Wilhelm Heitmüller (3 August 1869 – 29 January 1926) was a German

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

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 ...

, born in Döteberg, presently a division in the town of Seelze. Following completion of theological studies, he attended the minister's

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

Loccum Loccum is a village situated about 50 km north west of Hanover in the district of Nienburg in Lower-Saxony, Germany. It has been a part of the city of Rehburg-Loccum since 1974. Loccum covers an area of 32 km² with a population of abou ...

. In 1902 he received his habilitation at

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The ori ...

, and in 1908 became a professor of

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 Chri ...

studies at the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the wor ...

. Later on, he was appointed professor at the universities of

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

(1920) and

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in three ...

(1924). He died, aged 56, in

. Heitmüller was a prominent member of the ''Religionsgeschichtliche Schule'' (

History of religions school The history of religions school (German: ''Religionsgeschichtliche Schule'') is a term applied to a group of German Protestant theologians associated with the University of Göttingen in the 1890s. Ideas The ''Religionsgeschichtliche Schule'' use ...

). Along with

Wilhelm Bousset Wilhelm Bousset (3 September 1865, Lübeck – 8 March 1920, Gießen) was a German theologian and New Testament scholar. He was of Huguenot ancestry and a native of Lübeck. His most influential work was ''Kyrios Christos'', an attempt to explain ...

(1865–1920), he was editor of the journal ''Theologische Rundschau''.

Selected writings

* ''Im Namen Jesu: eine sprach- und religionsgeschichtliche Untersuchung zum Neuen Testament, speziell zur altchristlichen Taufe'' ("In the name of Jesus: a language and religious historical inquiry into the

, particularly in regards to Christian

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

"), 1903. * ''Taufe und Abendmahl bei Paulus'' ("Baptism and

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

"), 1903. * ''Vom Glauben'' (Of faith), 1903, second edition 1904). * ''Taufe und Abendmahl im Urchristentum'' ("Baptism and Eucharist of the

Apostolic Age Christianity in the 1st century covers the formative history of Christianity from the start of the ministry of Jesus (–29 AD) to the death of the last of the Twelve Apostles () and is thus also known as the Apostolic Age. Early Christianity ...

'), 1911.

References

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English translation
1869 births 1926 deaths People from Hanover Region 20th-century German Protestant theologians University of Tübingen faculty University of Bonn faculty University of Marburg faculty German male non-fiction writers History of religions school {{Germany-theologian-stub