was a Dutch theologian, writer and poet. He published also under the pseudonym Hildebrand. Life Nicolaas Beets was born in Haarlem, the son of a pharmacist. From 1833 till 1839 he studie ...

. Pierson studied theology at

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollm ...

, where he was influenced by Opzoomer. He became a Protestant minister in

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. Th ...

in 1854, and in 1857 in the Walloon church in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

, where he was highly esteemed. However, in 1865 he resigned because he could not reconcile being a minister with not believing in divine revelation. He moved to

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

, where he worked on a

history of Christianity The history of Christianity concerns the Christian religion, Christian countries, and the Christians with their various denominations, from the 1st century to the present. Christianity originated with the ministry of Jesus, a Jewish t ...

. He also started to teach at the university there. From 1877 to 1895 Pierson was professor in

history of art The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, and even functional and other purposes, but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetic vis ...

aesthetics Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, Epistemology, knowledge, Ethics, values, Philosophy of ...

and

modern languages A modern language is any human language that is currently in use. The term is used in language education to distinguish between languages which are used for day-to-day communication (such as French and German) and dead classical languages such a ...

at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other bein ...

. Pierson died in 1896 in the village Almen and he is buried in Zutphen. He was succeeded as professor by Jan Six, whom he had mentored as a student. Person's collection of antique objects, together with Six's, formed the basis of the Allard Pierson Museum.

Theology

In 1878 Pierson published his book about the

Sermon on the Mount The Sermon on the Mount (anglicized from the Matthean Vulgate Latin section title: ) is a collection of sayings attributed to Jesus of Nazareth found in the Gospel of Matthew (chapters 5, 6, and 7). that emphasizes his moral teachings. It is ...

and other passages from the

synoptic gospels The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are referred to as the synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar or sometimes identical wording. They stand in contrast to John, whose con ...

. He showed that sayings attributed to Jesus could be found in Jewish

wisdom literature Wisdom literature is a genre of literature common in the ancient Near East. It consists of statements by sages and the wise that offer teachings about divinity and virtue. Although this genre uses techniques of traditional oral storytelling, it ...

. The work also argued that

Galatians Galatians may refer to: * Galatians (people) * Epistle to the Galatians, a book of the New Testament * English translation of the Greek ''Galatai'' or Latin ''Galatae'', ''Galli,'' or ''Gallograeci'' to refer to either the Galatians or the Gaul ...

, one of the core

Pauline epistles The Pauline epistles, also known as Epistles of Paul or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen books of the New Testament attributed to Paul the Apostle, although the authorship of some is in dispute. Among these epistles are some of the earliest ext ...

, was pseudepigraphic. This is seen as the beginning of Dutch radical school. Pierson was an advocate of the

Christ myth theory The Christ myth theory, also known as the Jesus myth theory, Jesus mythicism, or the Jesus ahistoricity theory, is the view that "the story of Jesus is a piece of mythology", possessing no "substantial claims to historical fact". Alternatively ...

. He held the view that the

were forgeries.McCown, Chester Charlton. (1940). ''The Search for the Real Jesus: A Century of Historical Study''. Scribner. p. 75

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pierson, Allard 1831 births 1896 deaths Christ myth theory proponents Dutch Calvinist and Reformed theologians 19th-century Dutch historians Rectors of universities in the Netherlands University of Amsterdam faculty Utrecht University alumni