Ferdinand Christian Baur (June 21, 1792 – December 2, 1860) was a
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
theologian and leader of the
Tübingen school of
theologyThe term "theology" literally means the study of God, deriving from the Greek word theos, meaning 'God', and the suffix -ology from the Greek word logos meaning "discourse", "theory", or "reasoning"...
(named for University of Tübingen). Following Hegel's theory of
dialecticDialectic is a method of argument, which has been central to both Eastern and Western philosophy since ancient times. The word "dialectic" originates in Ancient Greece, and was made popular by Plato's Socratic dialogues...
, Baur argued that
2nd century ChristianityEarly Christianity is commonly known as the Christianity of the roughly three centuries between the Crucifixion of Jesus and the First Council of Nicaea in 325....
represented the synthesis of two opposing theses: Jewish Christianity and
Pauline ChristianityPauline Christianity is a term used to refer to a branch of Early Christianity associated with the beliefs and doctrines espoused by Paul the Apostle through his writings. Most of orthodox Christianity relies heavily on these teachings and considers them to be amplifications and explanations of the...
. In the field of
higher criticismHistorical criticism or higher criticism is a branch of literary analysis that investigates the origins of a text: as applied in biblical studies it investigates the books of the Bible and compares them to other texts written at the same time, before, or recently after the text in question...
, he proposed a late date for the
pastoral epistlesThe three pastoral epistles are books of the canonical New Testament: the First Epistle to Timothy the Second Epistle to Timothy , and the Epistle to Titus. They are presented as letters from Paul of Tarsusto Timothy and to Titus...
.
German Protestant theologian Adolf Hilgenfeld followed Baur's lead and edited the Tübingen School's journal, though he was less radical than Baur. A patristic scholar and philosopher at Tübingen, Albert Schwegler, gave the school's theories their most vigorous expression. The school's influence peaked in the 1840s, and was finally abandoned early in the 20th century.
Baur's views were revolutionary and often extreme; but, whatever may be thought of them, he rendered great service to theological science. "One thing is certain: New Testament study, since his time, has had a different colour" (H.S. Nash). He had a number of followers, who in many cases have modified his positions, as his groundwork continues to be built upon into the 21st century.
Early years
Baur was born at Schmiden, near Cannstatt.
After training at the theological seminary of
BlaubeurenBlaubeuren is a town in the district of Alb-Donau near Ulm in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.It has 11.963 inhabitants as of December 2007.-Coat of arms:...
, he went in 1809 to the University of Tübingen. Here he studied for a time under Ernst Bengel, grandson of the eminent
New TestamentThe New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christian Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament, both terms being associated with Supersessionism...
criticThe word critic comes from the Greek , "able to discern", which in turn derives from the word , meaning a person who offers reasoned judgment or analysis, value judgment, interpretation, or observation...
,
Johann Albrecht BengelJohann Albrecht Bengel , Lutheran pietist clergyman and scholar, was born at Winnenden in Württemberg, Germany.-Life and career:...
, and at this early stage in his career he seems to have been under the influence of the old Tübingen school. But at the same time the philosophers Immanuel Fichte and Friedrich Schelling were creating a wide and deep impression. In 1817 Baur returned to the theological seminary at Blaubeuren as professor. This move marked a turning-point in his life, for he now set to work on the investigations on which his reputation rests. He had already, in 1817, written a review of G Kaiser's
Biblische Theologie for Bengel's
Archiv für Theologie (ii. ?656); its tone was moderate and conservative.
Early works
When, a few years after, his appointment at Blaubeuren, he published his first important work,
Symbolik und Mythologie oder die Naturreligion des Altertums ("Symbol and mythology: the natural religion of Antiquity", 1824-1825), it became evident that he had made a deeper study of
philosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing these questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on reasoned...
, and had come under the influence of Schelling and more particularly of
Friedrich SchleiermacherFriedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher was a German theologian and philosopher known for his impressive attempt to reconcile the criticisms of the Enlightenment with traditional Protestant orthodoxy. He also became influential in the evolution of Higher Criticism...
. The learning of the work was fully recognized, and in 1826 the author was called to Tübingen as professor of theology. It is with Tübingen that his greatest literary achievements are associated. His earlier publications here treated of
mythologyMythology is the study of myths and or of a body of myths. For example, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece. The term "myth" is often used colloquially to refer to a false story;...
and the history of
dogmaDogma is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, ideology or any kind of organization: it is authoritative and not to be disputed, doubted or diverged from. The term derives from Greek "that which seems to one, opinion or belief" and that from , "to think, to suppose, to imagine"...
.
Das manichäische Religionssystem ("The
ManichaeanManichaeism was one of the major Iranian Gnostic religions, originating in Sassanid Persia. Although most of the original writings of the founding prophet Mani have been lost, numerous translations and fragmentary texts have survived...
religious system") appeared in 1831,
Apollonius von TyanaApollonius of Tyana was a Greek Neopythagorean philosopher and teacher. He hailed from the town of Tyana in the Roman province of Cappadocia in Asia Minor. A contemporary of Jesus of Nazareth, the life and wandering mission of Apollonius is often compared to his.After his lifetime, Apollonius'...
in 1832,
Die christliche Gnosis ("Christian
GnosisGnosis is the spiritual knowledge of a saint or mystically enlightened human being. In the cultures of the term gnosis was a special knowledge or insight into the infinite, divine and uncreated in all and above all, rather than knowledge strictly into the finite, natural or material world which...
") in 1835, and
Uber das Christliche im Platonismus oder Socrates und Christus ("On Christianity in Platonism: Socrates and Christ") in 1837. As
Otto PfleidererOtto Pfleiderer was a German Protestant theologian.-Biography:He was born at Stetten in Württemberg. From 1857 to 1861 he studied at the University of Tübingen under FC Baur, and afterwards in England and Scotland...
(Pflederer 1890 p. 285) observes, "the choice not less than the treatment of these subjects is indicative of the large breadth of view and the insight of the historian into the
comparative history of religionComparative religion is a field of religious study that analyzes the similarities and differences of themes, myths, rituals and concepts among the world's religions...
."
Simon Magus and Paul
Ferdinand Christian Baur, the founder of the "Tübingen School" of New Testament criticism, rested his ideas about the New Testament on the Clementines, and his ideas about the Clementines on St. Epiphanius, who found the writings used by an Ebionite sect in the 4th century. This Judeo-Christian sect at that date rejected St. Paul as an apostate. It was assumed that this 4th century opinion represented the Christianity of the Twelve Apostles; Paulinism was originally a heresy, and a schism from the Jewish Christianity of James and Peter and the rest; Marcion was a leader of the Pauline sect in its survival in the 2nd century, using only the Pauline Gospel, St. Luke (in its original form), and the Epistles of St. Paul (without the Pastoral Epistles). The Clementine literature had its first origin in the Apostolic Age, and belonged to the original Jewish, Petrine, legal Church. It is directed wholly against St. Paul and his sect.
Simon MagusSimon Magus , also known as Simon the Sorcerer and Simon of Gitta, was a Samaritan proto-Gnostic and traditional founder of the Simonians in the first century A.D...
never existed; it is a nickname for St. Paul. The Acts of the Apostles, compiled in the second century, have borrowed their mention of Simon from the earliest form of the Clementines. Catholicism under the presidency of Rome was the result of the adjustment between the Petrine and Pauline sections of the Church in the second half of the second century. The Fourth Gospel is a monument of this reconciliation, in which Rome took a leading part, having invented the fiction that both Peter and Paul were the founders of her Church, both having been martyred at Rome, and on the same day, in perfect union.
Throughout the middle of the 19th century this theory, in many forms, was dominant in Germany. The demonstration, mainly by English scholars, of the impossibility of the late dates ascribed to the New Testament documents (four Epistles of St. Paul and the Apocalypse were the only documents generally admitted as being of early date), and the proofs of the authenticity of the Apostolic Fathers and of the use of St. John's Gospel by Justin, Papias, and Ignatius gradually brought Baur's theories into discredit. Of the original school, Adolf Hilgenfeld may be considered the last survivor (died 1907). He was induced many years ago to admit that Simon Magus was a real personage, though he persists that in the Clementines he is meant for St. Paul. To a priori critics it counts as nothing that Simon holds no Pauline doctrine and that the author shows no signs of being a Judæo-Christian. In 1847 Hilgenfeld dated the original nucleus (Kerygmata Petrou) soon after the Jewish war of 70; successive revisions of it were anti-Basilidian, anti-Valentinian, and anti-Marcionite respectively. Baur placed the completed form, ‘‘H’’, soon after the middle of the 2nd century, and Schliemann (1844) agreed, placing ‘‘R’’, as a revision, between 211 and 230. Other writers dated both ‘‘H’’ and ‘‘R’’ to between the 2nd and 4th centuries:
- R. 2nd century: Sixtus Senensis, Blondellus, Nourri, Cotelerius, Natalis Alexander, Cave, Oudin, Heinsius, Rosenmüller, Flügge, Gieseler, Friedrich Tholuck
Friedrich August Gottreu Tholuck , known as August Tholuck, was a German Protestant theologian and church leader....
, Bretschneider, Engelhardt, Gfrörer.
- R. 2nd or 3rd century: Schröck, Stark, Lumper, Krabbe, Locherer, Gersdorf.
- R. 3rd century: Strunzius (on Bardesanes, 1710), Weismann (17l8), Mosheim, Kleuker, Schmidt (Kirchengesch.)
- R. 4th century: Corrodi, Lentz (Dogmengesch.).
- H. 2nd century (beginning): Credner, Bretschneider, Kern, Rothe.
- H. 2nd century: Clericus, Beausobre, Flügge, Münscher, Hoffmann, Döllinger, Hilgers; (middle of 2nd) Hase.
- H. end of 2nd century: Schröck, Cölln, Gieseler (3rd ed.), Schenkel, Gfrörer, Lücke.
- H. 3rd century: Mill, Mosheim, Gallandi, Gieseler (2nd ed.).
- H. 2nd or 3rd century: Neander, Krabbe, Baur, Ritter, Paniel, Dähne.
- H. 4th century: Lentz.
Hegel's influence
Meantime Baur had exchanged one master in philosophy for another, Schleiermacher for
Georg HegelGeorg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was a German philosopher, one of the creators of German Idealism, and along with Immanuel Kant, one of the most influential philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment....
. In doing so, he had adopted completely the Hegelian philosophy of history. "Without philosophy," he has said, "history is always for me dead and dumb." The change of view is illustrated clearly in the essay, published in the
Tübinger Zeitschrift for 1831, on the Christ-party in the Corinthian Church,
Die Christuspartei in der korinthischen Gemeinde, der Gegensatz des paulinischen und petrinischen in der ältesten Kirche, den Apostel Petrus in Rom, the trend of which is suggested by the title. Baur contends that the apostle
PaulPaul of Tarsus, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul, or Saint Paul, Paul of Tarsus, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul, or Saint Paul, Paul of Tarsus, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul, or Saint Paul, ...
was opposed in
CorinthCorinth, or Korinth Corinth, or Korinth Corinth, or Korinth (Greek Κόρινθος, Kórinthos is a city in Greece. In antiquity it was a city-state, on the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnesus to the mainland of Greece. To the west of the isthmus lies the Gulf of...
by a Jewish Christian party which wished to set up its own form of Christian religion instead of his universal Christianity. He found traces of a keen conflict of parties in the post-apostolic age, which have passed into the mainstream of Early Christian historiography.
Pauline epistles
The theory is further developed in a later work (1835, the year in which
David StraussDavid Friedrich Strauss was a German theologian and writer. He scandalized Christian Europe with his portrayal of the "historical Jesus," whose divine nature he denied. His work was connected to the Tübingen School, which revolutionized study of the New Testament, early Christianity, and ancient...
'
Leben Jesu was published),
Über die sogenannten Pastoralbriefe. In this Baur attempts to prove that the false teachers mentioned in the
Second Epistle to TimothyThe Second Epistle to Timothy is one of the three Pastoral Epistles, traditionally attributed to Saint Paul, and is part of the New Testament.-Composition:...
and
Epistle to TitusThe Epistle to Titus is one of the three Pastoral Epistles , traditionally attributed to Saint Paul, and is part of the New Testament. It describes the requirements and duties of elders and bishops.-Composition:...
are the
GnosticsGnosticism refers to diverse, syncretistic religious movements in antiquity consisting of various belief systems generally united in the teaching that humans are divine souls trapped in a material world created by an imperfect god, the demiurge; this being is frequently identified with the...
, particularly the Marcionites, of the 2nd century, and consequently that the Pastoral Epistles were produced in the middle of the 2nd century in opposition to Gnosticism.
He next proceeded to investigate other
Pauline epistlesThe Pauline epistles, Epistles of Paul, or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen New Testament books which have the name Paul as the first word, hence claiming authorship by Paul the Apostle. Among these letters are some of the earliest extant Christian documents...
and the
Acts of the ApostlesThe Acts of the Apostles is the fifth book of the New Testament. It is commonly referred to as Acts and outlines the history of the Apostolic Age...
in the same manner, publishing his results in 1845 under the title
Paulus, der Apostel Jesu Christi, sein Leben und Wirken, seine Briefe und seine Lehre. In this he contends that only the Epistle to Galatians,
FirstThe First Epistle to the Corinthians, also known as First Corinthians, is the seventh book of the New Testament. The book, originally written in Greek, was a letter from Paul of Tarsus and Sosthenes to the Christians of Corinth, Greece....
and
Second Epistle to the CorinthiansThe Second Epistle to the Corinthians, also known as Second Corinthians, is the 8th book of the New Testament. The book, originally written in Greek, is a letter from Paul of Tarsus to the Christians of Corinth, Greece.-Composition:...
and
Epistle to the RomansThe Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans, also known as Romans, is the sixth book in the New Testament. Biblical scholars agree that it was written by the Apostle Paul to explain that Salvation is offered through the Gospel of Jesus Christ...
are genuinely Pauline, and that the Paul of the
Acts of the ApostlesThe Acts of the Apostles is the fifth book of the New Testament. It is commonly referred to as Acts and outlines the history of the Apostolic Age...
is a different person from the Paul of these genuine Epistles, the author being a Paulinist who, with an eye to the different parties in the Church, is at pains to represent Peter as far as possible as a
PaulinistPauline Christianity is a term used to refer to a branch of Early Christianity associated with the beliefs and doctrines espoused by Paul the Apostle through his writings. Most of orthodox Christianity relies heavily on these teachings and considers them to be amplifications and explanations of the...
and Paul as far as possible as a
PetrinistMany Christians believe that the apostle Peter had no special importance in the church. They cite Luke 22:24 in evidence, to show that, even at the Last Supper, the disciples themselves were unaware that Jesus had made any distinction between them regarding their importance...
.
Early Christian conflicts
Baur was prepared to apply his theory to the whole of the
New TestamentThe New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christian Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament, both terms being associated with Supersessionism...
; in the words of H.S. Nash, "he carried a sweeping hypothesis into the examination of the New Testament." He considers those writings alone genuine in which the conflict between Jewish-Christians and Gentile-Christians is clearly marked. In his
Kritische Untersuchungen über die kanonischen Evangelien, ihr Verhältniss zu einander, ihren Charakter und Ursprung (1847) he turns his attention to the Gospels, and here again finds that the authors were conscious of the conflict of parties; the Gospels reveal a mediating or conciliatory tendency (
Tendenz) on the part of the writers or redactors. The Gospels, in fact, are adaptations or redactions of an older Gospel, such as the
Gospel of the HebrewsThe Gospel of the Hebrews is a lost gospel preserved only in a few quotations of the Church Fathers. It was written in Aramaic dialect but with Hebrew letters, and was the most widely known of the non canonical gospels. The Gospel of the Hebrews was the gospel in use among Hebrew Christian sects,...
,
of PeterThe Gospel of Peter may have been a prominent passion narrative in the early history of Christianity, but over time it passed out of common usage. Only fragments survive...
,
of the EgyptiansThe Gospel of the Egyptians is the name given to two completely separate works wholly independent of each other.*The Coptic Gospel of the Egyptians, focusing on the gnostic interpretation of the biblical Seth...
, or
of the EbionitesThe Gospel of the Ebionites is one of the Jewish-Christian Gospels, sharing an affinity with the Gospel of the Hebrews and the Gospel of the Nazoraeans. Jerome names it as being the same as the Gospel of the Hebrews and states that most ancient Biblical scholars called it "Matthaei Authenticum"...
. The Petrine
MatthewMatthew the Evangelist , also called Levi, apostle and once a tax collector, composed the Gospel of Christ. It was first published in Judea in Hebrew for Hebrew Christians...
bears the closest relationship to this original Gospel (
Urevangelium); the Pauline
LukeLuke the Evangelist was an Early Christian writer who the Church Fathers such as Jerome and Eusebius said was the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles....
is later and arose independently; Mark represents a still later development according to Baur; the account in John is idealistic: it "does not possess historical truth, and cannot and does not really lay claim to it."
Baur's theory starts with the supposition that Christianity was gradually developed out of
JudaismJudaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible , as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts...
, see also
List of events in early Christianity. Before it could become a universal religion, it had to struggle with Jewish limitations and to overcome them. The early Christians were Jewish-Christians, to whom Jesus was the
MessiahMessiah literally means "anointed "...
. Paul, on the other hand, represented a
breach with Judaism, the Temple, and the LawSupersessionism and replacement theology are uniquely Christian interpretations of New Testament claims, viewing God's relationship with Christians as being either the "replacement" or "completion" of the promise made to the Jews and Jewish Proselytes...
. Thus there was some antagonism between the Jewish apostles
PeterSimon Peter , Pétros “Rock”, Kephas in Hellenized Aramaic) was a leader of the early Christian Church, who features prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. Peter was the son of John, and was from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee...
, James and
JohnJohn the Apostle was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of James, another of the Twelve Apostles....
, and Paul the "Apostle to the Gentiles", and this struggle continued down to the middle of the 2nd century. In short, the conflict between Petrinism and Paulinism is, as
Karl SchwarzKarl Schwarz was a German Protestant theologian.-Birth and early life:He was born at Wiek, Rügen. His father, Theodor Schwarz, pastor at Wiek, was well known as a preacher, and as the writer of a number of popular works under the pseudonym "Theodor Melas".-University studies:Karl Schwarz studied...
puts it, the key to the literature of the 1st and 2nd century.
Theology
Baur was a theologian and historian as well as a Biblical critic. As early as 1834 he published a strictly theological work,
Gegensatz des Katholicismus und Protestantismus nach den Prinzipien und Hauptdogmen der beiden Lehrbegriffe, a strong defence of
ProtestantismProtestantism is a branch within Christianity, containing many denominations with some differing practices and doctrines, that principally originated in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It is considered to be one of the major divisions within Christianity, together with the Roman...
on the lines of Schleiermacher's
Glaubenslehre, and a vigorous reply to
J. MöhlerJohann Adam Möhler was a German Roman Catholic theologian.He was born at Igersheim in Württemberg, and after studying philosophy and theology in the lyceum at Ellwangen, entered the University of Tübingen in 1817. Ordained to the priesthood in 1819, he was appointed to a curacy...
's
Symbolik (1833). This was followed by his larger histories of
dogmaDogma is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, ideology or any kind of organization: it is authoritative and not to be disputed, doubted or diverged from. The term derives from Greek "that which seems to one, opinion or belief" and that from , "to think, to suppose, to imagine"...
,
Die christliche Lehre von der Versöhnung in ihrer geschichtlichen Entwicklung bis auf die neueste Zeit (1838),
Die christliche Lehre von der Dreieinigkeit und Menschwerdung Gottes in ihrer geschichtlichen Entwicklung (3 vols., 1841-1843), and the
Lehrbuch der christlichen Dogmengeschichte (1847). The value of these works is impaired somewhat by Baur's habit of making the history of dogma conform to the formulae of Hegel's philosophy, a procedure "which only served to obscure the truth and profundity of his conception of history as a true development of the human mind" (Pfleiderer). Baur, however, soon came to attach more importance to personality, and to distinguish more carefully between religion and philosophy.
The change is noticeable in his
Epochen der kirchlichen Geschichtschreibung (1852),
Das Christenthum und die christiche Kirche der drei ersten Jahrhunderte (1853), and
Die christiche Kirche von Anfang des vierten bis zum Ende das sechsten Jahrhunderts (1859), works preparatory to his
Kirchengeschichte, in which the change of view is specially pronounced. The
Kirchengeschichte was published in five volumes during the years 1853-1863, partly by Baur himself, partly by his son, Ferdinand Baur, and his son-in-law,
Eduard ZellerEduard Gottlob Zeller , was a German philosopher and theologian of the Tübingen School of theology.- Life :...
, from notes and lectures which the author left behind him. Pfleiderer describes this work, especially the first volume, as a classic for all time. "Taken as a whole, it is the first thorough and satisfactory attempt to explain the rise of Christianity and the Church on strictly historical lines, i.e. as a natural development of the religious spirit of our race under the combined operation of various human causes" (
Development of Theology, p. 288). Baur's lectures on the history of dogma,
Ausführlichere Vorlesungen uber die christliche Dogmengeschichte, were published later by his son (1865-1868).
Tübingen School
The Tübingen School was at the height of its influence in the 1840s, but lost ground to historical fact. Since
Adolf von HarnackAdolf von Harnack , was a German theologian and prominent church historian.He produced many religious publications from 1873-1912....
proposed very early dates for the synoptics and Acts (
c 1910), the Tübingen School has been generally abandoned.
Sources
- Otto Pfleiderer
Otto Pfleiderer was a German Protestant theologian.-Biography:He was born at Stetten in Württemberg. From 1857 to 1861 he studied at the University of Tübingen under FC Baur, and afterwards in England and Scotland...
, 1890. Development of Theology
Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation, s.v. "Tübingen School."
External links