Johann Joachim Spalding
Johann Joachim Spalding (1717–1804) was a master of German Enlightenment theology. With his work in the church, particularly as the highest-ranking representative of Prussian Lutheranism, and in addition with his widely distributed writings on the theology of religion and his much sought-after sermons, he had a definitive impact not only on the practice and theory of piety in his time but also created fundamental prerequisites on which the Protestant church and theology have been drawing up to the present time. Albrecht Beutel explains how Enlightenment theology attained exemplary vividness in Spalding’s life and works. The flexibility of his contemporary loyalty to tradition, the modern potential of his theological theorizing and not least the clear beauty of his language were equally significant when Immanuel Kant declared: “Spalding must be preferred to all others.”