Friedrich Christoph Oetinger
Encyclopedia
Friedrich Christoph Oetinger (May 2, 1702 – February 10, 1782) was a German
theosopher
.
He was born at Göppingen
. He studied philosophy
and theology
at Tübingen (1722-1728), and was impressed by the works of Jakob Böhme
. On the completion of his university course, Oetinger spent some years travelling. In 1730 he visited Count Zinzendorf
at Herrnhut, remaining there some months as teacher of Hebrew
and Greek
. During his travels, in his eager search for knowledge, he made the acquaintance of mystics and separatists, Christian
s and learned Jews, theologians
and physician
s alike. The Philadelphians
influenced him to accept apocatastasis
, the belief that all people would eventually be saved; he wove this into his theological system, depending chiefly upon I Corinthians
15 and Ephesians
1:9-11.
After some delay he was ordained to the ministry, and held several pastorates (since 1738). While pastor (from 1746) at Walddorf near Tübingen
, he studied alchemy and made many experiments, his idea being to use his knowledge for symbolic purposes. These practices exposed him to the attacks of persons who misunderstood him. "My religion," he once said, "is the parallelism of Nature and Grace." Oetinger translated a part of Emanuel Swedenborg
's philosophy of heaven and earth, and added notes of his own. Eventually (1765/1766) he became prelate at Murrhardt
, where he died.
was published by Julius Hamberger in 1845 and later by Julius Rößle:
- See the English translation with commentaries:
Oetinger published about one hundred works, in which he expounded his theosophic views. A collected edition, Sämtliche Schriften (1st section, Homiletische Schriften, 5 vols., 1858-1866; 2nd section, Theosophische Werke, 6 vols., 1858-1863), was prepared by Karl Christian Eberhard Ehmann, who also edited Oetinger's Leben und Briefe (1859). See also C. A. Auberlen: Die Theosophie Friedr. Chr. Oetinger's (1847; 2nd ed., 1859), and Herzog: Friedrich Christoph Ötinger (1902).
b) newest literature:
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
theosopher
Theosophy (history of philosophy)
Theosophy , designates several bodies of ideas since Late Antiquity. The Greek term is attested on magical papyri .-Neoplatonism:...
.
He was born at Göppingen
Göppingen
Göppingen is a town in southern Germany, part of the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg. It is the capital of the district Göppingen. It is situated at the bottom of the Hohenstaufen mountain, in the valley of the river Fils....
. He studied philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
at Tübingen (1722-1728), and was impressed by the works of Jakob Böhme
Jakob Böhme
Jakob Böhme was a German Christian mystic and theologian. He is considered an original thinker within the Lutheran tradition...
. On the completion of his university course, Oetinger spent some years travelling. In 1730 he visited Count Zinzendorf
Nicolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf
Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf, Imperial Count of Zinzendorf and Pottendorf, , German religious and social reformer and bishop of the Moravian Church, was born at Dresden....
at Herrnhut, remaining there some months as teacher of Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
and Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
. During his travels, in his eager search for knowledge, he made the acquaintance of mystics and separatists, Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s and learned Jews, theologians
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
and physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
s alike. The Philadelphians
Philadelphians
The Philadelphians, or the Philadelphian Society, were a Protestant 17th century religious group in England. They were organized around John Pordage , an Anglican priest from Bradfield, Berkshire, who had been ejected from his parish in 1655 because of differing views, but then reinstated in 1660...
influenced him to accept apocatastasis
Apocatastasis
Apocatastasis is reconstitution, restitution, or restoration to the original or primordial condition.-Etymology and definition:The Liddell and Scott Lexicon entry, gives the following examples of usage:* “τοῦ ἐνδεοῦς” Aristotle MM, 1205a4; into its nature εἰς φύσιν id...
, the belief that all people would eventually be saved; he wove this into his theological system, depending chiefly upon I Corinthians
First Epistle to the Corinthians
The first epistle of Paul the apostle to the Corinthians, often referred to as First Corinthians , is the seventh book of the New Testament of the Bible...
15 and Ephesians
Epistle to the Ephesians
The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians, often shortened to Ephesians, is the tenth book of the New Testament. Its authorship has traditionally been credited to Paul, but it is considered by some scholars to be "deutero-Pauline," that is, written in Paul's name by a later author strongly influenced by...
1:9-11.
After some delay he was ordained to the ministry, and held several pastorates (since 1738). While pastor (from 1746) at Walddorf near Tübingen
Tübingen
Tübingen is a traditional university town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, on a ridge between the Neckar and Ammer rivers.-Geography:...
, he studied alchemy and made many experiments, his idea being to use his knowledge for symbolic purposes. These practices exposed him to the attacks of persons who misunderstood him. "My religion," he once said, "is the parallelism of Nature and Grace." Oetinger translated a part of Emanuel Swedenborg
Emanuel Swedenborg
was a Swedish scientist, philosopher, and theologian. He has been termed a Christian mystic by some sources, including the Encyclopædia Britannica online version, and the Encyclopedia of Religion , which starts its article with the description that he was a "Swedish scientist and mystic." Others...
's philosophy of heaven and earth, and added notes of his own. Eventually (1765/1766) he became prelate at Murrhardt
Murrhardt
Murrhardt is a town in the Rems-Murr district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located 12 km east of Backnang, and 18 km southwest of Schwäbisch Hall. The source of the Murr is situated in Murrhardt....
, where he died.
Works
Oetinger's autobiographyAutobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
was published by Julius Hamberger in 1845 and later by Julius Rößle:
- Oetinger, Friedrich Christoph. Selbstbiographie. Genealogie der reellen Gedanken eines Gottesgelehrten. Hrsg. und mit Einführung versehen von J[ulius] Roessle. Metzingen: Ernst Franz Verlag 1990, ISBN 3-7722-0035-4
- See the English translation with commentaries:
- Oetinger, Friedrich Christoph. Genealogy of the Well-Grounded Thoughts of a Theologian [Genealogie der reellen Gedanken eines Gottesgelehrten] Reutlingen 1818 - Stuttgart 1859. In: Herzog, Frederick: European pietism reviewed. San José, California: Pickwick Publications (2003) (Princeton Theological Monograph Series; 50), pp. (103)-177 (pp. [105]-108: Editor's Introduction]).
Oetinger published about one hundred works, in which he expounded his theosophic views. A collected edition, Sämtliche Schriften (1st section, Homiletische Schriften, 5 vols., 1858-1866; 2nd section, Theosophische Werke, 6 vols., 1858-1863), was prepared by Karl Christian Eberhard Ehmann, who also edited Oetinger's Leben und Briefe (1859). See also C. A. Auberlen: Die Theosophie Friedr. Chr. Oetinger's (1847; 2nd ed., 1859), and Herzog: Friedrich Christoph Ötinger (1902).
- Oetinger, Friedrich Christoph. Biblisches und Emblematisches Wörterbuch. Herausgegeben von Gerhard Schäfer in Verbindung mit Otto Betz [Tübingen], Reinhard Breymayer, Eberhard [Martin] Gutekunst, Ursula Hardmeier [, geb. Paschke], Roland Pietsch, Guntram Spindler. Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter 1999.
- Oetinger, Friedrich Christoph. Inquisitio in sensum communem et rationem... (1753) Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt, 1964.
- Oetinger, Friedrich Christoph. Die Lehrtafel der Prinzessin Antonia. Herausgegeben von Reinhard Breymayer und Friedrich Häußermann. Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter 1977, ISBN 3-11-004130-8
- Oetinger, Friedrich Christoph. Theologia ex idea vitae deducta. Herausgegeben von Konrad Ohly. Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter 1979, ISBN 3-11-004872-8
- Oetinger, Friedrich Christoph. Die Wahrheit des sensus communis oder des allgemeinen Sinnes... Ehmann, 1861.
Literature
a) 1945 - 1990:- Breymayer, Reinhard, ed.. "Oetinger, Friedrich Christoph 1702-1782". In Heiner Schmidt [Hauptbearbeiter und Hrsg.], Quellenlexikon zur deutschen Literaturgeschichte, vol. 24. (Duisburg:) Verlag für Pädagogische Dokumentation 2000, pp. 106 - 114
- Erb, Peter Christian, ed. Pietists: Selected Writings. Paulist Press, 1983 - ISBN 0-8091-2509-9 - Wurttemberg Pietism: Johann Albrecht Bengel (1687-1752) & Friedrich Christoph Oetinger (1702-1782) p. 253-288.
- Gadamer, Hans Georg. "Oetinger als Philosoph". Kleine Schriften, III, 89-100.
- Yeide, Jr., Harry Elwood. A Vision of the Kingdom of God. The Social Ethic of Friedrich Christoph Oetinger. Ph.D. Diss. (in religion) Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 1965 [unpublished].
b) newest literature:
- Weyer-Menkhoff, Martin. Christus, das Heil der Natur. Entstehung und Systematik der Theologie Friedrich Christoph Oetingers. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 1990 (Arbeiten zur Geschichte des Pietismus, vol. 27), pp. 272-326 Bibliography.
- Weyer-Menkhoff, Martin. Friedrich Christoph Oetinger. Bildbiographie. Wuppertal und Zürich: R. Brockhaus / Metzingen: Ernst Franz Verlag 1990, ISBN 3-417-21107-7 (R. Brockhaus), ISBN 3-7722-0215-2 (Franz).
- Yeide, Jr., Harry [Elwood]. Studies in Classical Pietism. The Flowering of the Ecclesiola. New York; Washington, DC; Baltimore [et alibi] Peter Lang 1997 (Studies in Church History, vol. 6), pp. 109-123 with notes 1-45 on pp. 172-176.
- Herzog, Frederick. European pietism reviewed. San José, California: Pickwick Publications (2003) (Princeton Theological Monograph Series; 50), pp. (35)-38: Sacred Philosophy? Oetinger.
- Weyer-Menkhoff, Martin. The Pietist Theologians. An Introduction to Theology in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. Edited by Carter Lindberg. Malden, MA; Oxford, UK; Carlton, Victoria, Australia: Blackwell (2005) (The Great Theologians. A comprehensive series devoted to highlighting the major theologians of different periods), pp. 239-255: Friedrich Christoph Oetinger (1702-1782).
- Mathesis, Naturphilosophie und Arkanwissenschaft im Umkreis Friedrich Christoph Oetingers (1702-1782). Hrsg. von Sabine Holtz, Gerhard Betsch und Eberhard Zwink in Verbindung mit dem Institut für Geschichtliche Landeskunde und Historische Hilfswissenschaften der Universität Tübingen. Stuttgart. Franz Steiner Verlag 2005 (Contubernium. Tübinger Beiträge zur Universitäts- und Wissenschaftsgeschichte, vol. 63). - VIII, 314 pp. - ISBN 3-515-08439-8.
- Breymayer, Reinhard. "Oetinger, Friedrich Christoph (pseudonyms: Halatophilus Irenaeus, Bibliophilus Irenaeus)". Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism. Edited by Wouter J[acobus] HanegraaffWouter HanegraaffWouter Jacobus Hanegraaff is full professor of History of Hermetic Philosophy and related currents at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands...
in collaboration with Antoine FaivreAntoine FaivreAntoine Faivre is a prominent French scholar of esoterism. Until his retirement, he held a chair in the École Pratique des Hautes Études at the Sorbonne, University Professor of Germanic Studies at the University of Haute-Normandie, director of the Cahiers del Hermétisme and of Bibliothèque de...
, Roelof van den Broek, Jean-Pierre Brach. Leiden / Boston: E. J. Brill 2005, vol. 2, pp. 889-894. - Wouter J[acobus] Hanegraaff. Swedenborg, Oetinger, Kant: Three Perspectives on the Secrets of Heaven. The Swedenborg Foundation, West Chester, Pennsylvania 2007 (Swedenborg Studies Series, no. 18) ISBN 978-0-87785-321-3, pp. 67-85: "Friedrich Christoph Oetinger".
- Tonino Griffero. Il corpo spirituale. Ontologie "sottili" da Paolo di Tarso a Friedrich Christoph Oetinger. Mimesis Edizioni, Milano (2006 [2007]), ISBN 978-88-8483-413-3. [pp. 417 - 510 bibliography.]
- Shantz, Douglas H. “The Harvest of Pietist Theology: F.C. Oetinger’s Quest for Truth as recounted in his Selbstbiographie of 1762”, in Tradition and Formation: Claiming An Inheritance. Essays in Honour of Peter C[hristian] Erb, edited by Michel Desjardins and Harold Remus. Kitchener: Pandora Press, 2008, pp. 121-134.
- Reinhard Breymayer. Prälat Oetingers Neffe Eberhard Christoph v. Oetinger [...]. 2nd, improved, edition. Tübingen: Noûs-Verlag Thomas Leon Heck 2010, ISBN 978-3-924249-49-6. [Relations between F. C. Oetinger and his family to GoetheJohann Wolfgang von GoetheJohann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
- The wife of F. C. Oetinger's nephew E. C. v. Oetinger was a relative and formerly a girlfriend ('Amasia') of Goethe: Charlotte Louise Ernestine Edle von Oetinger, née von Barckhaus genannt von Wiesenhütten. - Ulrike Kummer: Autobiographie und Pietismus. Friedrich Christoph Oetingers Genealogie der reellen Gedancken eines Gottes=Gelehrten. Untersuchungen und Edition. Frankfurt am Main/New York: Peter Lang 2010, ISBN 978-3-631-60070-2 [First critical edition of Oetinger's autobiography, with commentary. Covering also the alchemic and hermetic tradition relevant for Oetinger.]
- Reinhard Breymayer: Zwischen Prinzessin Antonia von Württemberg und KleistsHeinrich von KleistBernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist was a poet, dramatist, novelist and short story writer. The Kleist Prize, a prestigious prize for German literature, is named after him.- Life :...
Käthchen von Heilbronn. Neues zum Magnet- und Spannungsfeld des Prälaten Friedrich Christoph Oetinger. Dußlingen: Noûs-Verlag Thomas Leon Heck, 2010. - 229 pp. 4°. - ISBN 978-3-924249-51-9. [Oetinger's sympathy for cabbala and magnetism as relevant for Hölderlin, Hegel and Heinrich von KleistHeinrich von KleistBernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist was a poet, dramatist, novelist and short story writer. The Kleist Prize, a prestigious prize for German literature, is named after him.- Life :...
.]