Jakob Böhme (; ; 24 April 1575 – 17 November 1624) was a German philosopher,
Christian mystic, and
Lutheran
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
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 ...
. He was considered an original thinker by many of his contemporaries within the
Lutheran
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
tradition, and his first book, commonly known as ''Aurora'', caused a great scandal. In contemporary English, his name may be spelled Jacob Boehme (retaining the older German spelling); in seventeenth-century England it was also spelled Behmen, approximating the contemporary English pronunciation of the German ''Böhme''.
Böhme had a profound influence on later philosophical movements such as
German idealism
German idealism is a philosophical movement that emerged in Germany in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It developed out of the work of Immanuel Kant in the 1780s and 1790s, and was closely linked both with Romanticism and the revolutionary ...
and
German Romanticism
German Romanticism () was the dominant intellectual movement of German-speaking countries in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, influencing philosophy, aesthetics, literature, and criticism. Compared to English Romanticism, the German vari ...
.
Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a 19th-century German idealism, German idealist. His influence extends across a wide range of topics from metaphysical issues in epistemology and ontology, to political phi ...
described Böhme as "the first German philosopher".
Biography
Böhme was born on 24 April 1575 at Alt Seidenberg (now
Stary Zawidów,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
), a village near
Görlitz
Görlitz (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, East Lusatian: , , ) is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is on the river Lusatian Neisse and is the largest town in Upper Lusatia, the second-largest town in the region of Lusatia after ...
in
Upper Lusatia
Upper Lusatia (, ; , ; ; or ''Milsko''; ) is a historical region in Germany and Poland. Along with Lower Lusatia to the north, it makes up the region of Lusatia, named after the Polabian Slavs, Slavic ''Lusici'' tribe. Both parts of Lusatia a ...
, a territory of the
Kingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...
. His father, George Wissen, was Lutheran, reasonably wealthy, but a peasant nonetheless. Böhme was the fourth of five children. Böhme's first job was that of a herd boy. He was deemed to be not strong enough for husbandry. When he was 14 years old, he was sent to
Seidenberg, as an apprentice to become a shoemaker.
[.] His apprenticeship for shoemaking was hard; he lived with a family who were not Christians, which exposed him to the controversies of the time. He regularly prayed and read the
Bible
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
as well as works by visionaries such as
Paracelsus
Paracelsus (; ; 1493 – 24 September 1541), born Theophrastus von Hohenheim (full name Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), was a Swiss physician, alchemist, lay theologian, and philosopher of the German Renaissance.
H ...
,
Weigel Weigel is a German language, German surname. Notable people with this name include:
*Alicia Roth Weigel, American intersex activist and writer
*Beverly Weigel (born 1940), New Zealand Olympic athlete
*Christian Ehrenfried Weigel (1748–1831), Germ ...
and
Schwenckfeld, although he received no formal education.
After three years as an apprentice, Böhme left to travel. Although it is unknown just how far he went, he went at least as far as
Görlitz
Görlitz (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, East Lusatian: , , ) is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is on the river Lusatian Neisse and is the largest town in Upper Lusatia, the second-largest town in the region of Lusatia after ...
.
In 1592 Böhme returned from his journeyman years. By 1599, Böhme was master of his craft with his own premises in Görlitz. That same year he married Katharina, daughter of Hans Kuntzschmann, a butcher in Görlitz, and together he and Katharina had four sons and two daughters.
Böhme's mentor was Abraham Behem who corresponded with
Valentin Weigel. Böhme joined the "Conventicle of God's Real Servants" - a parochial study group organized by
Martin Moller. Böhme had a number of mystical experiences throughout his youth, culminating in a
vision
Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to:
Perception Optical perception
* Visual perception, the sense of sight
* Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight
* Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...
in 1600 as one day he
focused his attention onto the exquisite beauty of a beam of sunlight reflected in a pewter dish. He believed this vision revealed to him the spiritual structure of the world, as well as the relationship between God and man, and good and evil. At the time he chose not to speak of this experience openly, preferring instead to continue his work and raise a family.
In 1610 Böhme experienced another inner vision in which he further understood the unity of the cosmos and that he had received a special vocation from God.
The shop in Görlitz, which was sold in 1613, had allowed Böhme to buy a house in 1610 and to finish paying for it in 1618. Having given up shoemaking in 1613, Böhme sold woollen gloves for a while, which caused him to regularly visit
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
to sell his wares.
''Aurora'' and writings
Twelve years after the vision in 1600, Böhme began to write his first book, ''Morgenröte im Aufgang'' ("Dawn of the Day in the East"). The book was given the name ''Aurora'' (sometimes translated into English as "The Day-spring") by a friend. Böhme originally wrote the book for himself and it was never completed. A manuscript copy of the unfinished work was lent to Karl von Ender, a nobleman, who had copies made and began to circulate them. A copy fell into the hands of , the chief pastor of Görlitz, who attacked it as being
heretical, speaking against it from the pulpit, and threatened Böhme with exile if he continued working on it. Richter also wrote a pamphlet denouncing Böhme and his work.
As a result, Böhme did not write anything for several years; however, at the insistence of friends who had read ''Aurora'', he started writing again in 1618. In 1619 Böhme wrote ''De Tribus Principiis'' or ''The Three Principles of the Divine Essence''. It took him two years to finish his second book, which was followed by many other treatises, all of which were copied by hand and circulated only among friends. In 1620 Böhme wrote ''The Threefold Life of Man, Answers to Forty Questions on the Soul, The Incarnation of Jesus Christ, The Six Theosophical Points, The Six Mystical Points'', the ''Mysterium Pansophicum'' and ''Informatorium novissimorum'' (''Of the Last Times''). In 1621 Böhme wrote ''De Signatura Rerum'' (relying in part on the
doctrine of signatures). In 1623 Böhme wrote ''On Election to Grace, On Christ's Testaments, Mysterium Magnum, Clavis'' ("Key"). The year 1622 saw Böhme write some short works all of which were subsequently included in his first published book on New Year's Day 1624, under the title ''Weg zu Christo'' (''The Way to Christ'').
The publication caused another scandal and following complaints by the clergy, Böhme was summoned to the Town Council on 26 March 1624. The report of the meeting was that:
Böhme left for
Dresden
Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
on 8 or 9 May 1624, where he stayed with the court physician for two months. In Dresden he was accepted by the nobility and high clergy. His intellect was also recognized by the professors of Dresden, who in a hearing in May 1624, encouraged Böhme to go home to his family in Görlitz.
During Böhme's absence his family had suffered due to the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
.
Once home, Böhme accepted an invitation to stay with Herr von Schweinitz, who had a country-seat. While there Böhme began to write his last book, the ''177 Theosophic Questions''. Böhme fell terminally ill with a bowel complaint forcing him to travel home on 7 November. Gregorius Richter, Böhme's adversary from Görlitz, had died in August 1624, while Böhme was away. The new clergy, still wary of Böhme, forced him to answer a long list of questions when he wanted to receive the sacrament. He died on 17 November 1624.
In this short period, Böhme produced an enormous amount of writing, including his major works ''De Signatura Rerum'' (''The Signature of All Things'') and ''Mysterium Magnum''. He also developed a following throughout Europe, where his followers were known as
Behmenists.
The son of Böhme's chief antagonist, the pastor primarius of Görlitz Gregorius Richter, edited a collection of extracts from his writings, which were afterwards published complete at
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
with the help of
Coenraad van Beuningen in the year 1682. Böhme's full works were first printed in 1730.
Theology
The chief concern of Böhme's writing was the nature of
sin
In religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law or a law of the deities. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered ...
,
evil
Evil, as a concept, is usually defined as profoundly immoral behavior, and it is related to acts that cause unnecessary pain and suffering to others.
Evil is commonly seen as the opposite, or sometimes absence, of good. It can be an extreme ...
and
redemption. Consistent with
Lutheran
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
theology, Böhme preached that humanity had fallen from a state of
divine grace to a state of sin and suffering, that the forces of evil included fallen
angel
An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...
s who had rebelled against
God
In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
, and that God's goal was to restore the world to a state of grace.
There are some serious departures from accepted Lutheran theology, such as his rejection of
justification by faith alone, as in this passage from ''The Way to Christ'':
For he that will say, ''I have a Will, and would willingly do Good, but the earthly Flesh which I carry about me, keepeth me back, so that I cannot; yet I shall be saved by Grace, for the Merits of Christ. I comfort myself with his Merit and Sufferings; who will receive me of mere Grace, without any Merits of my own, and forgive me my Sins''. Such a one, I say, is like a Man that knoweth what Food is good for his Health, yet will not eat of it, but eateth Poison instead thereof, from whence Sickness and Death, will certainly follow.
Another place where Böhme may depart from accepted
theology
Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
(though this was open to question due to his somewhat obscure, oracular style) was in his description of
the Fall as a necessary stage in the evolution of the
Universe
The universe is all of space and time and their contents. It comprises all of existence, any fundamental interaction, physical process and physical constant, and therefore all forms of matter and energy, and the structures they form, from s ...
. A difficulty with his theology is the fact that he had a
mystical vision, which he reinterpreted and reformulated. According to F. von Ingen, to Böhme, in order to reach
God
In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
, man has to go through
hell
In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...
first. God exists without
time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
or
space
Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...
, he regenerates himself through
eternity
Eternity, in common parlance, is an Infinity, infinite amount of time that never ends or the quality, condition or fact of being everlasting or eternal. Classical philosophy, however, defines eternity as what is timeless or exists outside tim ...
. Böhme restates the
trinity
The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...
as truly existing but with a novel interpretation. God, the Father is fire, who gives birth to his son, whom Böhme calls light. The
Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...
is the living principle, or the divine life.
It is clear that Böhme never claimed that God sees evil as desirable, necessary or as part of divine will to bring forth good. In his ''Threefold Life'', Böhme states: "
the order of nature, an evil thing cannot produce a good thing out of itself, but one evil thing generates another." Böhme did not believe that there is any "divine mandate or metaphysically inherent necessity for evil and its effects in the scheme of things." Dr.
John Pordage, a commentator on Böhme, wrote that Böhme "whensoever he attributes evil to eternal nature considers it in its fallen state, as it became infected by the fall of Lucifer... ." Evil is seen as "the disorder, rebellion, perversion of making spirit nature's servant", which is to say a perversion of initial Divine order.

Böhme's correspondences in ''Aurora'' of the seven qualities, planets and humoral-elemental associations:
# Dry - Saturn - melancholy, power of death;
# Sweet - Jupiter - sanguine, gentle source of life;
# Bitter - Mars - choleric, destructive source of life;
# Fire - Sun/Moon - night/day; evil/good; sin/virtue; Moon, later = phlegmatic, watery;
# Love - Venus - love of life, spiritual rebirth;
# Sound - Mercury - keen spirit, illumination, expression;
# Corpus - Earth - totality of forces awaiting rebirth.
In "De Tribus Principiis" or "On the Three Principles of Divine Being" Böhme subsumed the seven principles into the Trinity:
# The "dark world" of the Father (Qualities 1-2-3);
# The "light world" of the Holy Spirit (Qualities 5-6-7);
# "This world" of Satan and Christ (Quality 4).
Cosmology
In one interpretation of Böhme's
cosmology
Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', with the meaning of "a speaking of the wo ...
, it was necessary for humanity to return to God, and for all original unities to undergo differentiation, desire and conflict—as in the rebellion of
Satan
Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...
, the separation of
Eve
Eve is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop through oral traditions and there ...
from
Adam
Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam).
According to Christianity, Adam ...
and their acquisition of the knowledge of good and evil—in order for creation to evolve to a new state of redeemed harmony that would be more perfect than the original state of innocence, allowing God to achieve a new self-awareness by interacting with a creation that was both part of, and distinct from, Himself.
Free will
Free will is generally understood as the capacity or ability of people to (a) choice, choose between different possible courses of Action (philosophy), action, (b) exercise control over their actions in a way that is necessary for moral respon ...
becomes the most important gift God gives to humanity, allowing us to seek divine grace as a deliberate choice while still allowing us to remain individuals.
Marian views
Böhme believed that the
Son of God
Historically, many rulers have assumed titles such as the son of God, the son of a god or the son of heaven.
The term "Son of God" is used in the Hebrew Bible as another way to refer to humans who have a special relationship with God. In Exo ...
became human through the
Virgin Mary
Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
. Before the birth of Christ, God recognized himself as a
virgin
Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...
. This virgin is therefore a mirror of God's
wisdom
Wisdom, also known as sapience, is the ability to apply knowledge, experience, and good judgment to navigate life’s complexities. It is often associated with insight, discernment, and ethics in decision-making. Throughout history, wisdom ha ...
and
knowledge
Knowledge is an Declarative knowledge, awareness of facts, a Knowledge by acquaintance, familiarity with individuals and situations, or a Procedural knowledge, practical skill. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is oft ...
. Böhme follows
Luther in that he views Mary within the context of Christ. Unlike Luther, he does not address himself to
dogma
Dogma, in its broadest sense, is any belief held definitively and without the possibility of reform. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, or Islam ...
tic issues very much, but to the human side of Mary. Like all other women, she was human and therefore subject to sin. Only after God elected her with his grace to become the mother of his son, did she inherit the status of sinlessness. ''Mary did not move the Word, the Word moved Mary'', so Böhme, explaining that all her grace came from Christ. Mary is "blessed among women" but not because of her qualifications, but because of her
humility
Humility is the quality of being humble. The Oxford Dictionary, in its 1998 edition, describes humility as a low self-regard and sense of unworthiness. However, humility involves having an accurate opinion of oneself and expressing oneself mode ...
. Mary is an instrument of God; an example of what God can do: It shall not be forgotten in all eternity, that God became human in her.
Böhme, unlike Luther, did not believe that Mary was the ''Ever Virgin''. Her virginity after the birth of Jesus is unrealistic to Böhme. The true salvation is Christ, not Mary. The importance of Mary, a human like every one of us, is that she gave birth to Jesus Christ as a human being. If Mary had not been human, according to Böhme, Christ would be a stranger and not our brother. Christ must grow in us as he did in Mary. She became blessed by accepting Christ. In a reborn Christian, as in Mary, all that is temporal disappears and only the heavenly part remains for all eternity. Böhme's peculiar theological language, involving
fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products.
Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...
,
light
Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be visual perception, perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400– ...
and spirit, which permeates his theology and Marian views, does not distract much from the fact that his basic positions are Lutheran.
Influences

Böhme's writing shows the influence of
Neoplatonist
Neoplatonism is a version of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a series of thinkers. Among the common id ...
and
alchemical writers such as
Paracelsus
Paracelsus (; ; 1493 – 24 September 1541), born Theophrastus von Hohenheim (full name Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), was a Swiss physician, alchemist, lay theologian, and philosopher of the German Renaissance.
H ...
, while remaining firmly within a Christian tradition. He has in turn greatly influenced many anti-authoritarian and mystical movements, such as
Radical Pietism
Radical Pietism are those Ecclesiastical separatism, Christian churches who decided to break with denominational Lutheranism in order to emphasize certain teachings regarding holy living. Radical Pietists contrast with Church Pietists, who chose t ...
(including the
Ephrata Cloister and
Society of the Woman in the Wilderness), the
Religious Society of Friends
Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
, the
Philadelphians, the
Gichtelians, the
Harmony Society, the
Zoarite Separatists,
Rosicrucianism
Rosicrucianism () is a spiritual and cultural movement that arose in early modern Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts announcing to the world a new esoteric order. Rosicrucianism is symbolized by the Rose ...
,
Martinism
Martinism is a form of Christian mysticism and esoteric Christianity concerned with the fall of the first man, his materialistic state of being, deprived of his own, divine source, and the process of his eventual (if not inevitable) return, call ...
and
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
theosophy
Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neop ...
. Böhme's disciple and mentor, the
Liegnitz
Legnica (; , ; ; ) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River and the Czarna Woda. As well as being the seat of the county, since 1992 the city has been the seat of the Diocese of Legnica. L ...
physician
Balthasar Walther, who had travelled to the
Holy Land
The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...
in search of magical,
kabbalistic
Kabbalah or Qabalah ( ; , ; ) is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ().
Jewi ...
and
alchemical wisdom, also introduced kabbalistic ideas into Böhme's thought. Böhme was also an important source of German
Romantic philosophy, influencing
Schelling in particular.
In
Richard Bucke's 1901 treatise ''Cosmic Consciousness'', special attention was given to the profundity of Böhme's spiritual enlightenment, which seemed to reveal to Böhme an ultimate nondifference, or
nonduality
Nondualism includes a number of philosophical and spiritual traditions that emphasize the absence of fundamental duality or separation in existence. This viewpoint questions the boundaries conventionally imposed between self and other, min ...
, between human beings and God. Jakob Böhme's writings also had some influence on the modern theosophical movement of the Theosophical Society. Blavatsky and
W.Q. Judge wrote about Jakob Böhme's philosophy. Böhme was also an important influence on the ideas of Franz Hartmann, the founder in 1886 of the German branch of the Theosophical Society. Hartmann described the writings of Böhme as “the most valuable and useful treasure in spiritual literature.”
Behmenism

Behmenism, also Behemenism or Boehmenism, is the English-language designation for a 17th-century
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
an
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
movement based on the teachings of
German mystic
The Friends of God (German: Gottesfreunde; or gotesvriunde) was a medieval mystical group of both ecclesiastical and lay persons within the Catholic Church (though it nearly became a separate sect) and a center of German mysticism. It was founde ...
and theosopher Jakob Böhme (1575-1624). The term was not usually applied by followers of Böhme's
theosophy
Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neop ...
to themselves, but rather was used by some opponents of Böhme's thought as a
polemic
Polemic ( , ) is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called polemics, which are seen in arguments on controversial to ...
al term. The origins of the term date back to the German literature of the 1620s, when opponents of Böhme's thought, such as the
Thuringia
Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area.
Er ...
n
antinomian Esajas Stiefel, the
Lutheran
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
theologian Peter Widmann and others denounced the writings of Böhme and the ''Böhmisten''. When his writings began to appear in England in the 1640s, Böhme's surname was irretrievably corrupted to the form "Behmen" or "Behemen", whence the term "Behmenism" developed. A follower of Böhme's theosophy is a "Behmenist".
Behmenism does not describe the beliefs of any single formal religious sect, but instead designates a more general description of Böhme's interpretation of Christianity, when used as a source of devotional inspiration by a variety of groups. Böhme's views greatly influenced many
anti-authoritarian
Anti-authoritarianism is opposition to authoritarianism. Anti-authoritarians usually believe in full equality before the law and strong civil liberties. Sometimes the term is used interchangeably with anarchism, an ideology which entails opposing a ...
and
Christian mystical movements, such as the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), the Philadelphians, the
Gichtelians, the Society of the Woman in the Wilderness (led by
Johannes Kelpius), the Ephrata Cloister, the Harmony Society, Martinism, and
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
theosophy
Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neop ...
. Böhme was also an important source of German
Romantic philosophy, influencing
Schelling and
Franz von Baader in particular.
In
Richard Bucke's 1901 treatise ''Cosmic Consciousness'', special attention was given to the profundity of Böhme's spiritual enlightenment, which seemed to reveal to Böhme an ultimate nondifference, or
nonduality
Nondualism includes a number of philosophical and spiritual traditions that emphasize the absence of fundamental duality or separation in existence. This viewpoint questions the boundaries conventionally imposed between self and other, min ...
, between human beings and
God
In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
. Böhme is also an important influence on the ideas of the English Romantic poet, artist and mystic
William Blake
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...
. After having seen the William Law edition of the works of Jakob Böhme, published between 1764 and 1781, in which some illustrations had been included by the German early Böhme exegetist
Dionysius Andreas Freher (1649–1728), William Blake said during a dinner party in 1825 "
Michel Angelo could not have surpassed them".
Despite being based on a corrupted form of Böhme's surname, the term Behmenism has retained a certain utility in modern English-language historiography, where it is still occasionally employed, although often to designate specifically English followers of Böhme's
theosophy
Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neop ...
. Given the transnational nature of Böhme's influence, the term at least implies manifold international connections between Behmenists. In any case, the term is preferred to clumsier variants such as "Böhmeianism" or "Böhmism", although these may also be encountered.
Reaction
In addition to the scientific revolution, the 17th century was a time of mystical revolution in
Catholicism
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, Protestantism and
Judaism
Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...
. The Protestant revolution developed from Böhme and some medieval mystics. Böhme became important in intellectual circles in Protestant Europe, following from the publication of his books in England, Holland and Germany in the 1640s and 1650s. Böhme was especially important for the
Millenarians and was taken seriously by the
Cambridge Platonists
The Cambridge Platonists were an influential group of Platonist philosophers and Christian theologians at the University of Cambridge that existed during the 17th century. The leading figures were Ralph Cudworth and Henry More.
Group and its nam ...
and
Dutch Collegiants.
Henry More
Henry More (; 12 October 1614 – 1 September 1687) was an English philosopher of the Cambridge Platonists, Cambridge Platonist school.
Biography
Henry was born in Grantham, Grantham, Lincolnshire on 12 October 1614. He was the seventh son of ...
was critical of Böhme and claimed he was not a real prophet, and had no exceptional insight into
metaphysical
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of h ...
questions. Overall, although his writings did not influence political or religious debates in England, his influence can be seen in more esoteric forms such as on alchemical experimentation, metaphysical speculation and spiritual contemplation, as well as utopian literature and the development of neologisms. More, for example, dismissed ''
Opera Posthuma'' by
Spinoza
Baruch (de) Spinoza (24 November 163221 February 1677), also known under his Latinized pen name Benedictus de Spinoza, was a philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, who was born in the Dutch Republic. A forerunner of the Age of Enlightenmen ...
as a return to
Behmenism.
While Böhme was famous across Western Europe and North America during the 17th century, he became less influential during the 18th century. A revival occurred late in that century with interest from
German Romantics, who considered Böhme a forerunner to the movement. Poets such as
John Milton
John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...
,
Ludwig Tieck
Johann Ludwig Tieck (; ; 31 May 177328 April 1853) was a German poet, fiction writer, translator, and critic. He was one of the founding fathers of the Romanticism, Romantic movement in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Early life
Tieck w ...
,
Novalis
Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg (2 May 1772 – 25 March 1801), pen name Novalis (; ), was a German nobility, German aristocrat and polymath, who was a poet, novelist, philosopher and Mysticism, mystic. He is regarded as an inf ...
,
William Blake
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...
and
W. B. Yeats
William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...
found inspiration in Böhme's writings.
Coleridge, in his ''
Biographia Literaria'', speaks of Böhme with admiration. Böhme was highly thought of by the German philosophers
Baader
Baader is a surname of German origin.
People with the surname Baader
* Andreas Baader (1943–1977), militant of the Red Army Faction (Rote Armee Fraktion), also known as the ''Baader Meinhoff Gang''
* Caspar Baader (born 1953), Swiss politic ...
,
Schelling and
Schopenhauer.
Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a 19th-century German idealism, German idealist. His influence extends across a wide range of topics from metaphysical issues in epistemology and ontology, to political phi ...
went as far as to say that Böhme was "the first German philosopher". Danish Bishop
Hans Lassen Martensen published a book about Böhme.
Several authors have found Boehme's description of the three original Principles and the seven Spirits to be similar to the
Law of Three and the
Law of Seven described in the works of
Boris Mouravieff and
George Gurdjieff
George Ivanovich Gurdjieff ( – 29 October 1949) was a philosopher, mystic, spiritual teacher, composer, and movements teacher. Born in the Russian Empire, he briefly became a citizen of the First Republic of Armenia after its formation in 1 ...
.
Works
*''Aurora: Die Morgenröte im Aufgang'' (
unfinished) (1612)
*''De Tribus Principiis'' (''The Three Principles of the Divine Essence'', 1618–1619)
*''The Threefold Life of Man'' (1620)
*''Answers to Forty Questions Concerning the Soul'' (1620)
*''The Treatise of the Incarnations:'' (1620)
**''I. Of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ''
**''II. Of the Suffering, Dying, Death and Resurrection of Christ''
**''III. Of the Tree of Faith''
*''The Great Six Points'' (1620)
*''Of the Earthly and of the Heavenly Mystery'' (1620)
*''Of the Last Times'' (1620)
*''De Signatura Rerum'' (
The Signature of All Things', 1621)
*''The Four Complexions'' (1621)
*''Of True Repentance'' (1622)
*''Of True Resignation'' (1622)
*''Of Regeneration'' (1622)
*''Of Predestination'' (1623)
*''A Short Compendium of Repentance'' (1623)
*
The Mysterium Magnum' (1623)
*''A Table of the Divine Manifestation, or an Exposition of the Threefold World'' (1623)
*''The Suprasensual Life'' (1624)
*''Of Divine Contemplation or Vision'' (unfinished) (1624)
*''Of Christ's Testaments'' (1624)
**''I. Baptism''
**''II. The Supper''
*''Of Illumination'' (1624)
*''177 Theosophic Questions, with Answers to Thirteen of Them'' (unfinished) (1624)
*''An Epitome of the Mysterium Magnum'' (1624)
*''The Holy Week or a Prayer Book'' (unfinished) (1624)
*''A Table of the Three Principles'' (1624)
*''Of the Last Judgement'' (lost) (1624)
*''The Clavis'' (1624)
*''
Sixty-two Theosophic Epistles'' (1618–1624)
Books in print
* ''The Way to Christ (inc. True Repentance, True Resignation, Regeneration or the New Birth, The Supersensual Life, Of Heaven & Hell, The Way from Darkness to True Illumination)'' edited by
William Law
William Law (16869 April 1761) was a Church of England priest who lost his position at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, when his conscience would not allow him to take the required oath of allegiance to the first Hanoverian monarch, George I of Grea ...
, Diggory Press
* ''Of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ'', translated from the German by John Rolleston Earle, London, Constable and Company LTD, 1934.
Veneration
In 2022, Jacob Boehme was officially added to the
Episcopal Church liturgical calendar along with
Johann Arndt with a feast day on 11 May.
In popular culture
Literature
Cormac McCarthy
Cormac McCarthy (born Charles Joseph McCarthy Jr.; July 20, 1933 – June 13, 2023) was an American author who wrote twelve novels, two plays, five screenplays, and three short stories, spanning the Western, post-apocalyptic, and Southern Got ...
's 1985 novel ''
Blood Meridian'' includes three epigraphs, the second of which comes from Jacob Boehme: "It is not to be thought that the life of darkness is sunk in misery and lost as if in sorrowing. There is no sorrowing. For sorrow is a thing that is swallowed up in death, and death and dying are the very life of the darkness."
Film
''The Life and Legacy of Jacob Boehme''. A documentary directed by Łukasz Chwałko. Premiered: June 2016, Zgorzelec (Poland).
See also
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References
Notes
Citations
Works cited
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Further reading
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External links
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Jacob Boehme OnlineThe Correspondence of Jakob Böhmei
EMLOJacob Boehme Resources''Large electronic text archive''of Jacob Boehme in English
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boehme, Jakob
1575 births
1624 deaths
16th-century alchemists
16th-century Christian mystics
16th-century German Protestant theologians
16th-century German male writers
16th-century Lutheran theologians
17th-century alchemists
17th-century Christian mystics
17th-century German male writers
17th-century German Protestant theologians
17th-century Lutheran theologians
Anglican saints
Christian occultists
Christian philosophers
German epistemologists
German alchemists
German esotericists
German Lutheran theologians
German male poets
Lutheran pacifists
Lutheran poets
Martinism
Ontologists
People from Zgorzelec County
German philosophers of religion
Protestant mystics
Protestant views on Mary