Michael Baumgarten

Who was Michael Baumgarten?

Michael Baumgarten, German Protestant theologian, was born at Haseldorf in Schleswig-Holstein.

He studied at Kiel University, and became professor ordinarius of theology at Rostock. A liberal scholar, he became widely known in 1854 through a work, Die Nachtgesichte Sacharjas. Eine Prophetenstimme aus der Gegenwart, in which, starting from texts in the Old Testament and assuming the tone of a prophet, he discussed topics of every kind.

At a pastoral conference in 1856 he boldly defended evangelical freedom as regards the legal sanctity of Sunday. This, with other attempts to liberalize religion, brought him into conflict with the ecclesiastical authorities of Mecklenburg, and in 1858 he was deprived of his professorship.

He then travelled throughout Germany, demanding justice, telling the story of his life, and lecturing on the life of Jesus. In 1865 he helped to found the Deutsche Protestantenverein, but withdrew from it in 1877. On several occasions he sat in the Reichstag as a member of the progressive party. Other works: