Gottfrid Arnolds Unparteyische Kirchen- und Ketzer-Historie: von Anfang des Neuen Testaments biß auff das Jahr Christi 1688
Thomas Fritsch, 1700. First Edition. Leather. First Edition, two volumes bound in one: 1: Jahr Christi bis 1499; 2: Von Anno 1500 bis 1688. [21], 2-411, [3], 3-695, [38], RFEP perished. Folio in 4's, 9x14'. In contemporary vellum with hand-written spine title in a fine hand. Dual-column text in Fraktur script with endnotes in Roman font. . A remarkable work of vast erudition and deep courage, Arnold's study of heterodoxy and heresy was a leap forward in the history of theology in and a seminal text of the German Enlightenment. It was beloved by figures such as Goethe and Tolstoy, who dubbed it a 'remarkable, although little known book' in *The Kingdom of God is Within You*. Arnold's 'Non-Partisan History of the Church and Heretics' charts a revisionist history of marginal figures in Christian history, from Origen and Arius to Socinius and Boehme, seeking to unveil a secret history of personal and experiential mysticism as the true heart of Christianity. 'G. Arnold’s Impartial History of the Church and of Heretics (1699-1700) offered a radical-pietist view of church history, originating from Lutheranism. With its fundamental criticism of the church as an instrument of power, it deprived confessional ‘partial’ historiography of its foundations. Arnold insisted on the rehabilitation of persecuted and oppressed minorities. His work not only promoted the debate on the dependence of historiography on the historian’s particular standpoint, but over a long period of time also inspired advocates and critics of a tolerant Christianity based on individual religious convictions. The work bears witness to the contribution of Pietism to the modern subjectivation and individualization of faith and religion. ... the *Unparteyische Historie* had a lasting impact on the development of church historiography in the field of tension between confessional Christianity, Pietism, and the Enlightenment movement. Conceived as a paradoxical 'alternative church history,' the work profoundly challenged the confessional concept of heresy and thus the mechanisms of exclusion and demarcation practiced by the institutional churches in the name of exclusive truth claims.' (Hans-Martin Kirn, NTT Journal for Theology and the Study of Religion 74.3) For their part, McClintock & Strong remark, 'This 'Impartial hisotyr' was the first written in German instead of Latin. It makes personal piety the central idea of Christianity. But, while bent on showing fair play, as no historian before had done, to all sorts of heretics and schismatics, particularly to the Mystics, for whom he had a special predilection, Arnold fell into the most gross wrong toward the representatives of orthodoxy, ascribing to them the basest motives, and aspersing their character in every possible way. ... The number of works published against Arnold is very large.'. NEAR FINE. Item #508231
Price: $2,200.00