Michael Baumgarten (25 March 1812 – 21 July 1889) was a German

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 ...

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 ...

. Baumgarten was born at Haseldorf in

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

Life

He studied at

Kiel University Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public University, public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ...

(1832), and became professor ''ordinarius'' of theology at

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

(1850). A liberal scholar, he became widely known in 1854 through a work, ''Die Nachtgesichte Sacharjas. Eine Prophetenstimme aus der Gegenwart'', in which, starting from texts in the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

and assuming the tone of a

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

, he discussed topics of every kind. At a pastoral conference in 1856 he boldly defended evangelical freedom as regards the legal sanctity of Sunday. This, with other attempts to liberalize religion, brought him into conflict with the ecclesiastical authorities of

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...

, and in 1858 he was deprived of his professorship. He then travelled throughout Germany, demanding justice, telling the story of his life ("''Christliche Selbstgesprache''", 1861), and lecturing on the life of Jesus ("''Die Geschichte Jesu: für das Verständniss der Gegenwart''", 1859). In 1865 he helped to found the Deutsche Protestantenverein, but withdrew from it in 1877. On several occasions (1874, 1877 and 1878) he sat in the Reichstag as a member of the progressive party.

Other published works

* ''Die Apostelgeschichte, oder, der Entwickelungsgang der Kirche von Jerusalem bis Rom: Ein biblisch-historischer Versuch'', (1852, second edition 1859), translated into English by A. J. W. Morrison as he Acts of the Apostles: or, The history of the church in the Apostolic age 1854.OCLC Classify
published works * ''Doktor

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

, ein Volksbuch'' (1881). Hans Hinrich Studt published his autobiography in 1891 (2 volumes); see also Karl Schwarz, ''Zur Geschichte der neuesten Theologie'' (1856, 4th edition 1869); Frédéric Auguste Lichtenberger, "History of German theology in the nineteenth century" (1889); Paul Zeller, ''Calwer Bibellexikon''.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Baumgarten, Michael 1812 births 1889 deaths People from Pinneberg (district) People from the Duchy of Holstein German Lutheran theologians German Progress Party politicians National Liberal Party (Germany) politicians Members of the 2nd Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the 3rd Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the 4th Reichstag of the German Empire 19th-century German male writers 19th-century German writers University of Kiel alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Academic staff of the University of Rostock German male non-fiction writers 19th-century Lutherans