Gustav Adolf Wislicenus (; 20 November 1803 in Battaune, Prussian Saxony14 October 1875 in Fluntern, part of

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

) was a German

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

, one of the leaders of the Free Congregations.

Biography

He studied theology at Halle, and as member of the Burschenschaft was sentenced in 1824 to twelve years' confinement in a fortress. He was pardoned in 1829 and continued his studies in Berlin. In 1841 he became pastor at Halle, and became associated with the Friends of Light, and in consequence of a lecture delivered at Köthen in 1844, he was deprived of his pastorate in 1846. He then became a preacher of the free congregation at Halle.Wislicenus, Gustav Adolf
McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia His pamphlet "''Die Bibel im Lichte der Bildung unserer Zeit''" caused him to be sentenced to two years' imprisonment in 1853, and he fled to America, lectured at first in

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and in 1854 he established a school at

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. Returning to Europe in 1856, he opened a school in

, where he wrote his principal work, "''Die Bibel, für denkende Leser betrachtet''" (The Bible for thoughtful readers, 2d ed. 1866). He was the father of chemist Johannes Wislicenus and supported natural scientists from the free religious movements who sought a middle ground between atheism and Christiam dogmatism. Andreas W. Daum, ''Wissenschaftspopularisierung im 19. Jahrhundert: Bürgerliche Kultur, naturwissenschaftliche Bildung und die deutsche Öffentlichkeit, 1848–1914''. Munich: Oldenbourg, 1998, pp. 36, 196, 198, 200, 206, 209, 414, 517, including a short biography.

Additional works by Wislicenus

* ''Ob Schrift? Ob Geist?'' (Leipsig; 4th ed. 1845) – Published as a result of a denunciation by Ferdinand Guericke, a professor of theology at Halle. * ''Nachrichten uber die freie Gemeinde in Halle'' (Halle, 1847). * ''Beitrage zur Forderung der Religion der Menschlichkeit'' (ibid. 1850). * ''Aus Amerika'' (Leipsig, 1854). * ''Gegenwart und Zukunft der Religion'' (Leipsig, 1873).

Notes

References

* 1803 births 1875 deaths 19th-century German Christian theologians German activists German emigrants to the United States People convicted of blasphemy University of Halle alumni German male non-fiction writers 19th-century German male writers {{Christian-theologian-stub