THOLUCK, FRIEDRICH AUGUST GOTTREU. - Theologian of the Protestant "awakening movement," b. at Breslau on 30 March 1799, d. at 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 deep piety. T. adhered to Pietism (v.). He took an interest in the Foreign Missions, for which he founded a dedicated society in Berlin; he was director of the Hauptbibelgesellschaft for the years 1821-25. He took part in the Protestant missions among the Jews, directing the journal Freund Israels (years 1824-26). In 1821 T., through the intervention of the minister Altmann, was recognized as a free lecturer. In Berlin he wrote above all 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 esteemed book of the entire "awakening," and from its very title it stands opposed to the Lehrroman (doctrinal novel) of the "rationalist-mythical" De Wette entitled Theodor oder des Zweifers Weihe. In some way, however, T. draws close to Schleiermacher, admitting that religion is a feeling of complete dependence, and that dogmas, symbols and religious doctrines would matter little in comparison with the fervent service of God. In 1826 T. became a full professor at Halle, then the most frequented Protestant theological faculty in all of 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 the citizenry of Halle were on their side. The government held firm, but T. began in an extremely delicate situation; his commentary on John (Hamburg 1827) was torn apart in the faculty's journal. To restore his health, appointed preacher of the Prussian embassy in Rome, T. enjoyed in 1828-29 the friendship of Bunsen (v.) and declared that Rome gave him freer breathing, and loosened several of his pietistic constraints. Having returned, 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 field he edited the edition of Calvin's commentaries on the New Testament, on 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 giving less importance to philology, he knows how to draw the profound religious sense 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), where, beyond rationalism, T. criticizes Lutheran orthodoxy, which, according to him, deprived of profound religious feelings, had within itself the seeds of rationalism. Preaching and spiritual conversations constituted the activity dearest to T., who was much sought after as a preacher. From 1839 he was officially preacher for the students at Halle, whom he assisted with conversations, with letters and with subsidies to such an extent that he was called Studentenvater, father of the students.
While admiring in T. the profound religious feeling, the zeal for the cause of God and the charity toward neighbor, one must lament in him his lack of clarity and dogmatic 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 forced to sacrifice more and more the revealed truth (cf. Verbum Domini, 31 [1953], pp. 40-42).