Religion Past and Present
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Subject: Religious Studies
Edited by: Hans Dieter Betz, Don S. Browning†, Bernd Janowski and Eberhard Jüngel
Religion Past and Present (RPP) Online is the online version of the updated English translation of the 4th edition of the definitive encyclopedia of religion worldwide: the peerless Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart (RGG). This great resource, now at last available in English and Online, Religion Past and Present Online continues the tradition of deep knowledge and authority relied upon by generations of scholars in religious, theological, and biblical studies. Including the latest developments in research, Religion Past and Present Online encompasses a vast range of subjects connected with religion.
Subscriptions: see brill.com
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Religion Past and Present (RPP) Online is the online version of the updated English translation of the 4th edition of the definitive encyclopedia of religion worldwide: the peerless Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart (RGG). This great resource, now at last available in English and Online, Religion Past and Present Online continues the tradition of deep knowledge and authority relied upon by generations of scholars in religious, theological, and biblical studies. Including the latest developments in research, Religion Past and Present Online encompasses a vast range of subjects connected with religion.
Subscriptions: see brill.com
Weber, Werner
(434 words)
[German Version] (Aug 31, 1904, Wülfrath – Nov 29, 1976, Göttingen), teacher of constitutional and administrative law. After studying in Marburg, Berlin, and Bonn (doctorate under C. Schmitt), Weber entered the Prussian ministry of education and cultural affairs, initially in the religious division, later in the division for national culture. In addition he was appointed lecturer at the Berlin School of Commerce in 1931 and promoted ¶ to full professor in 1935. In 1942 he became a professor at Leipzig and in 1949 at Göttingen, where he served as rector from 195…
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Religion Past and Present
Weckmann, Matthias
(84 words)
[German Version] (before April, 1619, Niederdorla – Feb 24, 1674, Hamburg) studied with H. Schütz in Dresden and J. Praetorius in Hamburg. After working in Dresden and Nykøbing, in 1655 he became organist at St. Jacobi in Hamburg, where he founded a Collegium Musicum in 1660. A traditionalist in his instrumental works, in his vocal compositions he employed the emotional techniques of “theatrical” composition. Friedhelm Brusniak Bibliography T. Röder,
BBKL XIII, 1998, 577–679 (bibl.) A. Silbiger,
New Grove XXVII, 22001, 199–202 (bibl.).
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Religion Past and Present
Wegscheider, Julius August Ludwig
(266 words)
[German Version] (Sep 17, 1771, Küblingen, near Schöppenstedt – Jan 27, 1849, Halle). In 1787 Wegscheider began his studies at Helmstedt, where he was influenced by the rationalist H.P.K. Henke. After working as a private tutor in Hamburg (1705–1805) and a brief period as a lecturer in Göttingen, he was appointed professor of theology and philosophy at Rinteln; in 1810 he went to Halle as professor of theology. On the basis of an extensive adoption of the ideas of I. Kant and a critical analysis of earlier theological traditional and dogmatic structures, in 1815 he published his
Institution…
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Religion Past and Present
Wehrung, Gottfried Georg
(189 words)
[German Version] (Oct 6, 1880, Dorlisheim, Elsaß [Alsace] – Jan 20, 1959, Tübingen). In 1906 he was appointed tutor in Straßburg, where he became associate professor of systematic theology in 1915. In 1920 he was appointed professor of systematic theology at Münster, in 1927 at Halle, and in 1921 at Tübingen. From 1923 to 1955 he was an editor of the
Zeitschrift für systematische Theologie. In his theology, Wehrung attempt to overcome the problems of substantiation raised by the debate over historicism through an understanding of religion grounded in ethics (
Geschichte und Glaube, 1933…
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Religion Past and Present
Weigel, Gustave
(173 words)
[German Version] (Jan 15, 1906, Buffalo, New York – Jan 3, 1964, New York) was a Jesuit theologian whose major contribution was in the entry of the Catholic Church into the modern ecumenical movement, especially in the United States. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1922. After studying at Woodstock College in Maryland, he taught at Loyola College in Baltimore before returning to Woodstock to study theology. In 1931 Weigel received his doctorate from the Gregorian University, Rome, which was lin…
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Religion Past and Present
Weigel, Valentin
(363 words)
[German Version] (Aug [?] 7, 1533, Großenheim, near Meißen – Jun 10, 1588, Zschopau) studied theology in Leipzig (from 1554) and Wittenberg (from 1563; he may also have taught there) and served as a pastor in Zschopau from 1567 to 1588. He played a mediating role in the transition from the 16th to the 17th century. By combining Reformation theology (Luther) with ideas from Neoplatonism (Augustine of Hippo, Dionysius Areopagita, Boethius), German mysticism (Meister Eckhart, J. Tauler, Theologia deu…
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Religion Past and Present
Weights and Measures
(1,259 words)
[German Version]
Palestine and the Early Church (Bronze Age to Late Antiquity). In ancient Palestine, as in all ancient cultures, units of weight and measurement cannot be adequately understood as mathematically determined units ¶ in a fixed frame of reference. Differences are found for example between royal and common units. For the Bronze Age the sources are too limited to allow the establishment of a “metric system.” That is possible only from Iron Age II (from 1000/900 bce), though in the Bronze Age similar or equivalent basic units may be used with varying terminolo…
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Religion Past and Present
Weil, Simone
(229 words)
[German Version] (Weill) (Feb 3, 1909, Paris, France – Aug 22, 1943, Ashford, Kent, UK). Admirers have regarded Weil as a special kind of outsider and “saint” for her time. Weil left the École Normale Supérieure to teach and to actively support the trade union movement (Trade Unions). Influenced by K. Marx as well as Greek philosophers, she won the epithet, the “Red Virgin.” A recurring theme of her writing is the pursuit of purity of action in obedience to the demanding example of the crucified G…
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Religion Past and Present
Weimar Republic
(2,212 words)
[German Version]
I. Politics and Culture On Nov 9, 1918 the foundation of a parliamentary and democratic form of government was laid for the first German republic. On Jan 19, 1919, still in the radicalizing phase of the revolution, the National Assembly was elected to draw up a constitution. It included the “Weimar Coalition,” in which Majority Social Democracy, the German Democratic Party and the Center Party formed a majority. On Aug 11, 1919 the Weimar Constitution came into force. It had been larg…
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Religion Past and Present
Weinel, Heinrich
(359 words)
[German Version] (Aug 28, 1874, Vonhausen, Hesse – Sep 29, 1936, Jena) studied Protestant theology from 1892 to 1898 in Gießen and Berlin and at the seminary in Friedberg; his teachers included H. Gunkel and A. v. Harnack. In 1898 he received his Dr.phil. and Lic.theol. at Gießen; in 1899 he received his habilitation in New Testament in Berlin. In 1900 he became a lecturer in Bonn; as a liberal theologian in the tradition of the History of Religions school, he came into conflict with advocates of …
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Religion Past and Present
Weingartner, Peter
(178 words)
[German Version] (Jul 6, 1721, Jedenhofen – Nov 11, 1782, Munich), Jesuit missionary in Chile. Weingartner joined the Jesuits on Feb 16, 1746. He arrived in Santiago in 1748, serving as a pastor. He was deported to Spain in 1767/1768 and returned to his homeland in 1769. From 1769 to 1773 he served as a confessor and pastor in Altötting, Landsberg, Munich, and Ingolstadt. He wrote two important accounts (1769/1770) of the expulsion of the Jesuits from Chile (Munich, Oberdeutsches Archivum Monacense Societatis Jesu [AMSJ], ms. V, 1 and ms. VI 48, 117–121). Michael Müller Bibliography Ed.:
Do…
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Religion Past and Present
Weismann, Christian Eberhard
(150 words)
[German Version] (Weissmann, Weißmann; Sep 2, 1677, Hirsau – May 22, 1747, Tübingen), a Pietist influenced by P.J. Spener, served churches in Calw, Stuttgart, and Tübingen; from 1721 he was professor of theology at Tübingen. His
Introductio in memorabilia ecclesiastica historiae sacrae (1718/1719, 21745) was a substantial contribution to church history. Influenced by G. Arnold, it drew a gloomy picture of the Reformed and Lutheran churches of the 17th century. ¶ Weismann also wrote theological and devotional works, including his anti-Catholic
Grund-Lehren (1729, 21737) and the…
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Religion Past and Present
Weiß
(320 words)
[German Version]
1. Bernhard (Jun 20, 1827, Königsberg [Kaliningrad] – Jan 14, 1918, Berlin) became a lecturer at Königsberg in 1852 and associate professor of New Testament in 1857. In 1863 he was appointed full professor at Kiel; from 1877 to 1908 he taught as a professor in Berlin. After 1880 he also worked in the Prussian Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs. From 1886 he served as president of the Central Committee of the Inland Mission. His commentaries on many books of the NT in the KEK series and his
Lehrbuch der Biblischen Theologie des Neuen Testaments (1868; ET:
Biblical Theol…
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Religion Past and Present
Weisse, Christian Hermann
(203 words)
[German Version] (Aug 10, 1801, Leipzig – Sep 19, 1866, Leipzig) studied philosophy in several places, including Leipzig, where he began lecturing in 1823. From 1828 to 1837 he taught there as associate professor of philosophy; after interruptions, he was ¶ appointed full professor in 1845. Dissociating himself from G.W.F. Hegel, he espoused a nuanced theism (II); especially in I.H. Fichte’s
Zeitschrift für Philosophie und speculative Theologie, he wrote as a late advocate of Idealistic theorizing. In addition, after critical acceptance of D.F. Strauß’s
Leben Jesu, he defended t…
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Religion Past and Present
Weissel, Georg
(173 words)
[German Version] (1590, Domnau, East Prussia [today Domnovo, Russia] – Aug 1, 1635, Königsberg [Kaliningrad]), Protestant pastor and hymnodist. He studied theology at Königsberg and served as a pastor there after 1623. He was a member of the circle of Königsberg poets and musicians around S. Dach and Heinrich Albert. Apart from a few occasional poems, Weissel wrote texts based on the church year and the lectionary, which were set by Johannes Eccard and his student Johann Stobaeus, the cantor of Kö…
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Religion Past and Present
Weiße, Michael
(345 words)
[German Version] (probably 1488, Neiße, Silesia [Nysa, Poland] – Mar 1534, Landskron, Bohemia [Lanškroun, Czech Republic]). Weiße probably matriculated in 1504 at the University of Krakow, became a monk in Breslau (Wrocław), and was ordained to the priesthood. In 1508 he abandoned the monastery and joined the Bohemian Brethren (Bohemian and Moravian Brethren: I; Unitas Fratrum) in Leitomischl (Litomyšl). In 1522 he became the head of the congregations in Landskron and Fulneck, Bohemia (Fulnek). Wi…
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Religion Past and Present
Weiß, Konrad
(397 words)
[German Version] (May 1, 1880, Rauenbretzingen, near Schwäbisch Hall – Jan 4, 1940, Munich), German writer and art critic, whose literary works and meditations on the philosophy of history reflected a conservative Catholic stance. The oldest of ten children of a peasant family, he attended the Catholic boarding school in Ehingen. After passing his
Abitur, he studied theology in Tübingen as well as Germanic philology and art history in Munich and Freiburg im Breisgau. From 1904 to 1920, he was on the editorial staff of the Catholic cultural journal
Hochland; in 1920 he became the art…
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Religion Past and Present