Eduard Grafe (1855-1922)

Theologie zwischen biblischer Überlieferung und historischer Kritik

Abstract

Eduard Grafe, born in 1855, was the son of the founder of the first Free Evangelical Church in Germany. He is known as a liberal theologian. Grafe became a university lecturer after his studies. Among his theological positions was the denial that the virgin birth was a „foundation and keystone of Christianity“. He also denied that Jesus instituted the regular celebration of the Eucharist. A differentiated consideration of the categories of faith and history must necessarily lead to a break with the traditions of the Church, even though he saw that „reverence and love“ for Jesus was a pre-condition of this controversy. He also considered the historical-critical theology, which he propagated, to be problematic, because „the historical cannot redeem us“.