Johann Baptista Baltzer (16 June 1803 – 1 October 1871) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Catholic

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

Biography

He was born at

Andernach Andernach () is a town in the district of Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, of about 30,000 inhabitants. It is situated towards the end of the ''Neuwied basin'' on the left bank of the Rhine between the former tiny fishing village ...

, and studied at the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

, which he left in 1827. After his ordination to the priesthood in 1829, he received a degree of D.D. from the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

in 1830, and also was made professor of theology at the

University of Breslau A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

in that year. He was at first an enthusiastic follower of

Georg Hermes Georg Hermes (22 April 1775, Dreierwalde – 26 May 1831, Bonn) was a German Roman Catholic theologian who advocated a rational approach to theology. During his lifetime, his theology was greatly in vogue in Germany, but declined after the posthum ...

in his attempt to reconcile the newer German philosophy with the Roman Catholic teaching, but definitely broke with his school in 1839 and associated himself with the speculations of

Anton Günther Anton Günther (17 November 1783, Lindenau, Bohemia (now part of Cvikov, Czech Republic) – 24 February 1863, Vienna) was an Austrian Roman Catholic philosopher whose work was condemned by the church as heretical tritheism. His work has been ...

. In 1853 he went to Rome at the request of Cardinal Schwarzenberg for the purpose of preventing the proposed condemnation by the pope of Günther's writings. After the papal condemnation of Günther's teachings, Baltzer submitted indeed, but his independent spirit led him into further difficulties. The Holy See requested him to relinquish his professorship, but he would not resign, though he discontinued his lectures. His decision was approved by the ecclesiastical authorities of Berlin, but his protest against the Vatican resulted in his suspension in 1862. Baltzer was a strenuous opponent of the definition of

papal infallibility Papal infallibility is a Dogma in the Catholic Church, dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Saint Peter, Peter, the Pope when he speaks is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "in ...

and was a promoter of the

Old Catholic The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches, or Old Catholic movement, designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the Great C ...

movement in

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

. For his life, consult Friedberg (Leipzig, 1873) and Meltzer (Bonn, 1877), both favouring Baltzer's attitude, and Franz (Berlin, 1873), representing the other side.

Writings

* ''Hinweisungen auf den Grundcharakter des Hermesischen Systems'' (“Pointing out the fundamental characteristics of Hermes' system,” Bonn, 1832) * ''Beiträge zur Vermittelung eines richtigen Urtheils über Katholicismus und Protestantismus'' (“Contributions to the procurement of a correct judgment of Catholicism and Protestantism,” 2 vols., Breslau, 1839–40) This work reflects his partial conversion to Günther's teachings. * ''Die biblische Schöpfungsgeschichte'' (“The Biblical story of creation,” two volumes, 1867–73) * ''Ueber die Anfänge der Organismen'' (“On the beginnings of organisms,” fourth edition, 1869)

Notes

Dwight Schrute refers to him in season 8 of "The Office".

References

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baltzer, Johann Baptista 1803 births 1871 deaths People from Andernach 19th-century German Catholic theologians 19th-century German male writers 19th-century German writers University of Bonn alumni Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni Academic staff of the University of Breslau German male non-fiction writers