Friedrich Samuel Gottfried Sack (1738–1817) was Prussian theologian, court preacher, and Church governor.Lacroix 1880, p. 210.

Life

Friedrich Samuel Gottfried Sack was born in

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebu ...

on 4 September 1738, the eldest son of

August Friedrich Wilhelm Sack August Friedrich Wilhelm Sack (1703–1786) was one of the most eminent German Reformed preachers and a prominent liberal theologian of the reign of Frederick II of Prussia who helped shape the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment in Berlin and ...

by his second wife. His mother was descended of a French refugee family, which explains a fondness which Sack had for the French language and literature. He studied at the

University of Frankfort-on-the-Oder European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) (german: Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)) is a university located at Frankfurt (Oder) in Brandenburg, Germany. It is also known as the University of Frankfurt (Oder). The city is on th ...

from 1755 to 1757. The next two years he studied in England, coming into contact with Secker, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Kennicott, Lardner, and others. On his return to Germany he acted as tutor to a young nobleman, whom he accompanied to

Frankfort-on-the-Oder Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...

, and where he again heard lectures. He now associated much with Tollner. After preaching at

(1769–1777), he was called by Frederick II as fifth court preacher to Berlin. Gradually he rose to the first place. In 1786 he became a member of the high

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church * Consistor ...

. The years 1804–1813 were spent in arduous devotion to the oppressed and suffering people of the capital. In 1816 the King conferred upon him the title of bishop of the Evangelical Church. He died on 2 October 1817.

Sons

Friedrich Ferdinand Adolph Sack was born at Berlin on 16 July 1788, and succeeded his father as court and cathedral preacher. He died on 16 October 1842. Together with his younger brother, Carl Heinrich Sack, he published ''Sermons'' (Bonn, 1835). He is also the author of the communion hymn ''Du ladest, Herr, zu deinem Tisch.''

Theology

In theology Sack was independent of the traditions of orthodoxy, but he stood firmly on evangelical ground. God as a person and Father; the Son as Redeemer and Offering; the Holy Spirit as comforter; love to God in Christ as the spring of the Christian life—such were the elements of his theology.Lacroix 1880, pp. 210–211. Though leaning somewhat towards

rationalism In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification".Lacey, A.R. (1996), ''A Dictionary of Philosophy ...

, he yet firmly opposed the inroads which

Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and aest ...

's and

Fichte Johann Gottlieb Fichte (; ; 19 May 1762 – 29 January 1814) was a German philosopher who became a founding figure of the philosophical movement known as German idealism, which developed from the theoretical and ethical writings of Immanuel Ka ...

's speculations made upon evangelical doctrine. He was one of the chief movers towards the

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

of the Lutheran and Reformed churches of Prussia, which was effected after his death.Lacroix 1880, p. 211. For some years he stood in the closest relations to the young

Schleiermacher Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher (; 21 November 1768 – 12 February 1834) was a German Reformed theologian, philosopher, and biblical scholar known for his attempt to reconcile the criticisms of the Enlightenment with traditional ...

, and rejoiced in a belief in the promise of good which the latter would bring to the Church. When this young divine first issued his celebrated ''Reden'' (1799), Sack openly expressed his paternal grief at what seemed to him a leaning towards

pantheism Pantheism is the belief that reality, the universe and the cosmos are identical with divinity and a supreme supernatural being or entity, pointing to the universe as being an immanent creator deity still expanding and creating, which has ...

in this work. In later editions many of the criticised passages were modified.

Works

Sack was not productive; he was chiefly a practical worker. His published works consist of translations from English ( Blair's ''Sermons'') and Latin (

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

's '' De Amicitia'' and '' De Senectute''), two collections of ''Sermons'', an ''Autobiography'', and some minor ''Essays.''

References

Sources

* Lommatzsch, Siegfried (1894)
"Sack, Gottfried"
In '' Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie''. Vol. 37. Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot. pp. 307–315. Attribution: * Lacroix, J. P. (1880)
"Sack, Carl Heinrich, Dr"
In McClintock, John; Strong, James (eds.). '' Cyclopædia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature''
Vol. 9.—Rh–St
New York: Harper & Brothers. pp. 210–211. {{Authority control 18th-century German Protestant theologians 18th-century German writers 19th-century German Protestant theologians 19th-century German writers