Otto Pfleiderer (; 1 September 1839 – 18 July 1908) was a German

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

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 ...

. Through his writings and his lectures, he became known as one of the most influential representatives of

liberal theology Religious liberalism is a conception of religion (or of a particular religion) which emphasizes personal and group liberty and rationality. It is an attitude towards one's own religion (as opposed to criticism of religion from a secular position ...

Biography

Pfleiderer was born at Stetten im Remstal (now a part of Kernen,

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

) in

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

. From 1857 to 1861 he studied at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

under

Ferdinand Christian Baur Ferdinand Christian Baur (; 21 June 1792 – 2 December 1860) was a German Protestant theologian and founder and leader of the (new) Tübingen School of theology (named for the University of Tübingen where Baur studied and taught). Following Hege ...

, and afterwards in England and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. He then entered the ministry, became tutor () at Tübingen, and for a short time held a pastorate at

Heilbronn Heilbronn () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn District. From the late Middle Ages on, it developed into an important trading centre. At the begi ...

(1868). In 1870 he became chief pastor and superintendent at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...

and soon afterwards professor ordinarius of theology, but in 1875 he was called to the chair of

systematic theology Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topics ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, having made his name by a series of articles on

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

criticism and Johannine and Pauline theology, which appeared in

Adolf Hilgenfeld Adolf Bernhard Christoph Hilgenfeld (2 June 182312 January 1907) was a German Protestant theologian. Biography He was born at Stappenbeck near Salzwedel in the Province of Saxony. He studied at the Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin and ...

's ''Zeitschrift für wissenschaftliche Theologie'', and by his ''Der Paulinismus'', published in 1873. ''Das Urchristentum, seine Schriften und Lehren, in geschichtlichen Zusammenhang beschrieben'' was published in 1878 and considerably enlarged for a second edition in 1902. In 1890 appeared ''The Development of Theology since Kant, and its Progress in Great Britain since 1825'', which was written for publication in England. A more elaborate work was his ''Religionsphilosophie auf geschichtlichen Grundlage'' (1878). "The Influence of the Apostle Paul on the Development of Christianity" was the title of a course of

Hibbert Lectures The Hibbert Lectures are an annual series of non-sectarian lectures on theological issues. They are sponsored by the Hibbert Trust, which was founded in 1847 by the Unitarian Robert Hibbert with a goal to uphold "the unfettered exercise of privat ...

given in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1885. In 1894 he delivered the

Gifford Lectures The Gifford Lectures () are an annual series of lectures which were established in 1887 by the will of Adam Gifford, Lord Gifford at the four ancient universities of Scotland: St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh. Their purpose is to "pro ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, the subject being "The Philosophy and Development of Religion". His later publications included: * ''The Early Christian Conception of Christ'' (1905) * ''Die Entstehung des Christentums'' (1905) * ''Religion und Religionen'' (1906) * ''Die Entwicklung des Christentums'' (1907). He died at , near Berlin. In New Testament criticism, Pfleiderer belonged to the critical school, which grew out of the impulse given by F. C. Baur. However, like other modern German theologians, he showed a greater disposition to compromise. All his work shows a judicial tone of mind, and is remarkable for the charm of its style. Pfleiderer's younger brother Edmund Pfleiderer distinguished himself both in philosophy and theology. Otto Pfleiderer

Works

''The Development of Theology since Kant''
– online text at the Internet Archive.
''Lectures on the influence of the apostle Paul on the development of Christianity''
delivered in London and Oxford in April and May, 1885 – online text at the Internet Archive. * ''Paulinism; a contribution to the history of primitive Christian theology'', 1877
Vol. 1Vol. 2
– online text at the Internet Archive. * ''The Philosophy of Religion: On the Basis of Its History''
Vol. 1, 1886Vol. 2, 1887Vol. 4, 1888Vol. 1, 1894Vol. 2, 1894Vol. 3, 1888Vol. 4, 1894
- online text at the Internet Archive.
''Religion and historic faiths''
1907 – online text at the Internet Archive.
''Primitive Christianity: Its Writings and Teachings in Their Historical Connections''
1906 – online text at the Internet Archive.
''Evolution and Theology and Other Essays''
1900 – online text at the Internet Archive.
''The development of Christianity''
1910 – online text at the Internet Archive.

Notes

References

* Attribution *

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pfleiderer, Otto 1839 births 1908 deaths People from Rems-Murr-Kreis People from the Kingdom of Württemberg 19th-century German Protestant theologians 20th-century German Protestant theologians 19th-century German male writers German male non-fiction writers University of Tübingen alumni Academic staff of the University of Jena Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin