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Kircher, Athanasius, * 2 May 1602 (Geisa/Röhn), † 27 Jan 1680 (Rome) Kircher was one of the great universal scholars of the 17th century. His life is well documented in early biographies. His comprehensive education began with his theologian father's homeschooling in music, Latin, geography and mathematics. From his tenth year, Kircher attended a series of Jesuit schools, firstly in Fulda, where he learnt Hebrew from a rabbi, then in Mainz. In 1618 he entered the Jesuit order as a novice in Paderborn, where…

Knorr von Rosenroth, Christian, * 15/16 Jul 1636 (Alt-Raudten/Schlesien), † 4/8 May 1689 (Groß-Albershof bei Sulzbach) Knorr von Rosenroth studied theology, philosophy, medicine, classical and modern languages at the University of Leipzig, from 1655 to 1660. In 1659 he joined the “Deutschgesinnte Genossenschaft” of Philipp von Zesen (1619-1689). From 1663 to 1666 he made an educational journey through the Netherlands, France, and England. In April 1663 he enrolled at the University of Leiden as a student of the…

Literature as the Medium of Revelation, Revelation as Form of Literature Literature, understood in its literal meaning as written text, has always had a central function for religion in the process of revelation and → tradition. At the same time, literature has essentially been motivated and constituted by this function as well. All of the more extensive religious traditions, especially the ‘revelatory religions’ or the ‘religions of the book’ (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), are build upon processes of lit…

Jewish Influences I: Antiquity The nature and extent of contacts between ancient Judaism and the assortment of sources commonly labelled “Gnostic” (or more recently “biblical demiurgical”, see Williams) is one of the most fiercely debated issues in Gnostic studies. This, however, is a relatively new phenomenon. The Church Fathers localized the origins of the Gnostic movement in Palestine (→ Simon Magus, Dositheus), but the adherence to a Gnostic sect was never seen as a relapse to something Jewish. For centuries, → Gnosticism was seen predominantly as a Christian heresy. Modern rese…