G.A. Deissmann (1866-1937): An analysis of an academic and theological outsider in Wilhelmine and Weimar Germany and his diverse, pioneering contributions

Abstract

Gustav Adolf Deissmann was a German theologian who gained international repute during his lifetime for his pioneering contributions in the widely divergent fields of postclassical Greek philology, lexicography, the archaeological excavations of Ephesus, international conciliation and the ecumenical movement. He was the recipient of many national and international distinctions, including eight honorary doctorates from six different countries, and was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Price. Yet until recent years this internationally influential academic has been almost completely overlooked by modern scholarship, and although an upsurge of interest in Deissmann has occurred during the past decade - driven primarily by research from German theological Faculties - this has tended to stereotype him far too narrowly as an ecumenist. Until now, the lack of a broadly contextualised and balanced evaluation of Deissmann's life and work has had the effect of limiting or even distorting our views of some important aspects in the history of classical scholarship, the history of Germany's 20th century socio-religious development, the history of the archaeological excavation of Ephesus and in the history of the international ecumenical movement. However, this dissertation seeks to redress these deficiencies, by developing the central thesis that Deissmann has played a pivotal role in several wholly different fields of scholastic inquiry and that it is, therefore, high time that both the man himself and his extraordinary contributions be properly recognised.