12 September 1805 A.D. Johann Jakob Herzog Born—Reformed Professor of Church History & Co-Editor of Large Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge
12
September 1805 A.D. Johann
Jakob Herzog Born—Reformed Professor of Church History & Co-Editor of Large
Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious
Knowledge
Graves, Dan. “John J.
Herzog’s Huge Church Encyclopedia.” Christianity.com. Jul 2007. http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1801-1900/john-j-herzogs-huge-church-encyclopedia-11630351.html. Accessed 21 May 2014.
One of a
church-historian's valuable resources is the Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious
Knowledge. John Jacob Herzog--the Herzog of the encyclopedia title--was born on
this day, September 12, 1805, probably in Basel, Switzerland. The Herzog family
had recently moved there from Wurtemburg.
John was
left an orphan at a young age and relatives raised him. He showed himself an
apt pupil of the sciences and then of theology, studying with such notable
individuals as the mathematician Christoph Bernoulli and with theologians
Schleiermacher and Neander. He became an educator at Lausanne, specializing in
historical theology. John issued works on several of the major reformers,
including Zwingli, Calvin and Oecolampadius.
Christian
thought often needs defenders because scholarly and pseudo-scholarly attacks
never cease. John stood for the faith against damaging influences, including
attempts to rewrite Christ's life so as to rob Him of his deity. When Plymouth
Brethren began spreading their message in Germany, John opposed them because he
considered their teaching as too individualistic for the good of the church.
When the
government made demands that overstepped the bounds of church and state, John
refused to go along. He resigned his position at Lausanne and worked as a
private scholar for much of 1846 and 1847. He was glad to accept an invitation
to teach at Halle, because he had had little to live on during the previous
months. At Halle, he developed a close relationship with the well-known
Protestant theologian Friedrich August Gottreu Tholuck.
The same
year that John resigned his job at Lausanne, Roman Catholic scholars issued the
first volume of the Catholic Encyclopedia. Protestants immediately felt the
need to produce an encyclopedia of their own to counterbalance the Catholic
version. Political troubles slowed down the project and its editor died.
Tholuck recommended Herzog for the vacant position.
John was
liked by all parties--in part because of his generous treatment of Reformation
figures. He got the job. His vast knowledge of church history made him the perfect editor. In
fact, he wrote 500 of the articles that appeared in the first edition. Later,
he was co-editor of a second edition.
Philip
Schaff was well-acquainted with John, who asked him to adapt the encyclopedia
for American use. Schaff agreed to undertake the huge project. And that is how
we got the famous and useful Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge.
Herzog died in 1882.
Bibliography:
1.
Freudenberg,
Matthias. "Herzog, Johann Jakob." Kirchenlexicon.
2.
"Herzog,
Johann Jakob." The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, edited by F.
L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone. Oxford, 1997.
3.
"Preface."
Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. Grand Rapids, Michigan:
Baker Book House, 1954.
4.
Various
Encyclopedia and internet articles.
Last
updated July, 2007
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