Friedrich Gogarten | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1887-01-13)January 13, 1887 Dortmund, Germany |
| Died | October 16, 1967(1967-10-16) (aged 80) |
| Academic background | |
| Influences | |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Theology |
| Sub-discipline | Systematic theology |
| School or tradition | |
| Institutions | |
Friedrich Gogarten (January 13, 1887 – October 16, 1967) was aLutherantheologian, co-founder ofdialectical theology inGermany in the early 20th century.[1]
Under the leadership ofKarl Barth, Gogarten split from the prevailing liberal theology as represented byAlbrecht Ritschl and others. He stood against thehistoricism andanthropocentrism of theProtestant theology of the 19th century by emphasizing the absoluteantithesis of God and man. This newdialectical theology was named after a phrase in Gogarten's magazineBetween the Ages.[2]
Barth was excited by Gogarten, and in 1920 wrote toEduard Thurneysen, "This is a dreadnought for us and against our adversaries. Who knows, someday he will teach us, he has quite the allure and the stuff one man which ... to be". Nonetheless a few years later a distance between Barth and Gogarten developed. LaterBetween the Ages ceased publication and Gogarten broke away from Barth. He also had differences withRudolf Bultmann, who however resumed the relationship in 1940.[2]
After theSports Palace demonstration on November 13, 1933, in Berlin he wrote articles in several magazines explaining the "Faith Movement of German Christians". While Gogarten actively supported the German Christian movement for three months in 1933, which aligned itself with Hitler and the Nazi Party, he never joined theNazi Party.[2] In 1936 he signed a statement denouncing the German Christian position.[3]
In 1927, Gogarten began teaching inJena. His inaugural lecture was "Theological Tradition and Theological Work: Intellectual History or Theology?" This led to his appointment in 1931 as the successor ofErich Schaeder to the chair ofsystematic theology inWrocław, Poland. In the summer of 1935 he took over the reading circle of Karl Barth inBonn. In the winter of the same year he moved toGöttingen where he succeededCarl Stange as Professor of Systematic Theology and was appointed as university preacher. On February 25, 1955, he retired in Göttingen, where he died.[1]
Gogarten's general theme is "Man between God and the world", "The Church in the world" and thesecularization as a result of the Christianrevelation.[1]
