Adolf Schlatter
Adolf Schlatter (16 August 1852 - 19 May 1938) was an Evangelical theologian and professor specialising in the New Testament and systematics at Greifswald, Berlin and Tübingen.
Schlatter, born in St. Gallen to a pietistic preacher, studied philosophy and theology in Basel and Tübingen between 1871 and 1875, gaining his post-doctoral teaching qualification (Habilitation) in 1880. In 1888, he became a lecturer at the University of Berne. Between 1893 and 1930, he held professorships in Greifswald, Berlin, and Tübingen, where he eventually died. In Berlin, he was the intellectual antithesis to Adolf von Harnack.
From 1897, he was co-editor, alongside Hermann Cremer, of a magazine called Beiträge zur Förderung christlicher Theologie (Articles for the Promotion of Christian Theology).
Schlatter became particularly well-known for his analysis of the New Testament, which was accessible to a broad audience. He was adamant about the manifestation of God in nature and in Jesus Christ, and this conviction led him to a criticism of the theophilosophical ideas of German idealism. His down-to-earth interpretation of the Bible also brought Schlatter into in conflict with the contemporary school of thought in the Evangelical Church. In addition, Schlatter worked towards the development of a theory of knowledge with which he could reconcile his religious convictions.
Archives of Schlatter's work, as well as a foundation dedicated to him, are situated in Stuttgart. In Tübingen, the "Adolf Schlatter House" in Österbergstrasse is named after him, as is the "Adolf Schlatter Home" in Recke.
Works
- Vom Dienst an Theologie und Kirche, Berlin, Furche Publishing
- Der Dienst der Christen in der älteren Dogmatik, 1897 (republished as Der Dienst des Christen in 1999)
- Evangelium und Dienst am Volk, Gotha, 1932
- Drei Predigten aus ernster Zeit
- Haering, Theodor von, Stuttgart (Steinkopf), 1918
- Die Geschichte des Christus, Stuttgart, 1921
- Die Gründe der christlicher Gewißheit, Calwer Vereinsbuchhandlung, 1917
- Am Leiden teilnehmen, Berlin, 1934
- Die Apostelgeschichte, Berlin, 1961
- Der Brief des Jakobus, Calwer Vereinsbuchhandlung, 1932
- Die Briefe an die Galater, Epheser, Kolosser und Philemon, Berlin, 1962
- Die Briefe des Petrus, Judas, Jakobus, der Brief an die Hebräer, Berlin, 1965