Johann Karl Wilhelm Vatke, known as Wilhelm Vatke (March 14, 1806April 18, 1882) 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, born in Behnsdorf, near

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebu ...

. After acting as '' Privatdozent'' in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, he was appointed in 1837

professor extraordinarius Academic ranks in Germany are the titles, relative importance and power of professors, researchers, and administrative personnel held in academia. Overview Appointment grades * (Pay grade: ''W3'' or ''W2'') * (''W3'') * (''W2'') * (''W2'', ...

. Vatke was one of the founders of the newer

Hexateuch The Hexateuch ("six scrolls") is the first six books of the Hebrew Bible: the Torah (''Pentateuch'') and the book of Joshua. Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. Overview The term ''Hexateuch'' came into scholar ...

criticism. In the same year in which

David Strauss David Friedrich Strauss (german: link=no, Strauß ; 27 January 1808 – 8 February 1874) was a German liberal Protestant theologian and writer, who influenced Christian Europe with his portrayal of the "historical Jesus", whose divine nature he ...

published his ''Life of Jesus'', Vatke issued his book, ''Die Religion des Alten Testaments nach den kanonischen Büchern entwickelt'', which contained the seeds of a revolution in the ideas held about the Old Testament. Since, however, his book was too philosophical to be popular, the author's theories were practically unnoticed for a generation, and the new ideas are now associated especially with the names of

Abraham Kuenen Abraham Kuenen (16 September 1828 – 10 December 1891) was a Dutch Protestant theologian. Kuenen was born in Haarlem, the son of an apothecary. On his father's death it became necessary for him to leave school and take a humble place in the bus ...

and Julius Wellhausen. His other works include: ''Die menschliche Freiheit in ihrem Verhältniss zur Sünde und zur göttlichen Gnade'' (1841), ''Historisch-kritische Einleitung in das Alte Testament'' (1886), and ''Religionsphilosophie'' (1888). See O Pfleiderer, ''Development of Theology'' (1890), and TK Cheyne, ''Founders of Old Testament Criticism'' (1893). He died in Berlin.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vatke, Johann Karl Wilhelm 1806 births 1882 deaths German Lutheran theologians 19th-century German Protestant theologians People from the Province of Saxony Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg alumni University of Göttingen alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin 19th-century German male writers German male non-fiction writers 19th-century Lutherans