Christian Gottlob Wilke (May 13, 1786, in Badrina''Theologische Studien und Kritiken'' (1917), S. 199 (2 extracts
year and place of birth
und
correction of the false birthplace "Werm"
/ref> (in modern-day Schönwölkau) – November 10, 1854, in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg ...

) was a German

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 philosophy and

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 ...

at 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 ...

, and from 1814 to 1819 served as a minister to a Saxon ''Landwehr'' installation. Afterwards he worked as a

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

in the hamlet of Hermannsdorf in the Erzgebirge. In 1838 he settled in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

, where he published his first book, ''Der Urevangelist oder exegetisch kritische Untersuchung über das Verwandtschaftsverhältniß der drei ersten Evangelien'' (The Urevangelist, exegetical critical study on the relationship of the first three Gospels, 1838). In this work he asserted that the

evangelist Evangelist may refer to: Religion * Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels * Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ * Evangelist (Anglican Church), a c ...

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * F ...

was the "original evangelist" and was the source for the Gospels of

Matthew Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Ch ...

and Luke. During the same time frame, philosopher Christian Hermann Weisse (1801-1866), independent of Wilke, came up with the same conclusion. In the following years, Wilke published a

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 ...

lexicon calle
''Clavis Novi Testamenti Philologica''
(1840–41, not to confuse with th
anterior book
of same title by Christian Abraham Wahl), a book involving New Testament rhetoric titled ''Die neutestamentliche Rhetorik'' (1842–43) and an influential study on New Testament

hermeneutics Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. Hermeneutics is more than interpretative principles or methods used when immediate ...

called ''Die Hermeneutik des Neuen Testaments'' (1843–44). Trained as a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

, he converted to Roman Catholicism in 1846. Subsequently, he moved to

, where he worked on revisions of his earlier publications.

Notes

References

Wikisource
translated biography @ Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilke, Christian Gottlob 1788 births 1854 deaths People from Saxony-Anhalt German Lutheran theologians 19th-century German Protestant theologians 19th-century German Lutheran clergy Converts to Roman Catholicism from Lutheranism 19th-century German male writers German male non-fiction writers