Johann Georg Wilhelm Herrmann (6 December 1846 – 2 January 1922) was a

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 ...

German

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 ...

Career

Hermann taught at

Halle Halle may refer to: Places Germany * Halle (Saale), also called Halle an der Saale, a city in Saxony-Anhalt ** Halle (region), a former administrative region in Saxony-Anhalt ** Bezirk Halle, a former administrative division of East Germany ** Hall ...

before becoming professor 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 ...

. Influenced by Kant and

Ritschl Ritschl is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Albrecht Ritschl (1822–1889) German theologian *Albrecht Ritschl (economist) *Otto Ritschl (1860–1944) German theologian, Albrecht's son *Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl (1806–1876) G ...

, his theology was in the

idealist In philosophy, the term idealism identifies and describes metaphysical perspectives which assert that reality is indistinguishable and inseparable from perception and understanding; that reality is a mental construct closely connected to ide ...

tradition, seeing God as the power of goodness. Jesus was to be seen as an exemplary man. Even if Jesus never existed, according to Herrmann, his traditional portrayal was still valid. His book ''The Communion of the Christian God'' was seen as a highlight of nineteenth century

Liberal Christianity Liberal Christianity, also known as Liberal Theology and historically as Christian Modernism (see Catholic modernism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 bill ...

, although he is also credited with preserving certain conservative ideals against liberal revisionism. against which

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 Declara ...

, one of his pupils, and

dialectical theology In Christianity, Neo-orthodoxy or Neoorthodoxy, also known as theology of crisis and dialectical theology, was a theological movement developed in the aftermath of the First World War. The movement was largely a reaction against doctrines of ...

were later to react. Among Herrmann's most distinguished pupils where Rudolf Bultmann, Karl Barth, and

John Gresham Machen John Gresham Machen (; 1881–1937) was an American Presbyterian New Testament scholar and educator in the early 20th century. He was the Professor of New Testament at Princeton Seminary between 1906 and 1929, and led a revolt against modernist ...

. Both Barth and Machen would reject Herrmann's teaching and come to notability by their opposition to such liberal theology.

Theological outlook

Herrmann's theology has been characterized as "Lutheran neo-Kantianism" and influenced by the work of Immanuel Kant, Herrmann taught "dialectical theology". He held that one can only speak of God dialectically, with two opposing statements - thesis and antithesis, "the dogmatic and the critical, the Yes and the No, the unveiling and the veiling, objectivity, and subjectivity." The goal was not to find a synthesis but to find in the tension "a space free in the middle and hopes that God himself will intervene since only God can say his Word." Herrmann also freely admitted his thinking was indebted to

Friedrich Schleiermacher Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher (; 21 November 1768 – 12 February 1834) was a German Reformed theologian, philosopher, and biblical scholar known for his attempt to reconcile the criticisms of the Enlightenment with traditional P ...

, who had held that the religious experience of God took place within the individual.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herrmann, Wilhelm 1846 births 1922 deaths People from the Province of Saxony University of Marburg faculty 19th-century German Protestant theologians 20th-century German Protestant theologians