description Walter Bauer Overview
German theologian Walter Bauer combined the study of early Christianity with detailed work on its Greek vocabulary. He taught at the University of Göttingen and wrote Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity, published in 1934. That book argued that forms of Christianity later condemned as heretical had been dominant in some early regions, challenging a simple account of one original orthodoxy followed by deviations. For readers of biblical Greek, his lasting contribution also includes a lexicon covering the New Testament and other early Christian literature.
Bauer extensively reworked an earlier dictionary by Erwin Preuschen, producing the edition completed in 1928; later English adaptations became widely used scholarly references. His work suits students concerned with word meanings in context and historians examining early Christian diversity. A contemporary review records the lexicon's publication history.
help Walter Bauer FAQ
What is the theologian Walter Bauer most famous for writing?
Walter Bauer is best known for authoring the 1934 book Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity. In this groundbreaking work, he argued that what later became defined as Christian heresies were originally the dominant forms of Christianity in many regions.
Where did Walter Bauer teach theology?
Bauer was a prominent German theologian and scholar of early Christianity who taught at the University of Göttingen. His academic work fundamentally influenced the modern fields of New Testament textual criticism and early Christian history.
Did Walter Bauer create a famous Greek lexicon?
Yes, he edited the highly influential Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, commonly referred to as Bauer's Lexicon or BDAG. The English translation by William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich remains a standard reference tool for biblical scholars today.
What was the main argument of Walter Bauer's Orthodoxy and Heresy?
Bauer argued that early Christianity was highly diverse, and in regions like Egypt and Syria, beliefs later labeled as heresy were actually the original, mainstream forms of the religion. He posited that the Roman church's version of orthodoxy simply won out historically and retroactively labeled the losers as heretics.
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