THOLUCK, FRIEDRICH AUGUST GOTTRU. – Protestant theologian of the “revival movement,” born in Breslau on 30 March 1799, died in Halle on 10 June 1877.
A poor student in Berlin from 1816, he became the amanuensis of the Orientalist von Dietz, who, together with Baron H. E. von Kottwitz, formed him in profound piety. T. Pietism (v.). He took an interest in the Foreign Missions, for which he founded a special society in Berlin; he was director of the Hauptbibelgesellschaft from 1821 to 1825. He took part in Protestant missions to the Jews, directing the journal Freund Israels (1824–26). In 1821 T., through the intervention of Minister Altmann, was recognized as a Privatdozent. In Berlin he wrote chiefly Orientalist treatises, especially on sufism (v.), the book Sohar (v. CABBALA), and the commentary on Romans (Halle 1824). He became more famous through the partly autobiographical book: Guido und Julius. Die Lehre vom Sünder und vom Versöhner, oder Die wahre Weihe des Zweifers (Hamburg 1823; 9th ed., 1870). Translated into five languages, it was the most widely read and most highly esteemed book of the entire “revival,” and from its very title it set itself against the Lehrroman (doctrinal novel) of the “rational-mythic” De Wette, entitled Theodor oder des Zweifers Weihe. Yet in some respects T. drew close to Schleiermacher, admitting that religion is a feeling of complete dependence, and that dogmas, symbols, and religious doctrines matter little in comparison with fervent service of God. In 1826 T. became full professor at Halle, whose Protestant theological Faculty was then the most frequented in all Germany. The rationalist professors of Halle, such as W. Gesenius (v.) and J. A. C. Wegscheider (1771–1849), opposed the intentions of the Prussian government, which favored religious renewal; the students and citizens of Halle were incited. The government held firm, but T. began in an extremely delicate situation; his commentary on John (Hamburg 1827) was harshly rejected in the Faculty’s journal. To restore his health, T., having been appointed preacher to the Prussian embassy in Rome, Bunsen (v.) in 1828–29 and declared that Rome gave him freer breathing space and released him from several Pietistic constraints. Upon his return, in 1830, he founded the journal Literarischer Anzeiger für christliche Theologie und Wissenschaft überhaupt (20 vols., Halle 1830–49).
T.’s activity extended into three fields. In the exegetical sphere he edited Calvin’s commentaries on the New Testament, the Psalms, and the Institutiones (Berlin 1831–36); he published Bergpredigt (later Bergrede) Christi (Hamburg 1833; 5th ed., Gotha 1872); Hebräerbrief (Gotha 1836, 1850); Das A. Test. im N. Test. (ibid. 1836; 6th ed. 1872); Die Glaubwürdigkeit der evangelischen Geschichte (against Strauss [v.], ibid. 1836, 1837, translated into French, Paris 1847); Die Psalmen (ibid. 1843, 1872); Die Propheten und ihre Weissagungen (Gotha 1860, 1867); etc. As an exegete, although assigning less importance to philology, he knew how to draw the profound religious meaning from the Bible. In the apologetic and historical field: Schriftene Schriften prossenteils apologetischen Inhalts (Hamburg 1839, 1867); Zur Charakteristik rationalistischer Polemik (Halle 1840); Gespräche über die vornehmsten Glaubensfragen der Zeit (Gotha 1846, 1865); Der Geist der lutherischen Theologen Wittenbergs im 17. Jahrhundert (Hamburg 1852); Vorgeschichte des Rationalismus (4 vols., Halle–Berlin 1853–62); Das akademische Leben des 17. Jahrhunderts (2 vols., 1861 ff.); Geschichte des Rationalismus, I. Geschichte des Pietismus und des ersten Studiums der Aufklärung (Berlin 1865), in which, in addition to rationalism, T. criticizes Lutheran orthodoxy, which, because it deprived people, in his view, of profound religious sentiments, contained within itself the seeds of rationalism. Sermons and spiritual conversations constituted the activity dearest to T., who was much sought after as a preacher. From 1839 he was officially preacher to the students in Halle, whom he assisted through conversations, letters, and material aid, to such an extent that he was called Studentenvater, father of the students.
Although one must admire in T. his profound religious sentiment, his zeal for the cause of God, and his charity toward his neighbor, one must deplore his lack of dogmatic clarity and precision. He remained a victim of the “romanticism” of his time, so favorable to the return to religion in the Prussian state; and, when the environment changed profoundly, his continuators, such as Martin Kähler (1835–1912) and Julius Schniwind (1883–1948), were compelled increasingly to sacrifice revealed truth (cf. Verbum Domini, 31 [1953], pp. 40–42).