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A Study of the Life and Thought of Samuel Heinrich Froehlich

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A Study of the Life and Thought of Samuel Heinrich Froehlich University of Windsor Scholarship at UWindsor Electronic Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Major Papers 1-1-1998 A study of the life and thought of Samuel Heinrich Froehlich. K. Daniel Jahn University of Windsor Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd Recommended Citation Jahn, K. Daniel, "A study of the life and thought of Samuel Heinrich Froehlich." (1998). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 6923. https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/6923 This online database contains the full-text of PhD dissertations and Masters’ theses of University of Windsor students from 1954 forward. These documents are made available for personal study and research purposes only, in accordance with the Canadian Copyright Act and the Creative Commons license—CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivative Works). Under this license, works must always be attributed to the copyright holder (original author), cannot be used for any commercial purposes, and may not be altered. Any other use would require the permission of the copyright holder. Students may inquire about withdrawing their dissertation and/or thesis from this database. For additional inquiries, please contact the repository administrator via email ([email protected]) or by telephone at 519-253-3000ext. 3208. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has bean reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. Bell & Howell Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. A Study of the Life and Thought of Samuel Hoinrich Frohlich By K. Daniel Jahn A Thaais Subsuttad to tha Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research through the Department of Religious Studies Zn Partial Fulfil leant of the Requirements for The Degree of Master of Arts at the University of Windsor Windsor, Ontario, Canada 1998 © 1998 K. Daniel Jahn Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. National Library Bibliothdque nationals M of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographic Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395. rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your O f Venn tH im oem Our H i Notrt rtN nnci The author has granted a non­ L ’auteur a accorde une Ucence non exclusive Ucence allowing the exclusive permettant a la National Library o f Canada to BibUotheque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, preter, distribuer ou copies o f this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette these sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format electronique. The author retains ownership o f the L ’auteur conserve la propriete du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d’auteur qui protege cette these. thesis nor substantial extracts from N it i la these ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de ceUe-ci ne doivent etre imprimes reproduced without the author’ s ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. 0-612-52576-7 CanadS Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Approvj y: Dr. Dietmar Lage -/Advisor Religious Studies Pro - Outside Reader Social' Dr. Barry Bird - Chair Classical and Modem Languages, Literature and Civilizations Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Abstract This is an historical/theological study of tha lifa and thought of Saaual Hainrich Frohlich (1803-1857). Frohlich was a 19th. cantury Swiss pastor who laft tha Rafonaad (Calvinist) Church and became an Anabaptist. This act was mora than simply a changa in church membership. Frohlich ranouncad Reformed, Protastantism for tha "radical" thaology of tha Anabaptists. Frohlich 'a activities lad to tha formation of a naw late-Anabaptist denomination. This project will examine Frohlich1 s personal and theological development as ha made this transition and will demonstrate how this transition shaped tha character of this naw denomination. A primary focus will be tha notion of non-resistance and pacifism in tha denomination. This research does not focus upon one particular question. Part One of this work will consist of a survey of tha historical context of Frohlich and his movement. Part Two will be an analysis of Frdhlich's writing. Tha method utilised to analyse Frdhlich's writing will be to classify or locate his thought within traditional, sy stasia tic, theological categories, by comparing his work to representative Anabaptist, Roman Catholic, and Protestant theology. iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Dedication This projsct would not havo boon posiblo without tho unwovoring support (ond occasional admonishaant: "you had bottor not quit") of my doar wifo and bost friond Linda. I an also in a way thankful for littlo Natalia's diversions during sono vary long and todious two-fingorod typing sessions, (road-it book, pleees) . I would bo remiss if I did not mention the example of my parents, Karl and Esther Jahn. iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Acknowledgements This should be s lsngthy list sines I have bssn assistsd by so many on this projset. I would first liks to msntion ay thssis committss, sspsoially Dr. Distaar Lags ay thssis advisor whoss constant probing and qusstioning of ay work kspt as "on ths straight and narrow". I aa grataful to Dr. Norman King for thoss insights into ths thsologieal enterprise that he shared with his students in his classes. Prof. Bernie Krosksr was especially helpful and unselfish with his time and suggestions. I appreciate Dr. Harry Bird's willingness to chair the thesis defense. I feel it is important to mention the assistance of Dr. Edward Crowely in Latin translation and my father, Karl Jahn for assistance in German translation. While not directly involved with this project, the skills taught by Dr. Dorothy Sly and Dr. Pam Milne were invaluable in that they taught me to research and read carefully, with an open mind. I feel it is also appropriate to mention others like Walter Laubli, Perry Klopfenstein, Delbert Grata, Alex Ledenac, Victor Kliewer, and others whoa Z have regretably forgotten to aention, but who in many ways probably unknown to themselves, assisted me greatly in this project. v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents Approval Page ix Abstract iii Dedication iv Acknowledgements v Chapter: Introduction 1 PART ONE: I. Historical Background of Samuel Frohlich and his Era The Swiss Reformation 9 Switzerland and the Anabaptists 10 The Anabaptists and the State Church 11 The Impact of the French Revolution on Switzerland 17 The Helvetic Republic in Switzerland 21 Samuel Heinrich Frohlich 24 Frohlich and the Mennonites 34 Persecution of the Anabaptists 38 Persecution of the Evangelical Baptists 40 Frohlich's Personal Circumstances 42 Denominational Growth - Overview 43 North America 44 II The Nazerenes of Eastern Europe 48 Nonresistance and Pacifism smong the Nazerenes 49 Anabaptist Nonresistance and Pacifism 50 Nazerenes and Nonresistance in Hungary 53 Nazerenes and Nonresistance in Yugoslavia 55 PART TWO: III Anabaptist Theology and the Traditional Systesuitic Theological Categories Introduction 59 Frbhlich' s Theological Anthropology 64 Body, Soul and Spirit 66 Frbhlich and Hubmaier on Body, Soul and Spirit 68 The Nature of Sin in Frbhlich and Manno Simons 69 Sin Categorised 73 Culpability of Sin in Children 76 vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. IV Soteriology Anabaptists on Baptism 81 Roman Catholic and Protestant Baptism 84 Tha Biblical Foundation for Infant Baptism 87 Frdhlich and tha Anabaptists on tha Baptism of Infants 89 Graca and Baptism 93 Frohlich's Baptismal Practices 96 Tha Brethren Influence on Froehlich 98 V Frohlich's Doctrine of God Theology 103 Simons and Frdhlich on the Trinity 104 Simons and Frdhlich on Christology
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