Category Archives: Christianity
DIETRICH BONHOEFFER
(1906–1945)
from Ethics: The Last Things and the Things Before the Last
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German Lutheran theologian, was born in Breslau, Germany (now Wroclaw, Poland), the son of a famous psychiatrist. From 1923 to 1927, Bonhoeffer studied theology at the universities of Berlin and Tübingen. He also studied under Reinhold … Continue reading
Filed under Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, Christianity, Europe, Selections, Sin, The Modern Era
PAUL-LOUIS LANDSBERG
(1901-1944)
from The Moral Problem of Suicide
Paul-Louis (also known as Paul-Ludwig) Landsberg was born in Bonn, Germany, in 1901 to a prominent family. Landsberg became a professor of philosophy at the University of Bonn in 1928. He wrote several works on anthropology and German philosophy, … Continue reading
Filed under Christianity, Europe, Landsberg, Paul-Louis, Martyrdom, Selections, Sin, Stoicism, The Modern Era
WILLIAM JAMES
(1842-1910)
from The Principles of Psychology
from Is Life Worth Living?
The son of the eccentric American philosopher Henry James, Sr., who was influenced by Swedenborgianism and Fourierism, and the brother of Henry James, the eminent novelist and literary critic, William James became a major figure in both philosophy and … Continue reading
EDUARD VON HARTMANN
(1842-1906)
from Philosophy of the Unconscious
Born in Berlin in 1842, Karl Robert Eduard von Hartmann initially intended to embark on a military career. However, plagued by a problem with his knee, he turned to philosophy, obtaining a doctorate from the University of Rostock. Hartmann … Continue reading
Filed under Christianity, Europe, Hartmann, Eduard von, Selections, The Modern Era
FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE
(1820-1910)
from Note, Christmas Eve, 1850
from Nightingale’s draft novel
from Draft for Suggestions for Thought to Searchers After Religious Truth (1860)
from Notes on Nursing for the Labouring Classes (1861)
from Note to Benjamin Jowett (c. 1866)
Reflections on George MacDonald’s Novel, Robert Falconer (1868)
Truth and Feeling (1871 or later)
from Notes on Egypt: Mysticism and Eastern Religions
Florence Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy (hence her name), but raised by her wealthy family in England, educated primarily by her father. As a member of the upper class, she was expected to marry, to visit, and to … Continue reading
ANNE LOUISE GERMAINE DE STAËL-HOLSTEIN
(1766-1817)
from On the Influence of the Passions
from Reflections on Suicide
Anne Louise Germaine née Necker, Baroness of Staël-Holstein, widely known as Madame de Staël, was an important Swiss-French writer known for her work in literary criticism and for her novels. She was the daughter of a politician, Jacques Necker; … Continue reading
CALEB FLEMING
(1698-1779)
from A Dissertation Upon the Unnatural Crime of Self-Murder
Caleb Fleming was born in Nottingham and brought up in a Calvinist home. Fleming’s early desire was to enter the ministry; as a boy he learned shorthand in order to write down sermons. However, when Presbyterian minister John Hardy … Continue reading
ISAAC WATTS
(1674-1748)
from A Defense Against the Temptation to Self-Murder
Isaac Watts, regarded as the father of English hymnody, was born in Southampton, England, and studied at the Dissenting Academy at Stoke Newington, now inside London, until 1694. He then became a family tutor to Sir John Hartopp; Watts’ … Continue reading
Filed under Christianity, Europe, Protestantism, Selections, Sin, The Early Modern Period, Watts, Isaac
COTTON MATHER
(1663-1728)
from Memorable Providences Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions
Cotton Mather, son of Increase Mather [q.v.], was born in Boston, graduated from Harvard in 1678, and was ordained in 1685 in the Congregational Church. He assisted and then succeeded his father in the Second Church pastorate, Boston. Although … Continue reading
Filed under Americas, Christianity, Devil, Mather, Cotton, Protestantism, Selections, The Early Modern Period
INCREASE MATHER
(1639-1723)
A Call to the Tempted: A Sermon on the Horrid Crime of Self-Murder
Increase Mather, commonly considered the most gifted member of the prominent Mather family and the first to be born in America, was a religious, educational, and political leader of early Puritan New England. A graduate of Harvard and Trinity … Continue reading