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Friedrich Christoph Oetinger (2 May 1702 – 10 February 1782) was a German
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...
theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
and theosopher.


Biography

Oetinger was born at
Göppingen Göppingen (Swabian: ''Geppenge'' or ''Gebbenga'') is a town in southern Germany, part of the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg. It is the capital of the district Göppingen. Göppingen is home to the toy company Märklin, and it is the bi ...
. He studied
philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...
and Lutheran
theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...
at
Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in three ...
(1722-1728), and was impressed by the works of
Jakob Böhme Jakob Böhme (; ; 24 April 1575 – 17 November 1624) was a German philosopher, Christian mystic, and Lutheran Protestant theologian. He was considered an original thinker by many of his contemporaries within the Lutheran tradition, and his firs ...
, and also devoted attention to
Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of ma ...
and
Wolff Wolff is a variant of the Wolf surname which is derived from the baptismal names Wolfgang or Wolfram. List of people surnamed Wolff A * Albert Wolff (disambiguation), several people * Alex Wolff, American actor * Alexander Wolff, American writ ...
. On the completion of his university course, Oetinger spent some years travelling. In 1730 he visited
Count Zinzendorf Nikolaus Ludwig, Reichsgraf von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf (26 May 1700 – 9 May 1760) was a German religious and social reformer, bishop of the Moravian Church, founder of the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine, Christian mission pioneer and a major figu ...
at
Herrnhut Herrnhut ( Sorbian: ''Ochranow''; cs, Ochranov) is an Upper Lusatian town in the Görlitz district in Saxony, Germany, known for the community of the Moravian Church established by Nicolas Ludwig, Count von Zinzendorf in 1722. Geography It is ...
, remaining there some months as teacher of
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
and
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
. During his travels, in his eager search for knowledge, he made the acquaintance of mystics and separatists,
Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ� ...
and learned
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
s,
theologians Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...
and
physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
s alike. The
Philadelphians The Philadelphians, or the Philadelphian Society, were a 17th-century English dissenter group. They were organized around John Pordage (1607–1681), an Anglican priest from Bradfield, Berkshire, who had been ejected from his parish in 1655 bec ...
influenced him to accept
apocatastasis In theology, apocatastasis () is the restoration of creation to a condition of perfection. In Christianity, it is a form of Christian universalism that includes the ultimate salvation of everyone—including the damned in hell and the devil. The ...
, the belief that all people would eventually be saved; he wove this into his theological system, depending chiefly upon I Corinthians 15 and
Ephesians The Epistle to the Ephesians is the tenth book of the New Testament. Its authorship has traditionally been attributed to Paul the Apostle but starting in 1792, this has been challenged as Deutero-Pauline, that is, pseudepigrapha written in Pau ...
1:9-11.Apocatastasis
. ''New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol. I''. After some delay he was ordained to the ministry, and held several pastorates (since 1738). While pastor (from 1746) at Walddorf near
Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in three ...
, 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 (, ; born Emanuel Swedberg; 29 March 1772) was a Swedish pluralistic-Christian theologian, scientist, philosopher and mystic. He became best known for his book on the afterlife, ''Heaven and Hell'' (1758). Swedenborg had a ...
's philosophy of heaven and earth, and added notes of his own. In 1760 he defended Swedenborg's work and invited him to Germany. His treatise ''Swedenborg's and other Earthly and Heavenly Philosophies'' was published in 1765. This and his translations of Swedenborg brought upon him the censure of his ecclesiastical superiors, but he was protected by the
Duke of Württemberg Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...
, and later was appointed superintendent of the churches in the district of Weinsberg. He subsequently held the same position in Herrenberg, and afterward he became prelate at
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. Local council (Gemeinder ...
(appointed 1765; entered office 1766), where he died.


Bibliography

* ''Die Werke Friedrich Christoph Oetingers. Chronologisch-systematische Bibliographie 1707–2014'', bearbeitet von Martin Weyer-Menkhoff und Reinhard Breymayer. (Berlin; München; Boston Massachusetts, USA: ) (Walter) de Gruyter (GmbH), ärz2015 (''Bibliographie zur Geschichte des Pietismus'', Band 3. Im Auftrag der Historischen Kommission zur Erforschung des Pietismus annover, bei der Union Evangelischer Kirchen in der Evangelischen Kirche in Deutschlandhrsg. von Hans Schneider, Hans Otte, Hans-Jürgen Schrader). – VIII, 445 pp. ** Print: ; . ** eBook (PDF): e-. ** eBook (EPUB): e-. ** Print/eBook: . Oetinger's
autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
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 liusRoessle. Metzingen: Ernst Franz Verlag 1990, ** The English translation with commentaries: * Oetinger, Friedrich Christoph. ''Genealogy of the Well-Grounded Thoughts of a Theologian'' enealogie der reellen Gedanken eines GottesgelehrtenReutlingen 1818 - Stuttgart 1859. In: Herzog, Frederick: European pietism reviewed. San Jose, California: Pickwick Publications (2003) (Princeton Theological Monograph Series; 50), pp. (103)-177 (pp. 05108: Editor's Introduction]). Oetinger published about seventy 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 übingen Reinhard Breymayer, Eberhard artinGutekunst, 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, * Oetinger, Friedrich Christoph. ''Theologia ex idea vitae deducta''. Herausgegeben von Konrad Ohly. Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter 1979, * Oetinger, Friedrich Christoph. ''Die Wahrheit des sensus communis oder des allgemeinen Sinnes...'' Ehmann, 1861.


Notes


References

* This work in turn cites: ** K. F. C. Ehmann, ''Oetinger's Leben und Briefe'' (1859) ** C. A. Auberlen, ''Die Theosophie Friedr. Chr. Oetinger's'' (1847; 2nd ed., 1859) **Herzog, ''Friedrich Christoph Ötinger'' (1902)


Further reading

a) Pre 1945: * This work in turn recommends monographs by Auberlin (1847), Ehmann (1859) and Wächter (1885). * b) 1945–1990: * Breymayer, Reinhard, ed.. "Oetinger, Friedrich Christoph 1702 - 1782". In Heiner Schmidt auptbearbeiter und Hrsg. ''Quellenlexikon zur deutschen Literaturgeschichte'', vol. 24. (Duisburg:) Verlag für Pädagogische Dokumentation 2000, pp. 106 – 114. * Breymayer, Reinhard: Oetinger (Frédéric-Christophe), in: ''Dictionnaire de spiritualité ascétique et mystique. Doctrine et histoire.'' Fondé par M rcelViller, F rdinandCavallera, J sephde Guibert, S. J. Continué par A dreRayez, A dreDerville et A
ade Ade, Adé, or ADE may refer to: Aeronautics *Ada Air's ICAO code *Aden International Airport's IATA code *Aeronautical Development Establishment, a laboratory of the DRDO in India Medical * Adverse Drug Event *Antibody-dependent enhancement * AD ...
Solignac, S. J. avec le concours d'un grand nombre de collaborateurs, tome 11. ''Nabinal - Ozanam.'' Paris 1982, p. 682, col. 2 - p. 685, col. 1. * Erb, Peter Christian, ed. ''Pietists: Selected Writings''. Paulist Press, 1983 - - Wurttemberg Pietism: Johann Albrecht Bengel (1687 - 1752) & Friedrich Christoph Oetinger (1702-1782), p. 253 - 288. *
Gadamer Hans-Georg Gadamer (; ; February 11, 1900 – March 13, 2002) was a German philosopher of the continental tradition, best known for his 1960 '' magnum opus'', '' Truth and Method'' (''Wahrheit und Methode''), on hermeneutics. Life Family a ...
, 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 npublished c) 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, (R. Brockhaus), (Franz). * Yeide, Jr., Harry lwood ''Studies in Classical Pietism. The Flowering of the Ecclesiola''. New York; Washington, DC; Baltimore t alibiPeter 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 Jose, 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 Sabine Holtz (born 16 September 1959) is a German historian who holds the position of Chair of Regional History at the University of Stuttgart The University of Stuttgart (german: Universität Stuttgart) is a leading research university locat ...
, 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. - . * Breymayer, Reinhard. "Oetinger, Friedrich Christoph (pseudonyms: Halatophilus Irenaeus, Bibliophilus Irenaeus)". ''Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism''. Edited by Wouter J cobusHanegraaff in collaboration with
Antoine Faivre Antoine Faivre (5 June 1934 – 19 December 2021) was a French scholar of Western esotericism. Until his retirement, he held a chair in the École Pratique des Hautes Études at the Sorbonne, University Professor of Germanic studies at the Univ ...
, Roelof van den Broek, Jean-Pierre Brach. Leiden / Boston: E. J. Brill 2005, vol. 2, pp. 889–894. * Wouter J cobusHanegraaff. ''Swedenborg, Oetinger, Kant: Three Perspectives on the Secrets of Heaven''. The Swedenborg Foundation, West Chester, Pennsylvania 2007 (Swedenborg Studies Series, no. 18) , 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
007 The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
, . p. 417 – 510 bibliography.* Douglas H. Shantz. "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 ristianErb'', 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, .
Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...
- 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, [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 Heinrich von Kleist, Kleists Käthchen von Heilbronn. Neues zum Magnet- und Spannungsfeld des Prälaten Friedrich Christoph Oetinger''. Dußlingen: Noûs-Verlag Thomas Leon Heck, 2010. - 229 pp. 4°. - . etinger's_sympathy_for_cabbala_and_magnetism_as_relevant_for_Hölderlin,_Hegel.html" ;"title="Hölderlin.html" ;"title="etinger's sympathy for cabbala and magnetism as relevant for Hölderlin">etinger's sympathy for cabbala and magnetism as relevant for Hölderlin, Hegel">Hölderlin.html" ;"title="etinger's sympathy for cabbala and magnetism as relevant for Hölderlin">etinger's sympathy for cabbala and magnetism as relevant for Hölderlin, Hegel and Heinrich von Kleist.] * Hermann Ehmer: "Oetinger, Friedrich Christoph". In: ''Religion. Past & Present. Encyclopedia of Theology and Religion''. Edited by Hans Dieter Betz, Don S. Browning (+), Bernd Janowski, Eberhard Jüngel, vol. 9. Brill, Leiden/Boston 2011, p. 279. * Reinhard Breymayer: ''Goethe, Oetinger und kein Ende. Charlotte Edle von Oetinger, geborene von Barckhaus-Wiesenhütten, als Wertherische "Fräulein von B.."''. Heck, Dußlingen 2012. - . * Reinhard Breymayer: ''Friedrich Christoph Steinhofer. Ein pietistischer Theologe zwischen Oetinger,
Zinzendorf Nikolaus Ludwig, Reichsgraf von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf (26 May 1700 – 9 May 1760) was a German religious and social reformer, bishop of the Moravian Church, founder of the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine, Christian mission pioneer and a major fig ...
und Goethe. Mit der Lösung eines quellenkritischen Problems bei
Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Calvinist theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Declar ...
und einem Exkurs über die Bedeutung von Tugendlehre und Biblischen Summarien für die Lehrtafel in Steinhofers Amtsort
Teinach The Teinach is a river of Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is a left tributary of the Nagold and flows for 15 kilometres. It passes through Bad Teinach-Zavelstein Bad Teinach-Zavelstein is a town in the district of Calw, in Baden-W ...
.'' Heck, Dußlingen 2012. - . * Reinhard Breymayer (ed.): Johann Friedrich Jüdler, Friedrich Christoph Oetinger,
Erhard Weigel Erhard Weigel (16 December 1625 – 20 March 1699) was a German mathematician, astronomer and philosopher. Biography Weigel earned his M.A. (1650) and his habilitation (1652) from the University of Leipzig. From 1653 until his death he was pro ...
: ''Realvorteile zum Informieren. Johann Friedrich Jüdlers ehmaligen Schulmeisters zu Stetten im Ramstal emstalRealvorteile zum Informieren für die Anfänger in deutschen und lateinischen Schulen nach den Absichten der Realschule zu Berlin. Aus dem Mund und Gespräch des Herrn Spezialsuperintendenten Oetingers geschöpft und dem Druck übergeben <1758>. (Commented edition and reprint of the publication Heilbronn eckar: Johann Friedrich Majer, 1758.)'' - Noûs-Verlag Thomas Leon Heck, 2014. - . * Reinhard Breymayer: ''Astronomie, Kalenderstreit und Liebestheologie. Von Erhard Weigel'' ..''über Friedrich Christoph Oetinger und Philipp Matthäus Hahn zu Friedrich Schiller, Johann Andreas Streicher, Franz Joseph Graf von Thun und Hohenstein, Mozart und Beethoven''. Heck, Dußlingen, 2016. - . {{DEFAULTSORT:Oetinger, Friedrich Christoph 1702 births 1782 deaths People from Göppingen People from the Duchy of Württemberg German Theosophists Radical Pietism University of Tübingen alumni 18th-century Lutheran theologians