Ludwig Friedrich Otto Baumgarten-Crusius (31 July 1788 – 31 May 1843) was a German

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

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 ...

and

divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine

born in

Merseburg Merseburg () is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt, situated on the river Saale, and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese ...

. He was the brother of

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

Detlev Karl Wilhelm Baumgarten-Crusius (1786-1845).

Life

In 1805 he entered the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

, where he studied

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 ...

and

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...

, becoming a university minister in 1810. In 1812 he became an associate professor of theology at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

, where in 1817, he attained a full professorship. He would remain at

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 ...

for the rest of his life.Biography
@

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, german: Universal German Biography) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Aca ...

He was considered a champion of religious liberty, a theme that was expressed throughout his various writings. Early in his career, he was influenced by the

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

Schelling Schelling is a surname. Notable persons with that name include: * Caroline Schelling (1763–1809), German intellectual * Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling (1775–1854), German philosopher * Felix Emanuel Schelling (1858–1945), American educat ...

, a belief system that he ultimately abandoned as his career progressed. With the exception of

church history __NOTOC__ 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 ...

, he lectured on all branches of so-called theoretical theology, especially on

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (logic), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern usage, ...

Biblical theology Because scholars have tended to use the term in different ways, Biblical theology has been notoriously difficult to define. Description Although most speak of biblical theology as a particular method or emphasis within biblical studies, some scho ...

, dogmatic

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns m ...

, and the history of

dogma Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam ...

. His comprehensive knowledge, accurate scholarship and wide sympathies gave unusual value to his lectures and treatises, especially those on the development of church doctrine.

Literary works

His published works are many, the most important being: * ''Einleitung in die Dogmatik'', Leipzig 1820 - Introduction to dogmatics. * ''Lehrbuch der christlichen Sittenlehre'', Leipzig 1826 - Textbook of

Christian ethics Christian ethics, also known as moral theology, is a multi-faceted ethical system: it is a virtue ethic which focuses on building moral character, and a deontological ethic which emphasizes duty. It also incorporates natural law ethics, whic ...

. * ''Grundzuge der biblischen Theologie'', Jena 1828 - Basics of Biblical theology. * ''Compendium der Dogmengeschichte'', (Leipzig 1840-1846; second part edited by

Karl Hase Karl August von Hase (25 August 1800 – 3 January 1890) was a German Protestant theologian and church historian. Background He was born at Steinbach (near Penig) in Saxony. He studied at Leipzig and Erlangen, and in 1829 was called to Je ...

) - Compendium for the history of dogma.WorldCat Title
Compendium der christlichen Dogmengeschichte

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Baumgarten-Crusius, Ludwig Friedrich Otto 1788 births 1843 deaths 19th-century German Protestant theologians People from Merseburg Leipzig University alumni Academic staff of the University of Jena 19th-century German male writers 19th-century German writers German male non-fiction writers