Johann Tobias Beck (22 February 1804 in Balingen,

Duchy of Württemberg The Duchy of Württemberg () was a duchy located in the south-western part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was a Imperial Estate, state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1495 to 1803. The dukedom's long survival for over three centuries was mainly du ...

– 28 December 1878 in

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

) was a German

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

Graduating from the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

in 1826, he was ordained a minister, but later accepted an appointment as professor of theology at the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis''; German: ''Universität Basel'') is a public research university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest univ ...

. In 1843 he went to Tübingen, where he filled the same position. He was one of the Tübingen faculty who was strongly opposed to the general radical tendency of that university, under the influence of F. C. Baur, the leader of the so-called Tübingen school. Beck was and remained absolutely orthodox. He was known as a critic of both left and right wing Christian groups in Germany in the 19th century. His polemical style centered around " biblical realism," which considered the scriptures as an integrated system in and of themselves, an unconditional authority over both Enlightenment-style reasoning and ecclesiastical confessions. As for doctrinal science, Beck held that there was no such thing as "speculative knowledge," but only "believing knowledge," which he called ''gnosis''. Anything not biblically given (and believed as such) does not qualify as real knowledge of God. It needs neither human philosophy or churchly synthesis in order to be the truth, though spiritual (''pneumatische'')

exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (philosophy), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern us ...

had its place by virtue of the work of the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

. In such a way, "The scientific theological system should thus reproduce the real life-system of the biblical doctrine, for which the coherent activity of God is central." Claude Welch, ''Protestant Thought in the Nineteenth Century'', New Haven:

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day and Clarence Day, grandsons of Benjamin Day, and became a department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and ope ...

, 1972, v. 1, p. 197.

Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Reformed theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Decl ...

(among others) has responded to J.T. Beck as an important dialogue partner.

Works

*''Einleitung in das System der christlichen Lehre'' (2d ed., Stuttgart 1870) *''Christliche Reden'' (1834-1870) *''Erklärung der zwei Briefe Pauli an Timotheus'' (1879)

English publications

*''Outlines of Biblical Psychology'' (1877) *''Pastoral Theology of the New Testament'' (1885)

Notes

References

* 1804 births 1878 deaths People from Balingen People from the Duchy of Württemberg German Lutheran theologians German male non-fiction writers 19th-century German Protestant theologians 19th-century German male writers University of Tübingen alumni Academic staff of the University of Tübingen Academic staff of the University of Basel {{Germany-academic-bio-stub