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User:M.A.Spinn/Catholic Tübingen school

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The term Catholic Tübingen school refers to the school of Catholic theology associated with the University of Tübingen in the nineteenth century.[1] Its main representatives were Johann Adam Möhler, Johann Sebastian Drey, Johann Baptist von Hirscher, and Johannes Kuhn.[2] Thomas O'Meara describes the school as "a school in the sense of Origen at Alexandria, of Abelard outside Paris, of Albertus Magnus in Cologne".[3] The Catholic Tübingen school was one of the primary rivals to Neo-Scholasticism in the nineteenth century and in the period following the publication of the encyclical Aeterni Patris, its influence waned.[4]

History

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In 1817, the first Catholic professors arrived at the University of Tübingen, which at the time was one of the strongest Protestant theological faculties in Germany and the city of Tübingen itself did not have a Catholic church at the time.[5] In 1819, the faculty launched the journal ''Die theologische Quartalschrift'' [de] (ThQ) which was intended to give balanced commentary on contemporary theology and avoid polemics which would impede Catholic-Protestant dialogue. ThQ is still published today and is the longest-running Catholic theological journal in the world.[6]

The intellectual influences of the Catholic Tübingen school can be traced to the German Enlightenment and Romanticism.[7] It would be shaped by the reception of Immanuel Kant and Catholic Kantian thinkers such as Franz Berg [de], but ultimately rejected Kantianism in favor of post-Kantian German idealism.[8] The thought of Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling proved especially influential to the Catholic Tübingen school.[9][10]

The Catholic Tübingen school flourished in nineteenth-century Germany and has been compared to the work of John Henry Newman[11], who demonstrated familiarity with the school in his writings.[12]. It declined in influence after the Neo-Scholastic Joseph Kleutgen's critique of the school and the reform of Catholic theology departments after the publication of Aeterni Patris.[13]

Thought

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The Catholic Tübingen school emphasized a Romantic understanding of ecclesiology influenced by German idealism, in contrast with the juridical Communitas perfecta ecclesiology associated with Robert Bellarmine and promoted by Neo-Scholastics.[14] The theologians of the Catholic Tübingen school were particularly interested in reconciling Catholic theology with Schelling's philosophy of revelation, against the Kantianism of George Hermes and the Aristotelianism of the Neo-Scholastics, as well as the [[Traditionalism (19th-century Catholicism) |traditionalism]] of Louis Eugène Marie Bautain. They developed a theology of historical revelation which emphasized the spontaneous and organic nature of the Church, emphasizing the Church as an entity which undergoes development in history.[15][16]

Johann Adam Möhler

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Main article: Johann Adam Möhler

Influenced by Hegel[17], Möhler authored an apologetic text entitled Symbolik which examined the confessional differences between Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches. It was heavily criticized by Ferdinand Christian Baur and David Friedrich Strauss. Möhler's ecclesiology and theology of history are found in Die Einheit in der Kirche (Unity in the Church), wherein he argues that Christianity is not simply salvation and knowledge but a Lebensprinzip. Möhler polemicizes against Gnosticism in this work and emphasizes the role of the Holy Spirit in the constitution of the Church.[18]

Johann Sebastian Drey

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Main article: Johann Sebastian Drey

Influenced by Schelling and Novalis's critique of Protestantism, Drey emphasized a vitalist theology of the Church as a living organism whose essence is not found in the authority of Scripture but in the Christian community.[19]

Johann Baptist von Hirscher

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Main article: Johann Baptist von Hirscher

Influenced by Drey and attempting to apply Drey's speculative theology to his own pastoral theology, Hirscher was a severe critic of Neo-Scholasticism but demonstrated little familiarity with medieval sources in his work. Hirscher's critique of Scholasticism led to a feud with Kleutgen, who defended an ahistorical Aristotelian scientific account of theology.[20] Gerald McCool notes that Kleutgen in turn did not understand the theology of the Catholic Tübingen school.[21]

Johannes von Kuhn

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Main article: Johannes von Kuhn

Influenced by Schelling, Drey, and Möhler, Kuhn continued to develop a theology of historical revelation along the lines of the aforementioned thinkers. He critiqued Schelling and Hegel along the lines of orthodox Trinitarian theology and a traditional understanding of divine revelation being found in God's word and the Church.[22] Kuhn's epistemology has been compared to that of John Henry Newman[23]. Kuhn emphasizes history as the "Grundcharakter and Urelement" of Christianity.[24]

Reception

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Yves Congar is considered the primary representative of the Catholic Tübingen school in the twentieth century.[25] Walter Kasper, who served on the Faculty of Roman Catholic theology at Tübingen from 1958 to 1961, is another contemporary heir to the school of thought.[26]

Notes

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  1. ^ Kaplan 2006, p. 95
  2. ^ Kaplan 2006, p. 96
  3. ^ O'Meara 1982, p. 94
  4. ^ McCool 1989, p. 2–4
  5. ^ Kaplan 2006, p. 95
  6. ^ Kaplan 2006, p. 96
  7. ^ Kaplan 2006, p. 98
  8. ^ Kaplan 2006, p. 99
  9. ^ O'Meara 1982, p. 90-92
  10. ^ McCool 1989, p. 31
  11. ^ Kaplan, Grant; Coolman, Holly T. (2018). "The Development of Doctrine: The Tübingen School and John Henry Newman". In Ayres, Lewis; Volpe, Medi A. (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Catholic Theology. Oxford: OUP. p. 612-629. ISBN 9780191749926.
  12. ^ Newman, John Henry (1850). "Lecture 2. The Movement of 1833 Foreign to the National Church". Newman Reader. The National Institute for Newman Studies. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  13. ^ McCool 1989, p. 195-205, 236-239.
  14. ^ McCool 1989, p. 67
  15. ^ McCool 1989, p. 67-76
  16. ^ Kaplan 2006, p. 119-120
  17. ^ O'Meara 1982, p. 152
  18. ^ Kaplan 2006, p. 103-105
  19. ^ Kaplan 2006, p. 103
  20. ^ McCool 1989, 188-201
  21. ^ McCool 1989, p. 201-203
  22. ^ O'Meara 1982, p. 153-157
  23. ^ Kaplan 2006, p. 116
  24. ^ Kaplan 2006, p. 129
  25. ^ Lee, James A. "Shaping Reception: Yves Congar's Reception of Johann Adam Möhler". New Blackfriars. 97 (1072): 693–712. doi:10.1111/nbfr12142. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  26. ^ Loewe, William P. (January 1980). "The New Catholic Tübingen Theology of Walter Kasper: Foundational Issues". The Heythrop Journal. 21 (1): 30–49. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2265.1980.tb01126.x. Retrieved 19 July 2023.

References

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  • Kaplan, Grant (2006) Answering the Enlightenment: The Catholic Recovery of Historical Revelation Crossroad Publishing Company
  • McCool, Gerald (1989) Nineteenth Century Scholasticism: The Search for a Unitary Method Fordham University Press
  • O'Meara, Thomas (1982) Romantic Idealism and Roman Catholicism: Schelling and the Theologians University of Notre Dame Press
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