Johann Heinrich Heidegger (July 1, 1633 – July 18, 1698),

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

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 ...

, was born at

Bäretswil Bäretswil is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Hinwil (district), Hinwil in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zürich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland. History Bäretswil is first mentioned in 741 as ''Berofov ...

, in the

Canton of Zürich The canton of Zürich (german: Kanton Zürich ; rm, Chantun Turitg; french: Canton de Zurich; it, Canton Zurigo) is a Swiss canton in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton in the ...

. He studied at

Marburg Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximate ...

and at

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

, where he became the friend of J. L. Fabricius, and was appointed

professor extraordinarius Academic ranks in Germany are the titles, relative importance and power of professors, researchers, and administrative personnel held in academia. Overview Appointment grades * (Pay grade: ''W3'' or ''W2'') * (''W3'') * (''W2'') * (''W2'', ...

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 later 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 ...

. In 1659, he was called to

Steinfurt Steinfurt (; Westphalian: ''Stemmert'') is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Steinfurt. From roughly 1100-1806, it was the capital of the County of Steinfurt. Geography Steinfurt is situated north- ...

to fill the chair of

dogma Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam ...

tics and ecclesiastical history, and in the same year he became doctor of theology of Heidelberg. In 1660 he revisited Switzerland and, after marrying Elisabeth von Duno, he travelled in the following year to Holland, where he made the acquaintance of

Johannes Cocceius Johannes Cocceius (also Coccejus; ; 9 August 1603 – 5 November 1669) was a Dutch theologian born in Bremen. Life After studying at Hamburg and the University of Franeker, where Sixtinus Amama was one of his teachers, he became in 1630 profess ...

. He returned in 1665 to Zürich, where he was elected professor of

moral philosophy Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...

at the

University of Zurich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...

. Two years later he succeeded

Johann Heinrich Hottinger Johann Heinrich Hottinger (10 March 1620 – 5 June 1667) was a Swiss philologist and theologian. Life and works Hottinger studied at Geneva, Groningen and Leiden. After visiting France and England he was appointed professor of church history ...

, in the chair of theology at the University, which he occupied until his death, having declined an invitation in 1669 to succeed Cocceius at

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

, as well as a call to

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

. Heidegger was the principal author of the ''Formula Consensus Helvetica'' in 1675, which was designed to unite the Swiss Reformed churches, but had an opposite effect.

Wilhelm Gass Wilhelm Gass (November 28, 1813 – February 21, 1889) was a German theologian born in Breslau. He was the son of theologian Joachim Christian Gass (1766–1831). He received his education in Breslau, Halle and Berlin, and as a student was ...

describes him as the most notable of the Swiss theologians of the time. His writings are largely controversial, though without being bitter, and are in great part levelled against the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Major works

*''De historia sacra patriarcharum exercitationes selectae'' (1667–1671) *''Dissertatio de Peregrinationibus religiosis'' (1670) *''De ratione studiorum, opuscula aurea, &c.'' (1670) *''Historia papatus'' (1684; under the name Nicander von Hohenegg) *''Manuductio in viam concordiae Protestantium ecclesiasticae'' (1686) *''Tumulus concilii Tridentini'' (1690) *''Exercitationes biblicae'' (1700), with a life of the author prefixed *''Corpus theologiae Christianae'' (1700, edited by J. H. Schweizer) *''Ethicae Christianae elementa'' (1711) *Life of J. H. Hottinger (1667) *Life of J. L. Fabricius (1698) His autobiography appeared in 1698, under the title ''Historia vitae J. H. Heideggeri''. Heidegger's ''Handbook of the Bible'' is currently being translated by From Reformation to Reformation Translations, and is available online.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heidegger, Johann Heinrich 1633 births 1698 deaths People from Hinwil District Swiss Calvinist and Reformed theologians 17th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians