Georg Lorenz Bauer (14 August 1755 – 13 January 1806) was a German

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

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 ...

, and writer on his subject.

Life

Georg Lorenz Bauer was born in

Hiltpoltstein Hiltpoltstein is a market village in the district of Forchheim in Bavaria in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the ...

, a small market town some 25 km (15 miles) to the north-east of

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

. He was born sixth of his parents' eight recorded children. His father, Georg Wolfgang Bauer (1710-1767) was the local Protestant minister: his mother, born Margaretha Salome Drechsel, was the daughter of another Protestant minister. His school career included a period at

St. Lorenz, Nuremberg St. Lorenz (St. Lawrence) is a medieval church of the former free imperial city of Nuremberg in southern Germany. It is dedicated to Saint Lawrence. The church was badly damaged during the Second World War and later restored. It is one of the m ...

where he acquired an early interest in Oriental languages, on which he was able to build after 1772 when he moved on to the

University of Altdorf The University of Altdorf () was a university in Altdorf bei Nürnberg, a small town outside the Free Imperial City of Nuremberg. It was founded in 1578 and received university privileges in 1622 and was closed in 1809 by Maximilian I Joseph of Ba ...

. Here he studied both

Theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

and, possibly with even greater enthusiasm, Oriental Languages under the noted orientalist

Johann Andreas Michael Nagel Johann Andreas Michael Nagel (29 September 1710 – 29 September 1788) was a German Hebrew scholar and Orientalist. Life Nagel was born in Sulzbach, to the east of Nuremberg. He was taught by the local Cantor who later moved on to teach at t ...

. He received his

Magister degree A magister degree (also magistar, female form: magistra; from , "teacher") is an academic degree used in various systems of higher education. The magister degree arose in medieval universities in Europe and was originally equal to the doctorate; ...

in 1775 and a year later was appointed a "Morning preacher" at the St Margaret's Chapel in

Nuremberg Castle Nuremberg Castle () is a group of medieval fortified buildings on a sandstone ridge dominating the historical center of Nuremberg in Bavaria, Germany. The castle, together with the City walls of Nuremberg, city walls, is considered to be one ...

. In 1786 he took a teaching position at the city's St. Sebaldus school, becoming deputy head in 1787. In 1789, following the death in 1788 of

, Bauer was appointed to succeed the mentor from his university days at Altdorf as Professor for

Eloquence Eloquence (from French language, French ''eloquence'' from Latin ''eloquentia'') is the quality of speech or writing that is marked by fluency, elegancy, and persuasiveness. It is also defined as one of the aims of formal oratory and, in this ...

Rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...

, Oriental Languages and

Morality Morality () is the categorization of intentions, Decision-making, decisions and Social actions, actions into those that are ''proper'', or ''right'', and those that are ''improper'', or ''wrong''. Morality can be a body of standards or principle ...

. In 1805 he moved to take up a position at

Heidelberg University Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is Germany's oldest unive ...

as Professor for Oriental Literature and

Biblical criticism Modern Biblical criticism (as opposed to pre-Modern criticism) is the use of critical analysis to understand and explain the Bible without appealing to the supernatural. During the eighteenth century, when it began as ''historical-biblical c ...

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

was being combined into a new

Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as part of the German Empire until 1918. The duchy's 12th-century origins were as a Margravia ...

and Bauer's appointment came as part of a larger reconfiguration of the city's venerable university. Bauer was appointed to the university post despite a warning by Jung-Stilling that he had a "scandalous past", a reference to Bauer's known criticism of religious revelationism. In 1805 Bauer also became "Kirchenrat", an important administrative position in the church locally. On 12 or 13 January 1806, shortly after relocating to Heidelberg, Georg Lorenz Bauer died.

Family

Georg Lorenz Bauer was married to Margaretha Barbara Schütz of Nuremberg. In 1802 four of their ten recorded children were still alive.

Assessment

Bauer was known as an enlightenment theologian who applied historical-critical method, without regard to any pre-existing dogma, to Old and

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

study. His position was that a critical elimination of anything mystical or legendary would bring to light the essential timeless truth of the core universality of the bible.

Publications (not a complete list)

* ''Historisch-kritische Einleitung in das Alte Testament'' 1794 (3rd edition 1806) * ''Theologie des Alten Testaments'' 1796 (with "supplements" 1801) * ''Entwurf einer Hermeneutik des Alten Testaments und NT.'' 1799 * ''Theologie des Neuen Testaments'' 4 Vols., 1800–02 * ''Hebräische Mythologie des Alten Testaments und Neuen Testaments mit Parallelen aus der Mythologie anderer Völker, vornehmlich der # Griechen u. Römer.'' 2 Vols., 1802/03 * ''Biblische Moral des Alten Testaments'' 1803/05 * ''Biblische Moral des Neuen Testaments'', 1804/05 * ''Breviarium theologiae biblicae.'' 1803

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bauer, Georg Lorenz 18th-century German Protestant theologians 19th-century German Protestant theologians Academic staff of the University of Altdorf Academic staff of Heidelberg University 1755 births 1806 deaths 19th-century German male writers 19th-century German writers German male non-fiction writers 18th-century German male writers