The Irish Ecclesiastical Record, Volume 1, June 1865
Religion
The Irish Ecclesiastical Record, Volume 1, June 1865
Catholic Church -- Ireland -- Periodicals; Catholic Church -- Periodicals
in the school of Schleiermacher and Hegel, he escaped the pernicious
influence of his masters by a profound course of historical studies. On
the one hand, he combated the rationalistic exegesis of Paulus, and on
the other, devoted himself with all his might to the study of the Fathers.
He was a man of great piety; and in preparing M. Laemmer for confirmation,
spoke with such unction of God and the world, man and sin, Christ and
salvation, that his words wrought in the young student's soul a blessed
reaction. An intimate and affectionate relationship sprang up between the
two, which was interrupted in the middle of 1851 by Lehnerdt's departure
for Berlin, where he succeeded Neander as professor of history, but was
resumed again at a later period in that city.
M. Laemmer passed from the gymnasium to the university of Koenigsberg
at Easter, 1852. He remained there but one year, during which time he
acted as secretary to Voigt, whose able _History of Gregory VII._ was the
beginning of a new epoch for ecclesiastical history in Germany. One of
the professors of philosophy was Rosenkranz, the pupil and biographer
of Hegel. This able man was an eloquent partisan of Hegelianism, and
by the poetic colouring he contrived to throw around its doctrines,
exercised an extraordinary influence over the youth of the university.
M. Laemmer tells us that during a fever which at this time brought him
to death's door, one of his keenest regrets was his inability to attend
Rosenkranz's lectures. He made up for his absence from lecture by a
careful study of his professor's writings, and completely adopted the
views expressed therein. It was long before he was able to shake off
the yoke of Hegelianism which he then assumed. In the university,
Biblical literature was treated altogether from the rationalistic
point of view. One of the fruits of this method is the isolated and
independent study of various parts of Sacred Scripture. "It was reserved
for Protestantism", says M. Laemmer, "to cultivate in minute detail
what is called Biblical Theology, and to write volumes upon the doctrine
of such and such an apostle in particular.... This anatomical process,
this study of atoms, has led many to apply those fine theories to various
periods of Church history, and, like certain heretics of the middle ages,
to speak of the Christianity of St. Peter, and of the Christianity of St.
Paul, not excluding by any means that of St. John" (pp. 47, 48).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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