Karl Theodor Keim (December 17, 1825 – November 17, 1878) was a German
Protestant theologian.
He was born at
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
. His father, Johann Christian Keim, was headmaster of a gymnasium. Here Karl Theodor received his early education, and then proceeded to the Stuttgart Obergymnasium. In 1843 he went to the university of
Tübingen, where he studied philosophy under J. F. Reiff, a follower of
Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends a ...
, and Oriental languages under
Heinrich Ewald and
Heinrich Meier.
F. C. Baur, the leader of the new Tübingen school, was lecturing on the
New Testament and on the
history of the church and of dogma, and by him in particular Keim was greatly impressed.
The special bent of Keim's mind is seen in his prize essay, ''Verhältniss der Christen in den ersten drei Jahrhunderten bis Konstantin zum römischen Reiche'' (1847). His first published work was ''Die Reformation der Reichstadt Ulm'' (1851). In 1850 he visited the
University of Bonn, where he attended some of the lectures of
Friedrich Bleek Friedrich Bleek (4 July 1793, in Ahrensbök in Holstein (a village near Lübeck)27 February 1859, in Bonn), was a German Biblical scholar.
Life
At 16 Bleek's father sent him to the gymnasium at Lübeck, where he became so interested in ancient ...
,
Richard Rothe, C. M. Arndt, and Isaak Dorner. He taught at Tübingen from June 1851 until 1856, when, having become a pastor, he was made deacon at
Esslingen am Neckar, in
Württemberg.
In 1859 he was appointed
archdeacon
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...
, but a few months later he was called to the
University of Zürich as professor of
theology (1859-1873), where he produced his important works. Before this he had written on church history (e.g. ''Schwäbische Reformationsgeschichte bis zum Augsburger Reichstag'', 1855). His inaugural address at Zürich on the human development of
Jesus, ''Die menschliche Entwicklung Jesu Christi'' (1861), and his ''Die geschichtliche Würde Jesu'' (1864) were preparatory to his chief work, ''Die Geschichte Jesu von Nazara in ihrer Verkettung mit dem Gesamtleben seines Volkes'' (3 vols., 1867–1872; Eng. trans., ''Jesus of Nazareth, and the National Life of Israel'', 6 vols.), 1873–1882. In 1873 Keim was appointed professor of theology at
Gießen. This post he resigned, through ill-health, shortly before his death. He belonged to the "mediation" school of theology.
Chief works, besides the above: ''Reformationsblätter der Reichsstadt Esslingen'' (1860); ''Ambrosius Blarer, der Schwäbische Reformator'' (1860); ''Der Übertritt Konstantins d. Gr. zum Christenthum'' (1862); his sermons, ''Freundesworte zur Gemeinde'' (2 vols., 1861–1862); and ''Celsus' wahres Wort'' (1873). In 1881 H. Ziegler published one of Keim's earliest works, ''Rom und das Christenthum'', with a biographical sketch.
[See also Ziegler's article in Herzog-Hauck, ''Realencyklopädie'']
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Keim, Karl Theodor
1825 births
1878 deaths