Gluringen
Reckingen-Gluringen is a former municipality in the district of Goms in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It was formed in 2004 from the union of the villages and municipalities of Reckingen and Gluringen.Torrenburg, Germany) was a Roman Catholic
canonist
Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...
, historian, and theologian. His fame rests principally on his erudition abilities.
Biography
Biner entered the
Society of Jesus
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, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
in 1715 and received the usual training of its members. He was later professor of
canon law
Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...
in the universities of
Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt (, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an independent city on the Danube in Upper Bavaria with 139,553 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2022). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan area. Ingolstadt is the second largest city in Upper Bav ...
Innsbruck
Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...
. He entered zealously into all the controversies with the sectaries of his time, especially with the Swiss Protestants. As a consequence, all his works have a polemical tinge.
In 1739 appeared his ''Catholische Anmerkung über die neueste uncatholische Controvers-Schreiber'', directed against certain opponents in
Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
. This was followed in 1744 by ''Indifferentismus'', a treatise on religious indifference and liberalism in dogmatic teaching. Biner published ''Heiligkeit der Kirche'' in 1750, discussing the marks of the "true Church" and giving sketches of eminent Catholics. The best of his polemical works is ''De Summâ Trinitate, Fide Catholicâ et Hierarchiâ Ecclesiasticâ''. It appeared in 1765 and shows him at his best as a theologian and canonist. His last controversial treatise, which appeared the same year and was published like all the others at Vienna, is entitled: ''Kurzer Begriff der heutigen Glaubenstreitigkeiten''. It is an examination and refutation of various Protestant confessions of faith.
Biner's chief work of a purely canonical character is ''Dissertationes juridicæ de beneficiis ecclesiasticis'' (Innsbruck, 1746). His masterpiece is the ''Apparatus erudictionis ad jurisprudentiam ecclesiasticam''. The work, despite its title, is not restricted to canon law, but is also historical, polemical, and theological. It was published at Vienna in eight quarto volumes from 1754 to 1766. It is a work of vast erudition and a storehouse of history and canon law. Dividing his material by centuries, Biner treats of the various species of law, of the history of the church councils, of the political and religious vicissitudes of the various nations, of treaties and concordats, etc. Interspersed in the work are many valuable excursuses on
Jansenism
Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by th ...
,
Probabilism
In theology and philosophy, probabilism (from Latin ''probare'', to test, approve) is an ancient Greek doctrine of Academic skepticism. It holds that in the absence of certainty, plausibility or truth-likeness is the best criterion. The term can ...
, Public Penance, Origin of Imperial Electors, etc. However the work is rendered less valuable for students by a nonsystematic arrangement of material and the want of an index. The vastness of the knowledge which Biner displays, however, has received praise even from his opponents. He wrote many other works besides those mentioned, which may be found in De Backer and Sommervogel, cited below.
Bibliography
* Hurter, Hugo von, ''Nomenclator'' (Innsbruck, 1895), III
* de Backer, Augustin, ''Le bibliothèque des écrivains de la compagnie de Jésus'' (Liege, 1853)
* Sommervogel, Carlos, ''Bibliothèque de la Compagnie de Jesus'' (Brussels, 1890)
*''This article incorporates text from the 1913 ''
Catholic Encyclopedia
The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...
'' article Joseph Biner by William H.W. Fanning, a publication now in the
public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work
A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...