Johann Michael Reu

Johann Michael Reu
Born(1869-11-16)November 16, 1869
Diebach, Bavaria, Germany.
DiedOctober 14, 1943(1943-10-14) (aged 73)
NationalityGerman-American
Education
ReligionLutheranism
Offices held
Professor, Wartburg Theological Seminary (1899-1943)

Johann Michael Reu (November 16, 1869 – October 14, 1943) was a German - American Lutheran theologian, author and educator.[1]

Johann Michael Reu was born at Diebach, in Bavaria, Germany. He was the youngest of ten children. His father died when Reu was only two years old. Reu studied from 1887 to 1889 at the nearby Neuendettelsau Mission Institute (Neuendettelsauer Missionsgesellschaft) which had been founded by Wilhelm Loehe in 1841.[2]

He was ordained a Lutheran minister at age 20 and emigrated to the United States, where he first served as an assistant pastor in Mendota, Illinois. He subsequently became pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Rock Falls, Illinois. In 1899, he joined the faculty of Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, where he taught until his death in 1943.[3]

In 1902, Reu became an American citizen. Reu was awarded a Doctorate in Theology from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in 1910 and also received an honorary Doctorate of Literature from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, in 1926. He was a prolific author of 66 books, covering nearly all topics in Christian life, as well as more than 3,000 published book reviews.[4]

The archives of Wartburg Theological Seminary contain Reu's papers, correspondence, sermons, and writings.[5]

  1. ^ "Reu, Johann Michael", Christian Cyclopedia. Concordia Publishing House
  2. ^ "J. Michael Reu on the Christian Life (Craig L. Nessan, Academic Dean and Professor of Contextual Theology at Wartburg Seminary)". Archived from the original on 2014-12-11. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  3. ^ Mark Kvale & Robert C. Wiederaenders, "Who was Johann Michael Reu?" Archived 2015-04-19 at the Wayback Machine, The First Premise.wordpress.com
  4. ^ "J. Michael Reu on the Christian Life"
  5. ^ Nancy Carroll (archivist), Wartburg Theological Seminary Resources, Wartburg Theological Seminary, April 13, 2015