Einleitung
Unser Zeitalter ist das eigentliche Zeitalter der Kritik, der sich alles unterwerfen muss. Religion, durch ihre Heiligkeit und Gesetzgebung durch ihre Majestät, wollen sich gemeiniglich derselben entziehen. Aber alsdann erregen sie gerechten Verdacht wider sich und können auf unverstellte Achtung nicht Einspruch machen, die die Vernunft nur demjenigen bewillt, was ihre freie und öffentliche Prüfung hat halten müssen.“ (Hermes, S. 12). Diese Worte Kants fallen in eine Zeit in der die evangelisch-lutherische Kirche und der absolutistische Staat durch das Landeskirchentum ein enges Bündnis geschlossen hatten und so nur schwer angreifbar waren. Das musste auch Gotthold Ephraim Lessing feststellen. Er wurde am 22.1. 1729 im Kamenz geboren und wuchs in der christlichen Tradition des väterlichen evangelisch- lutherischen Pfarrhauses und der Fürstenschule St. Afra in Meißen auf. Obwohl er das vom Vater gewünschte Theologiestudium schon nach einem Jahr abbrach, durchziehen theologische Fragen doch große Teile seines Werkes, was besonders im letzen Jahrzehnt seines Lebens sichtbar wurde: Er führte nicht nur erbitterte theologische Diskussionen, er veröffentlichte auch „Nathan den Weisen“, „Die Freimaurer“ und die Erziehung des Menschengeschlechts“. Auf eben erwähnte theologische Diskussion, auch Fragmentenstreit gennant, bei der Lessing die Macht der anfangs genannten theologisch-staatlichen Allianz zu spüren bekommt, und auf den darauffolgenden „Nathan“ möchte ich in dieser Arbeit eingehen. Da mein Augenmerk dabei speziell auf dem Thema „Entstehungsgeschichte des Nathan“ liegt, werde ich allgemein beleuchten, was Lessing zum Nathan inspiriert hat, und das war eben nicht nur der Fragmentenstreit, sondern auch andere literarische, historische und biographische Quellen.
Nathan als 12 Anti-Goetze
1767- 69 arbeitet Lessing am hamburgischen Nationaltheater als Dramaturg. Zu dieser Zeit ist Johann Albert Hinrich nicht nur sein Arzt, er darf auch seine Bibliothek benützen, außerdem ist er mit Hinrichs Schwester Elise Reimarus gut befreundet. Durch diese beiden Geschwister gelangt Lessing an die „Apologie oder Schutzschrift für die vernünftigen Verehrer Gottes“, die deren Vater Herman Samuel Reimarus geschrieben hat. Reimarus ist ein angesehener hamburger Bürger, der eine Professur für hebräisch und orientalisch am Akademischen Gymnasium bekleidet. In seiner Apologie übte der Deist Reimarus eine radikale Bibel-und Dogmenkritik, er ging dabei soweit die Offenbarungslehren zu bezweifeln. Seiner Meinung nach enthalte die reine Lehre Christi „eine vernünftige praktische Religion“. Nur durch die Apostel, die Wundergeschichten in ihre Berichte eingeführt hätten, sei diese Lehre zu dem gemacht worden was sie heute ist, nämlich eine Religion die sich mit der Vernunft nicht vereinbaren lässt. Z.B. behauptet er anhand von Widersprüchen in der Auferstehungsgeschichte schlussfolgern zu dürfen, dass die Jesu Jünger die Leiche des gekreuzigten Jesu selbst haben verschwinden lassen, um durch die Osterpredigt Anhänger zu gewinnen und sich somit selbst zu Aposteln aufwerten zu können.
The thesis of this book is that George Whitefield (1714-1770) changed the nature of Christianity by promoting and conducting mass revivals that exploited the weaknesses of institutional Christianity.
Rauschenbusch has introduced many new ideas into the theological point of view. He still uses many of the same ideas of the “old theology”, but has just made some important changes to add his own thoughts on what theology should be about and how it should be used to influence people’s daily lives throughout the world. Rauschenbusch says,
The Second Great Awaking consisted of new applications of religion that deviated from rationalism, which sparked promotion of democracy and freedom. The message of salvation rather than condemnation was evident in this movement as spoken by Charles G. Finney. He sought to remove sin from reformed churches and organize sinners to unity and freedom (Doc B). This practice showed the crucial democrati...
Theological objections, treated at length in the current volume, cut to the heart of the
May, Henry F. The Recovery of American Religious History. The American Historical Review. Vol. 70, No. 1. 1964.
Thesis Statement: These key events reforming religion are what shaped the world for good and for bad in the 14th to the 19th century.
Eliade, Mircea. A History of Religious Ideas, 3 vols. Trans. Willard R. Trask. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1981.
In both the Enlightenment and French Revolution there were many great ideas. In the Enlightenment there was Locke’s, Voltaire’s, and Montesquieu’s ideas. They were all great ideas about freedom, religion, and the 3 branches of government. Then in the French Revolution there was the Tennis Court Oath that had lots of great ideas also. But out of all of them Locke had the best ideas.
Martin Luther is considered one of the most instrumental individuals in Christian history for his role in the sixteenth century Protestant Reformation that severed the powerful religious, political, and social grip the Catholic Church had upon European society (1). Luther did not set out to be a revolutionary, but simply questioned the church 's marketing of indulgences that offered the buyer or their deceased loved one absolution from the penalty of sin (2). Luther’s famous “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences,” or “95 Theses” argued against the sale of indulgences, but Luther also ultimately disagreed with many of the fundamental religious philosophies of the medieval Catholic Church. The religious ideas of Martin Luther differed from late medieval Catholicism on key elements of theology: spiritual authority, justification of sin, free will, and the sacraments.
“Christianity, along with all other theistic belief systems, is the fraud of the age. It serves to detach the species from the natural world, likewise, each other. It supports blind submission to authority[control of the masses].”(Zeitgeist 2007) In this essay, we will explore the different roots of religion and the plagiarism that Christianity and a number of different religions have committed.
For Christianity, the 12th century represented a century of both internal and external changes. While the crusades sought to impose a “universalized Christian faith” on those outside of the religion, the internal mechanisms of the Church began to promote reformations that encouraged a unification of the “doctrine, liturgy, piety and politics within Western Christendom”. During this century, Christians began to experience a cohesive and sacred community. Anselm of Canterbury and Peter Abelard made theological advancements that allowed for the unification of the Church – and for a drastic change in Jewish-Christian relations. Their theories of atonement began to shape the way in which Christian’s approached Jews in the questions of God. While Anselm’s satisfaction theory of atonement began to promote an appeal to reason among Christians towards Jews, Abelard’s moral influence theory of atonement had the potential on encouraging religious tolerance. Due to the political climate of this time, Anselm’s theory took hold and became the prominent theological arguments against Jews.
Imagine a world with limited diversity and a forced belief system with no encouragement of curiosity or discovery. Many of the philosophers and past scientist lived in this culture and were often being condemned for their findings, opinions and discoveries. Voltaire’s works showed his views on religion through witty writing, he brought to life the topics of fanaticism, nature, the impious, God and several others. While religious chaos remains present, Voltaire seemed to depict the topic of religion and tolerance perfectly. Throughout history the impact of religious intolerance can be viewed and there are still examples of religious intolerance today. Voltaire outlined his views of religion in the “Philosophical Dictionary”, in 1764. In his writing, Voltaire, appears to have viewed the selfishness of man and the need to have power to prevent the assumed chaos, had shifted the view of believing in one god by faith to become clouded by false truths, deception and propaganda; man, is no longer following the will of god through faith, but the will of man through loyalty.
A Century of Theological and Religious Studies in Britain, 1902–2007 by Ernest Nicholson 2004 pages 125–126
Religion was questioned mainly by the Philosopher Nietzsche whom published work on his atheist theories. He admired personal traits that enhanced survival instead of the basic Christian traits to strive towards. He was influenced a great deal by Charles Darwin’s theory of Evolution which was also of much hated debate to this day. Even Classical liberalism was challenged in the fact that it wasn’t progressive enough in its economics which eventual chang...
Lutzer, Erwin. The Doctrines That Divide: a Fresh Look at the Historic Doctrines That Separate Christians. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1998.