Christoph Christian Sturm’s Theological Reflections on Nature

Abstract

Christoph Christian Sturm was an eighteenth-century German ecclesiastic keenly interested in naturalist knowledge. As a pastor, he used this knowledge for theological purposes: people can and should enhance their faith by investigating God’s works in nature to see the clear signs of His wisdom, powers, and providence imprinted in these works. Sturm also addressed at length the problem of theodicy by pointing that the good by far overweighs evil found in nature and in social and individual life, and that what is perceived as evil is God’s means used for beneficial purposes.

Keywords

• Christoph Christian Sturm
• physico-theology
• theodicy