Ritschl, Albrecht

(1822–89)

   Theologian.

   Ritschl was born in Berlin, Germany, the son of a Protestant pastor. He was educated at Bonne, Halle, Heidelberg and Tübingen and he subsequently became a Professor of Theology first at Bonn and then at Göttingen. He was initially a disciple of F.C. baur and a member of the Tübingen school. Later, he came to believe the Christian doctrines were not statements of fact, but of value. He abandoned the metaphysical bases of Christianity and he insisted that the purpose of Jesus’s mission was to establish God’s ethical Kingdom in the world so that humanity could live together in mutual love. Among his more important books were Die Christliche Lehre von der Rechtfertigung und Versöhnung, Theologie und Metaphysik and Geschichte des Pietismus. He was a hugely influential figure and the ‘Ritschlian school’ spawned at least three theological journals. Among his followers must be numbered Adolf harnack and Ernst troeltsch.

   K. Barth, From Rousseau to Ritschl (1959);

   D.W. Lotz, Ritschl and Luther: A Fresh Perspective on Albrecht Ritschl’s Theology (1978).