FRANK, FRANZ HERMANN REINHOLD VON:
German Lutheran; b. at Altenburg (26 m. s. of
Leipsic) Mar. 25, 1827; d. at Erlangen Feb. 7, 1894.
His early life was spent at Zschernitz, and in 1839
he entered the gymnasium of Altenburg,
matriculating in 1845 at the University of Leipsic to study
theology, philosophy and philology (Ph.D., 1850;
licentiate of theology, 1851). There, under the
influence of Harless, Frank underwent an entire
change of views, and from a rationalist he became
an enthusiastic admirer of the Lu-
Early theran confession and of early Prot-
Life. estant theology. In 1851 he became
subrector of a school at Ratzeburg,
and two years later teacher of religion in the gymnasium of Altenburg. In 1857 he was appointed
extraordinary professor of church history and
systematic theology in
Erlangen, and in the following year became ordinary professor; while from
1875 until his death he occupied the chair of systematic theology.
Not only as a theological leader, but also as a
moral character, Frank exercised a far-reaching influence. He was thoroughly convinced of the
truth of his conservative ideas; but deeply rooted
as he
was in Evangelical principles, he still maintained a deep interest in modern life with its aims
and problems, while he was opposed to reactionary
tendencies in ecclesiastical affairs, and to external
authority in political relations. He may be styled
the dogmatician of the "Erlangen theology."
Twice his views were essentially changed-in Leipsic he was won for the old truth, in Erlangen, under
the influence of Hofmann, for the "new mode of
teaching the old truth."
Frank's most characteristic work was his Sys
tem der christlichen Gewissheit (2
vols., Erlangen,
1870-73; 2d ed., 1881-83; Eng. transl. by M. J.
Evans, "System of Christian Certainty," Edin
burgh, 1886). The great question which Frank
attempted to answer in this work was the basis of
belief. The
answer is offered by the positive as
surance of the Christian. The Christian is trans
posed into a new state of life, and into a state of
regeneration and conversion of which he becomes
positively assured. This assurance, however, im
plies also the assurance of an objective cause.
Thus there result three groups of objects of Chris
tian assurance; the immanent objects
Theory of as the effects of the objective cause
Christian inherent in the subject (knowledge
Certitude. of sin; reality of the new life); the
transcendent objects (God as the
supramundane factor, the Trinity; the atoning
God-Man); and the transmittent objects (the
Word, the Sacraments, the Church), or the
historical and concrete media. by which faith
experiences the effect of the supramundane cause.
Each of these three groups is opposed by a development
of modern intellectualism; so that rationalism
denies the reality of the peculiar religious experience
of the Christian; pantheism does away with
the causality of a personal God; and criticism (as
represented by Baur and Strauss) tries to prove the
Church and church life to be merely natural phe
nomena devoid of any specifically inherent trans
cendent causality. According to Frank, the objects
of faith are implied in the assertion of the Ego of the
new man, and he is assured of them according to
the degree of the certainty of that Ego concerning
itself. Having thus acquired the realities of Christian
faith, it is the task of dogmatics, as set forth by
Frank in his
System der christlichen Wahrheit
(2 vols., Erlangen, 1878-80; 3d ed., 1893-94), to
grasp and represent the objects of Christian
faith in their inner connection. Here
Dogmatic Frank no longer starts from sub
System. jective assurance, but from the first
cause of Christian realities, from the
principium essendi, or God. His work accordingly
represents the evolution of the humanity of God.
The first part treats of the "principle of evolution"
and establishes the doctrine of God. The second
part is devoted to the "realization of evolution"
in three divisions: generation (creation, world,
man), degeneration (sin, devil), and regeneration,
the latter comprising the humanity of God as being
realized for the God-Man; the humanity of God
as
posited in the God-Man; -arad the humanity
of God as evolving from the God-Man, that is
(a) the humanity of God as the object of becoming
(the means of grace);
(b) the humanity of God as the subject of becoming (the order of salvation);
and (c) the humanity of God as the object-subject
of becoming (the Church). The third part describes
the "aim of becoming," or eschatology.
The life-work of Frank as a systematic theologian
found its completion in his
System der christlichen
Sittlichksit (2 vols., Erlangen, 1884-87; Eng. transl.,
System of the Christian Certainty,
Edinburgh, 1886.) The leading point of view in this work is the "evolution
ofthe God-Man." Frank attacked the theology
of Ritschl in his
Ueber die kirchliche Bedeutung
der Theologie A. Ritschls (Leipsic, 1888), arid
Zur Theologie A. Ritschls (3d. ed., 1891); and he also wrote
Evangelische Schulreden (Altenburg, 1856);
Die Theologie der Concordienformel
(4 vols., Erlangen, 1858-65);
Aus dem Leben christlicher Frouen
(Gii tersloh, 1873);
Dogmatische Studien (Leipsic, 1892);
Vademeeum für angehende Theologen
(1892); and
Geschichte und Kritik der neueren Theologie
(1894; 3d ed., 1898).
(R. Seeberg.)
Bibliography:
B.. Seeberg, F. H. R. von Frank; sin Godenkblatl, Leipsic, 1894; J. Gottechiek, Die Kirchlicdkeit
der eogenannten
kircklirhen
Theologie, pp. 110 sqq., Freiburg, 1890; F. Nippold, Handbuch der neueeten Kirdeengeschichte, iii., part 1, pp. 495 sqq., Berlin, 1890; O.
PHeidrrer, Die Entuicklung der protestantisdaen Theologfe
aeit Rant, pp. 183 sqq., Freiburg, 1891; G. Daxer, Der
Subjektivismus in Franks '-System der chrisaichen Getoieeheit"
Gütersloh, 1900; F. K. E. Weber, F. H. R. non
Franks GoUeelehre, Leipsic, 1001.
