Johann Gerhard Meuschen (4 May 1680 – 15 December 1743) 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 th ...

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 ...

born in

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...

. He was the father of

conchologist Conchology () is the study of mollusc shells. Conchology is one aspect of malacology, the study of molluscs; however, malacology is the study of molluscs as whole organisms, whereas conchology is confined to the study of their shells. It includ ...

Friedrich Christian Meuschen Friedrich Christian Meuschen (15 September 1719 – 20 February 1811) was a German diplomat and conchologist born in Hanau. He was the son of theologian Johann Gerhard Meuschen (1680–1743). Meuschen was a diplomatic representative in The Hague ...

. He studied theology and

Oriental languages A wide variety of languages are spoken throughout Asia, comprising different language families and some unrelated isolates. The major language families include Austroasiatic, Austronesian, Caucasian, Dravidian, Indo-European, Afroasiatic, Turk ...

at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

, and in 1703 became an associate professor of

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. Some ...

at the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...

. Afterwards he served as a minister in

(from 1705),

the Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

(from 1707) and

Hanau Hanau () is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and is part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ...

(from 1716). In 1723 he moved to

Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it was ...

, where he was appointed community ''Kirchenrath'', and in the meantime taught classes in

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 the ...

at the gymnasium. He worked in Coburg for the remainder of his life.

Published works

He was an author of "''Novum Testamentum ex Talmude et antiquitatibus Hebraeorum illustratum''" (1736), which was a collection of treatises of the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

from Jewish writings.An introduction to the critical study and knowledge of the Holy ..., Volume 2
by Thomas Hartwell Horne Meuschen was an outspoken opponent of

Jesuitism In ethics, casuistry ( ) is a process of reasoning that seeks to resolve Ethical dilemma, moral problems by extracting or extending theoretical rules from a particular case, and reapplying those rules to new instances. This method occurs in appli ...

. In 1707 he released an anti-Jesuit pamphlet titled "''Nugae venales Rullenses''", a publication that was publicly condemned and burned. Other noted works by Meuschen include: * ''Heilige Moralien über die Passion'', 1726. * ''Ceremonialia electionis Pontificum Romanorum'', 1731. * ''Postilla mystica evangelica das ist: der geheime geistliche sinn der Sonn- und Festtags- Evangelien...'', 1733. * ''Vitae Summorum Dignitate Et Ervditione Virorum Ex Rarissimis Monumentis Literato Orbi Restitutae'', (1735–41, four parts). * ''Madonna et Santa Casa di Loretto, oder die Liebe Frau und das Heil-Hauss zu Loretto''.

References

translated biography @

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, german: Universal German Biography) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Aca ...

Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature
(bibliography of J.G.Meuschen) {{DEFAULTSORT:Meuschen, Johann Gerhard German Lutheran theologians 18th-century German Protestant theologians 1680 births 1743 deaths Clergy from Osnabrück University of Jena alumni Academic staff of the University of Kiel German male non-fiction writers 18th-century German male writers