Wilhelm Lütgert (9 April 1867, in

Heiligengrabe Heiligengrabe is a municipality in the Ostprignitz-Ruppin district, in Brandenburg, Germany. Geography The municipality counts 13 villages (''Ortsteil''): Blandikow, Blesendorf, Blumenthal, Grabow bei Blumenthal, Herzsprung, Jabel, Königsberg, Li ...

– 21 February 1938, in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

) was a German Protestant

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 ...

. He studied theology at the

University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; german: Universität Greifswald), formerly also known as “Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald“, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pom ...

as a pupil of

Hermann Cremer August Hermann Cremer (18 October 1834, in Unna, Westphalia – 4 October 1903) was a German Protestant theologian. He was considered head of the so-called ''Greifswalder Schule'' at the University of Greifswald. He studied theology in ...

, then furthered his education in

, where he attended lectures given by

Adolf von Harnack Carl Gustav Adolf von Harnack (born Harnack; 7 May 1851 – 10 June 1930) was a Baltic German Lutheran theologian and prominent Church historian. He produced many religious publications from 1873 to 1912 (in which he is sometimes credited ...

. In 1892 he obtained his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...

at Greifswald, and three years later, became an associate 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 Christ ...

exegesis. In 1902 he succeeded

Willibald Beyschlag Johann Heinrich Christoph Willibald Beyschlag (5 September 1823 – 25 November 1900 in Halle an der Saale) was a German theologian from Frankfurt am Main. Biography He studied theology at the Universities of Bonn and Berlin, afterwards ser ...

as professor of New Testament exegesis at the

University of Halle Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...

, where in 1912 he replaced

Martin Kähler Martin Kähler (6 January 1835 – 7 September 1912) was a German theologian. He is best known for his short work, published in 1892, ''Der sogenannte historische Jesus und der geschichtliche, biblische Christus'' (The so-called historical Jesus a ...

as chair of

systematic theology Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topi ...

. In 1917/18 he served as

university rector A rector (Latin for 'ruler') is a senior official in an educational institution, and can refer to an official in either a university or a secondary school. Outside the English-speaking world the rector is often the most senior official in a un ...

. From 1929 onward, he was a professor of systematic theology at Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität in Berlin.Wilhelm Lütgert
Professorenkatalog der Universität Halle/Saale With Hermann Cremer,

Adolf Schlatter Adolf Schlatter (16 August 1852 – 19 May 1938) was a world-leading Protestant theologian and professor specialising in the New Testament and systematics at Greifswald, Berlin and Tübingen. Schlatter has published more than 400 scholarly and po ...

and others, he was a prominent member of the so-called ''Greifswalder Schule'' of theology. He was in disagreement with the

dialectical theology In Christianity, Neo-orthodoxy or Neoorthodoxy, also known as theology of crisis and dialectical theology, was a theological movement developed in the aftermath of the First World War. The movement was largely a reaction against doctrines of ...

of his era, and was equally opposed to the Deutsche Christen Movement. He viewed the

Confessing Church The Confessing Church (german: link=no, Bekennende Kirche, ) was a movement within German Protestantism during Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to unify all Protestant churches into a single pro-Nazi German E ...

favorably, but never joined as a member.

Selected works

* ''Die Methode des dogmatischen Beweises in ihrer Entwicklung unter dem Einfluss Schleiermachers'', 1892 – The method of dogmatic proof in its development under the influence of

Friedrich Schleiermacher Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher (; 21 November 1768 – 12 February 1834) was a German Reformed theologian, philosopher, and biblical scholar known for his attempt to reconcile the criticisms of the Enlightenment with traditional P ...

. * ''Das Reich Gottes nach dem synoptischen Evangelien : eine Untersuchung zur neutestamentlichen Theologie'', 1895 – The Kingdom of God according to the

Synoptic Gospels The gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Mark, and Gospel of Luke, Luke are referred to as the synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar or sometimes identical ...

. * ''Die johanneische Christologie'', 1899 –

Johannine Christianity The term Johannine community refers to an ancient Christian community which placed great emphasis on the teachings of Jesus and his apostle John. Their particular Christian practices, rituals, and theology may be referred to as Johannine Christ ...

. * ''Gottes Sohn und Gottes Geist; Vorträge zur Christologie und zur Lehre vom Geiste Gottes'', 1905 – The Son of God and the spirit of God; Lectures on

Christology In Christianity, Christology (from the Ancient Greek, Greek grc, Χριστός, Khristós, label=none and grc, wiktionary:-λογία, -λογία, wiktionary:-logia, -logia, label=none), translated literally from Greek as "the study of Chr ...

and the teaching of the spirit of God. * ''Die Liebe im Neuen Testament. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des Urchristentums'', 1905 – Love in the New Testament. A contribution to the history of

Early Christianity Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish ...

. * ''Freiheitspredigt und Schwarmgeister in Korinth : ein Beitrag zur Charakteristik der Christuspartei'', 1908. * ''Die Religion des deutschen Idealismus und ihr Ende'' (4 volumes, 1923–30) – The religion of German idealism and its outcome.HathiTrust Digital Library
(published works)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lütgert, Wilhelm 1867 births 1938 deaths People from Ostprignitz-Ruppin University of Greifswald alumni Academic staff of the University of Greifswald Academic staff of the University of Halle 19th-century German Protestant theologians 20th-century German Protestant theologians