Bach among the Theologians

by Jaroslav Pelikan

Publisher:

Wipf and Stock

, 2003

Overview

This superb and enduring contribution to the Johann Sebastian Bach tricentennial focuses on Bach’s vocation as a musician of the church and on his work as a theologian. Although Bach is most often remembered for his music, Jaroslav Pelikan here reminds us of the message of Bach’s works and of his understanding and devotion to his vocation within the church. By relating Bach’s work to the heritage of the Lutheran Reformation—musical as well as theological—Pelikan places Bach within the context of the theological currents of his time. Maintaining that the Reformation heritage provides the underlying thematic and religious inspiration for Bach’s work, Pelikan delves into three main movements within Lutheran theology of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as a framework for understanding Bach. He also demonstrates how Bach’s sacred music complements and illustrates these theological trends. In the second portion of the book, Pelikan examines the theological motifs that are reflected in the texts Bach used and in the settings he provided for these texts. The author points to Bach’s particular interest in the meaning of the cross, and to redemption and atonement through the death and resurrection of Christ. He notes the centrality of the “passions” in Bach’s lifework and their importance for the history of the doctrine of atonement. Bach Among the Theologians represents a unique inspirational complement to the many works that concentrate primarily on the composer’s personal or secular life.

Product Details

• Title: Bach among the Theologians
• Author: Jaroslav Pelikan
• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Print Publication Date: 2003
• Logos Release Date: 2013
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750 › Criticism and interpretation; Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750 › Religion; Lutheran Church › Doctrines--History
• ISBNs: 9781597522779, 1597522775
• Resource ID: LLS:BACHTHEOLOGIANS
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-29T22:01:17Z

About Jaroslav Pelikan

Jaroslav Pelikan (1923–2006) (PhD, University of Chicago) was a historian of Christianity, theology, and medieval intellectualism. He received his PhD from the University of Chicago. Throughout his life he held numerous intellectual leadership positions. He was dean of Yale Graduate School from 1973 to 1978, president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, editor of the religious section of Encyclopedia Britannica, a member of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, and founder of the Council of Scholars at the Library of Congress. He was Sterling Professor Emeritus of History at Yale University, where he served on the faculty from 1962 to 1996. Pelikan wrote over 30 books, including Mary Through the Centuries, Jesus Through the Centuries, Whose Bible Is It?, and The Vindication of Tradition.