Johann Georg Walch (17 June 1693 – 13 January 1775) was a German

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

Life

He was born in

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 25,000 (2021).

, where his father, Georg Walch, was general superintendent. He studied at

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

and

Jena Jena () is a German city 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 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...

, amongst his teachers being J. F. Buddeus, whose only daughter he married. He published in 1716 a work, ''Historia critica

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

ae linguae'', which soon came into wide use. Two years later he became professor extraordinarius of

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

. In 1719, he was appointed professor ordinarius of

rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...

, in 1721 of

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

, and in 1724 professor extraordinarius of

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. In 1728 he became professor ordinarius of theology, and in 1730 professor primarius. His theological position was that of moderate

orthodoxy Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churc ...

, greatly influenced by the philosophy and controversies of the

Deistic Deism ( or ; derived from the Latin ''deus'', meaning "god") is the philosophical position and rationalistic theology that generally rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge, and asserts that empirical reason and observation of t ...

period. His university lectures and published works ranged over the wide fields of church history in its various branches, particularly the literature and the controversies of the church, dogmatics, ethics and pastoral theology. Of his works the most valuable were ''Bibliotheca theologica'' (1757–1765); ''Bibliotheca patristica'' (1770); his edition of

Luther Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (give ...

's works in 24 vols. (1740–1752); ''Historische und theologische Einleitung in die religiösen Streitigkeiten, welche sonderlich ausser der evangelische-lutherischen Kirche entstanden'' (5 vols., 1733 ff.); the companion work to this, ''Einleitung in die Religionsstreitigkeiten der evangel.-luth. Kirche'' (1730–1739), and ''Philosophisches Lexikon'' (1726, 4th ed. 1775). Also important is the ''Historia logicae'', published in Leipzig in 1721. His life, with a complete list of his writings, which amounted to 287, ''Leben und Charakter des Kirchenraths J. G. Walch'', was published anonymously by his son CWF Walch (Jena, 1777). Cf.

Wilhelm Gass Wilhelm Gass (November 28, 1813 – February 21, 1889) was a German theologian born in Breslau. He was the son of theologian Joachim Christian Gass (1766–1831). He received his education in Breslau, Halle and Berlin, and as a student was ...

, ''Protestantische Dogmatik'', iii. p. 205 sq. His sons, Johann Ernst Immanuel and

Christian Wilhelm Franz Walch Christian Wilhelm Franz Walch (25 December 1726 – 10 March 1784) was a protestant German theologian and professor of theology from Göttingen. He authored numerous books. Life Walch was born on 25 December 1726 in Meiningen.

were also noted theologians. Son

Karl Friedrich Walch Karl Friedrich Walch (1734–July 20, 1799) was a German legal scholar. Biography Walch was a son of German theologian Johann Georg Walch. He devoted himself to the study of law, and became professor of law at the University of Jena The Univ ...

became a law professor. Johann Georg Walch died in

on 13 January 1775.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walch, Johann Georg 1693 births 1775 deaths People from Meiningen People from Saxe-Meiningen German Lutheran theologians 18th-century German Protestant theologians German male non-fiction writers 18th-century German male writers