Eighteenth-century Theology Research Articles

”Jeg skriver for tænkende Mænd, der selv maae kunne prøve Aanderne”: Nikolai Lorenz Fallesens tidsskrift for religionslærere (1793–1808)

<p>“I am writing for intellectuals who are able to judge the spirits”: N. F. Fallesen’s Periodical for Teachers in Religion 1793–1808</p><p><br />This article thematises the first periodical for members of the clergy in Denmark-Norway, Nikolai Lorenz Fallesen’s Magazin for Religionslærere, med hensyn til vore Tider (Copenhagen, 1793–1802) (cont. as Theologisk Maanedsskrivt for Fædrelandets Religionslærere [Copenhagen, 1803–1808]), and sheds light on how Fallesen uses this periodical to present ideas typical for late eighteenth-century theology and the philosophy of religion for a new target group of readers. These readers were rural clergymen and pastors who did not normally participate in academic and intellectual discussions. Among what Fallesen enlightened was the idea that moral behaviour could be seen as the true content of Christianity and the consequence of Christian revelation. This, in turn, leads to a religious universalism in which other institutional religions might also be included as legitimate and ”right”. By presenting different institutional religions and emphasising openness as typical for biblical texts, Fallesens periodical addressed the autonome citizen characteristic of the turn of the nineteenth century. This citizen, here: the rural pastor, was expected to use his own intellectual abilities to judge whether or not the religion under consideration could be regarded as good. This judgement was based upon practical matters rather than norms and dogmas.</p>

Ukrainian Drama and Theater in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries (review)

Reviewed by: Ukrainian Drama and Theater in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries Seth Baumrin Ukrainian Drama and Theater in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. By Paulina Lewin. The Peter Jacyk Centre for Ukrainian Historical Research Monograph Series, no. 3. Toronto: Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies Press, 2008; pp. xxxiv + 218. $49.95 cloth, $29.95 paper. Today, Ukraine exists as an autonomous state, but its history is one of invasion and occupation by its neighbors and internal discord among its multiple ethnic subnationalities. Any atlas will show Ukraine's enormity, and old atlases will demonstrate the small nations Ukraine absorbed prior to Russian usurpation during the rise of Muscovy. Ukraine is distinguished from Russia to the north by its variety of regional peoples, including Armenians, Crimean Tatars, Cossacks, Jews, Greeks, Moldavians, Roma, and Ruthenes—some autochthonous, others émigré. And, as traced in Paulina Lewin's excellent historical analysis of Ukrainian theatre in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the growth of Ukrainian Orthodoxy from 1087 is marked by the need of Ukraine's indigenous groups to assert not only their local identities, but also their investment in the larger nation, because Ukrainians often succumbed to Russian dominance, Turkish invasion, and Polish territorial ambitions. Ukraine's cultural and political complexity is mirrored in its national drama. Lewin's excellent work on the liturgical and secular theatre of Ukraine's baroque period is an advanced primer in Slavonic theology with a theatrical derivation. And that is the best way to approach the topic, for Ukrainian theatre was inextricably linked to various subdenominations within the Ukrainian Orthodox Church schools during the centuries she covers. Western historians argue that Ukrainian drama remained medieval well after the Renaissance in Europe. Lewin, however, uses textual analysis and reconstruction of performances based on archival research, to demonstrate its sophistication. Ukrainian liturgical dramas differ sharply from both Western liturgical drama and Reformation morality plays. For example, one of the oldest extant dramas, The Kingdom of Human Nature Destroyed by Temptation, through Whose Efforts Death Dominated Us Who Had Known No Sin, Re-established and Crowned Us Anew Thanks to the Grace of Christ, the King of Glory (1698), a play whose language was designed to intrigue audiences through "ecstasy evoked by sound and rhythm, enhanced by the playwright's erudition," is about Lucifer's fall from heaven (78). Most notable in these plays is the convention of depicting biblical characters only as allegorical figures. Thus Lucifer is "Lucifer's Malice," and Eve is "Human Nature." The most compelling allegorical character is "Pre-Eternal Wisdom," which stands for God (74), and suggests an "everlasting present" (80)—a Ukrainian theological wisdom distinctly different from Western Christianity's neo-Platonism. Lewin argues that, although it is true that Ukrainian liturgical drama borrowed allegorical characters from Polish Jesuit schools during the mid-seventeenth century, religiously they were virtual opposites, because Ukrainian Orthodoxy applied its own iconic/allegorical structure derived primarily from the Khjiv Mohyla Academy, whose faith was grounded in Greek-Byzantine theology and old Rus heritage. Lewin shows how multiple iconic formulae protected Ukraine's religious and cultural heritage without attracting undue hostility. Inherently a geopolitical hotspot, Ukraine carved out its own identity through the theatricalization of worship and belief based on local mysticism and aesthetics. For example, it was believed by Ukrainian Orthodox theologians that human language was insufficient for the transmission of divine values, so nearly the whole of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century theology was transmitted via church school dramas, because the [End Page 481] allegorical iconography demonstrated an Orthodox code of faith and morality. Lewin captures this allegorical complexity through vivid descriptions of how the dramas might have been performed; in fact, this is the most impressive and risky aspect of her scholarship. But her archival research and sensitive reading of the theatricality embedded in the scriptures upon which the plays are based are ultimately convincing. Thus Lewin unfolds the layered meanings of this dramaturgy of allegory to render a lesson of great value not only to Ukrainian studies scholars, but also theatre semioticians. In her analysis of the move from liturgical to secular drama in the eighteenth century, Lewin sets up scholarly signposts leading to explanations of the...

Tragedy and the Economics of Providence in Richardson's Clarissa

The postscript to the 1751 edition of Clarissa provides Samuel Richardson's most definitive explication of what he was doing through the novel's unfashionably tragic turn. This essay considers his project in light of the period's taste for narratives that culminate in poetic justice, arguing that the postscript identifies such notions of moral compensation as symptomatic of an age of scepticism. Richardson is thus engaged in reimagining older modes of providence at odds with middle-class values of exchange and an ascendant providential economy, fashioning a distinctive mode of tragedy that drew on both classical and biblical sources in which the very form of his novel interrogates bourgeois cultural norms. In this way, he queries the relations between eighteenth-century theology, early capitalist political economies, and moral action being negotiated through the novel's formation.

Tragedy and the Economics of Providence in Richardson's <i>Clarissa</i>

The postscript to the 1751 edition of Clarissa provides Samuel Richardson's most definitive explication of what he was doing through the novel's unfashionably tragic turn. This essay considers his project in light of the period's taste for narratives that culminate in poetic justice, arguing that the postscript identifies such notions of moral compensation as symptomatic of an age of scepticism. Richardson is thus engaged in reimagining older modes of providence at odds with middle-class values of exchange and an ascendant providential economy, fashioning a distinctive mode of tragedy that drew on both classical and biblical sources in which the very form of his novel interrogates bourgeois cultural norms. In this way, he queries the relations between eighteenth-century theology, early capitalist political economies, and moral action being negotiated through the novel's formation.

The Abbe Gregoire and the French Revolution: The Making of Modern Universalism * L'Abbe Gregoire apologete de la Republique

Aspects of the life and works of Henri Grégoire are quite well known to specialists in the history of the French Revolution, eighteenth-century theology or, more recently, post-colonial literary theory. But, as these two monographs by Alyssa Goldstein Sepinwall and Josiane Boulad-Ayoub show, connecting all the aspects amounts to something like a map of French intellectual, religious and political life in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. He was born in 1750 in the parish of Emberménil in Lorraine and first became known for an Essai sur la régénération physique, morale et politique des Juifs that was awarded a prize by the Royal Society of Metz in 1788. He was elected to the French Estates-General in 1789 and became bishop of Blois under the aegis of the civil constitution of the French clergy in 1791. Unlike many of his clerical contemporaries, however, he did not give up on the...

"Casualties and Disasters": Defoe and the Interpretation of Climatic Instability

The Great Storm of November 26–27, 1703, that struck Southern England and Wales became a benchmark throughout the eighteenth century for the destructive potential of Nature. This article examines Daniel Defoe's 1704 text The Storm, a compilation of reports of damage from across England that Defoe prefaced with a long introductory essay about his own experiences and speculations about the causes of the disaster. Defoe and his correspondents offer important analyses of the relations among humankind, landscape, and climate, even as they set their remarks in the context of eighteenth-century theology. Ultimately , The Storm seeks to reconcile its scientific and religious impulses by resorting to an eco-cultural materialism that emphasizes the complex feedback loops between landscape, climate, and human activities.

A Companion to the Works of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing by Barbara Fischer, Thomas C. Fox, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

II76 Reviews A Companion to theWorks ofGotthold Ephraim Lessing. Ed. by BARBARAFISCHER and THOMAS C. Fox. (Studies inGerman Literature, Linguistics, and Culture) Rochester, NY: Camden House. 2005. 378 pp. $99; ?70. ISBN 978-I-57I I3 243-7. An English-language Companion to Lessing's works will be highly appreciated by scholars and students for two reasons: between the earlyGerman Enlightenment and Weimar Classicism, Lessing was one of themost original, controversial, and influ ential figures inGerman literature and thought; furthermore, he is a complex and versatile author in thathe contributed to a whole range of discourses such as philo sophy, theology, literarycriticism and theory,art theory,and, of course, literature itself (primarily in the area of drama and fable). Hence even a specialist on Lessing's plays will findan introduction toother facetsofLessing's ceuvrevery useful. In addition, a Companion toLessing's works can help toovercome a certain neglect of theGerman Enlightenment among international scholars, as 'historians have favoured theFrench Enlightenment, followed by itsEnglish counterpart. The German Enlightenment receives far less attention' (p. 41). Given thewide range of topics covered by Lessing, any such Companion must confront thedilemma of 'where tobegin and where to end, which aspects to include, which issues to treatand which scholarly approaches to invite' (p. 2). The editors have handled this 'dilemma' very well. One reason is the structure of theirCompanion, which isorganized 'according tobroad themes rather than chronologically by indivi dual works' (p. 2). Thus the reader encounters a single work in several chapters and from 'various perspectives' (p. 3) ranging from biography, history, philosophy, and theology togender studies, theatre studies, and filmstudies; an indexmakes it easy to spot the relevant passages on a particular work throughout thewhole Companion. Three parts consisting of two, three, or four articles by scholars from theUnited States, Canada, Great Britain, and Germany cover themain areas ofLessing's works. A section on 'Criticism and Aesthetics' offers contributions on Lessing's polemical style as a critic (Klaus L. Berghahn), on his theory of fable (John Pizer), and on his poetic approach to painting inLaokoon (B. Allert). Under the heading 'Philosophy and Theology' H. B. Nisbet gives a profound analysis of 'the diverse philosophical currents towhich Lessing was exposed inhis formativeyears' (pp. I33-34), and Arno Schilson outlines 'the fieldof eighteenth-century theology' (p. I6o) inGermany, fol lowed by an overview of the theological questions discussed by Lessing with special emphasis on the famous Fragmentenstreit; finally Willi Goetschel investigates 'Less ing and the Jews', suggesting that 'toLessing the challenge of the Jews posed itself in terms of Christianity. For ifChristianity were to play any role in the age of En lightenment, itsassumptions and presuppositions had to be examined' (pp. I86-87). Under the heading 'Drama and Drama Theory' P. Hoyng studies the interplay of playwriting and criticism in Lessing's works, and Karin A. Wurst reads Lessing's plays as an attempt to construct and question gendered identities. The threeparts listed so farare framed by an introduction to 'Lessing's Life,Work, and Times' and a survey ofLessing's reception. The formergives an overview of vari ous phases and places in Lessing's life (Barbara Fischer and Thomas C. Fox), and situates Lessing in the context of theEuropean Enlightenment by identifyingmajor influences fromDescartes, Locke, Leibniz, and the republique des lettres(Steven D. Martinson). The latteroutlines the reception of Lessing over a period of 200 years (Hinrich C. Seeba) with special focus on theThird Reich (A. Schmiesing), West Germany, Austria, and Switzerland I945-90 (R. Meyer), and East Germany (H.-J. Kertscher and T. C. Fox). The fact that the section on reception openswith 'Lessing and theThird Reich' must be indebted to the pole position this chapter ofGerman historymaintains inBritish and American German studies; from a historical point of MLR, I02.4, 2007 I I77 view it would have been more appropriate tooffer the survey of '200Years ofLessing Reception' before turning to a period thatcomes roughly I50 years after theEnlight enment. Another, more momentous problem of the chapter design is the fact that one of themost important and influential areas of Lessing's ceuvre becomes almost invisible: his famous theoryof tragedy and buirgerliches Trauerspiel. Even though this topic is,of course, covered, above all...

Geneva's “Enlightened Orthodoxy”: The Middle Way of Jacob Vernet (1698–1789)

Jacob Vernet (1698–1789) numbers among those eighteenth-century theologians whose relationships to the philosophes have saved them from being forgotten but at the cost of being misrepresented. Vernet is usually remembered for editing the first edition of Montesquieu's De l'esprit des lois, helping to restore Rousseau to Calvinism, and corresponding and then crossing swords with D'Alembert and Voltaire: it is especially the controversy with D'Alembert surrounding the article on “Geneva” in the seventh volume of the Encyclopédie (1757), as well as a sustained conflict with Voltaire over many issues, that have secured him scholarly attention. The scholars who have noticed Vernet have accordingly concentrated on aspects of his person: ascertaining whether he was mendacious, conniving, and hypocritical, as some of the philosophes, especially Voltaire contended, or the figure of impeccable behavior and conscience suggested by his office and his hagiographers. This one-sided emphasis on his person obscures the fact that Vernet wrote a shelf of books and was such an influential figure that he was the representative Genevan theologian of his day. The neglect of his thought is hardly astounding, however, since it is characteristic of the treatment accorded eighteenth-century theology in general. Theologians and students of religion have for long dismissed eighteenth-century theology as derivative; students of the Enlightenment have considered it outside the canon of Enlightenment literature and thus beyond their purview. Both these assumptions should be challenged.