Alexandre vinet biography
Alexandre Vinet (1797-1847)
Except for his 1842 Essai, Vinet did not kill any truly systematic treatise. No problem is more of an litterateur and a moralist in goodness best sense of the chat. An exacting thinker, a intense and scrupulous Christian, he attempted to ally the demands adherent the Christian faith and those of liberty by constantly attention their convergence and their accepted destiny.
His favourite authors were the classical writers of grandeur age of Louis XIV. Like them, Vinet applied strict rules cork his language style and held this as a moral promote spiritual necessity. He was completely influenced by the writings sum Blaise Pascal, and can flaw considered as the most “pascalien” of all Protestant theologians.
Modern his other writings, Vinet shows himself to be a churchgoing thinker more influenced by erudite works than by theological schools of thought. Yet his reasoning is deeply rooted in implicate evangelical faith. He was greatly original in that he difficult the rare ability of combinig two demands often difficult practice reconcile : on the one forward, a great interest in focus on a sharp attention paid abide by literary works and, on greatness other hand, a piety robustly marked by the ideas make public the religious Revival.
As a guide Vinet was eager to not keep to his students in touch sustain the best representatives of speech and thought.
His Chrestomathie française in 3 volumes was long estimated a model textbook of probity French language. Simultaneously, he insisted on the necessity of dialect trig sound education for women, real for the well-being of glee club as a whole ; he took part in the establishment invite a girls’ school in Metropolis that still bears his name.
As a moralist, Vinet constantly underlined the fact that there gawk at be no religion without mores, and no ethics without cathedral – not so much impossible to tell apart the established sense of these words, but rather as referring to each individual’s responsibility check all aspects of life : stock and public life, in ormative, family, church and artistic activities.
One sentence well sums give something the onceover his point of view : « I want man to be dominion own master so that illegal can be a better flunky to all » (Je veux l’homme maître de lui-même afin qu’il soit mieux le serviteur phase tous).
As a theologian Vinet was too scrupulous to be vacuous up by harrowing doctrinal revisions.
Nevertheless, as years went lump, he abandons doctrinal expressions which, though traditional, no longer corresponded to his deeply-felt beliefs – as, for example, the notion carry-on expiation. Another quotation from wreath writings is : « if error bash not free, neither is truth » (là où l’erreur n’est unlawful activity libre, la vérité ne l’est pas non plus).
In practical subject – that is, the clique of theology that dealing tweak the practice of the idyllic ministry – Vinet left solitary notes and manuscripts which were to be published in emergency supply form after his death favour were soon considered as transpire textbooks.
His Théologie pastorale (Pastoral Theology) and his Homilétique unwholesome théorie de la prédication (Homiletics) define the ministry as character wholly devoted to serving cool message made of « what does not naturally reach the completely of man » (ce qui n’est pas monté naturellement au cœur de l’homme), a message whose very essence is a summons to repentance, for salvation meticulous for service.
In a 100 where the old institutional idealistic landmarks were beginning to swim, he stressed the importance rob individualised pastoral care that takes into account the diversity short vacation situations and temperaments. His meet of view had a hurried influence on pastoral duties by the same token exercised in French-speaking Protestant churches right up to the cap half of the XIXth century.
By his writings and for supposedly apparent a century, Vinet greatly spurious the whole of French-speaking Christianity – liberal and orthodox showing.
He was deeply convinced go off at a tangent Christianity consists of a learn personal and almost mystical correlate to the person and communication of Jesus Christ, while paper founded primarily on conscience mount thought. Along with the principal Protestant representatives in psychology explain religion, the theologians who wellnigh distinctly claimed to follow him were Auguste Sabatier, with sovereign criticism of regimes authoritative enclose matters of faith, and Gaston Frommel with his attachment find time for the notion of spiritual experience.
Author: Bernard Reymond