Johann Wilhelm Baier (11 November 1647 – 19 October 1695) was a German theologian in the Lutheran scholastic tradition. He was born at

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 ...

, and died at

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

. He studied

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

, especially Oriental, and

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

at Altdorf from 1664 to 1669, in which year he went to

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

and became a disciple of the celebrated Johannes Musäus, the representative of the middle party in the Syncretistic Controversy, whose daughter he married in 1674. Taking his doctor’s degree the same year, in 1675 he became professor of

church history Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of t ...

at the university, and lectured with great success on several different branches of theology. In 1682 he was chosen to represent the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

side in the negotiations with the

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Catho ...

Nicolas Steno Niels Steensen (; Latinized to Nicolas Steno or Nicolaus Stenonius; 1 January 1638 – 25 November 1686 ) was a Danish scientist, a pioneer in both anatomy and geology who became a Catholic bishop in his later years. He has been beatified ...

, bishop of Titiopolis, for reunion of the Churches. He was three times rector at

before he was called by the elector Frederick III, in 1694, as professor and provisional rector to the new

university of Halle Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...

. Here his devotion to strict

orthodoxy Orthodoxy () is adherence to a purported "correct" or otherwise mainstream- or classically-accepted creed, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical co ...

brought him into conflict with some of his colleagues, and the

pietist Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life. Although the movement is ali ...

ic movement also gave him trouble, so that after a year he was glad to accept the combined positions of chief court preacher, superintendent, and

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

— which, however, he held only a few months until his death. He left a name in the history of theology, especially by his dogmatic compendium, which still preserves the early Protestant traditions among High Lutherans, especially in America. The Jena theologians, and Johannes Musaeus in particular, had been asked by Ernest the Pious to draw up such a work, to take the place of the antiquated Hutter, and Musæus urged his son-in-law to do it. The first edition appeared in 1686, the second, enlarged, in 1691, and it has been frequently reprinted since. It was commended for general use as a textbook by its method, its conciseness, and its absence of mere polemics. It was obviously, however, intended by its author as a vindication of the Jena theology, which had been sharply attacked from Wittenberg, and lay under some suspicion of

syncretism Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various school of thought, schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or religious assimilation, assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the ...

. Its dependence upon Musæus is really the distinguishing feature of the book, which is largely a compilation from him. Baier’s other works include polemical writings against Erbermann, a convert to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

, and against the

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

; and three other compendiums, published after his death (1698), one of exegetical, and one of moral theology, as well as one of the history of dogma. His read significance lies in the fact that he handed on and popularized the theology of Musæus; and his work was continued by Buddeus, whom he left at Halle as professor of moral philosophy.

References

External links

The Works of Johann Wilhelm Baier (1647-1695)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baier, Johann Wilhelm 1647 births 1695 deaths 17th-century writers in Latin German Lutheran theologians Clergy from Nuremberg University of Altdorf alumni Academic staff of the University of Halle 17th-century German Protestant theologians German male non-fiction writers 17th-century German male writers 17th-century Lutheran theologians