Johann Tobias Beck

Johann Tobias Beck (1804-78), professor of theology at Basel then Tuebingen, was known as a critic of both left and right wing Christian groups in Germany in the 19th century. His polemical style centered around a "biblical realism," one which saw the scriptures as an integrated system in and of themselves, an unconditional authority over both Enlightenment-style reasoning and ecclesiastical confessions.

As for doctrinal science, Beck held that there was no such thing as "speculative knowledge," but only "believing knowledge," which he called "gnosis". Anything not biblically given (and believed as such) does not qualify as real knowledge of God. It needs neither human philosophy or churchly synthesis in order to be the truth, though spiritual ("pneumatische") exegesis had its place by virtue of the work of the Holy Spirit. In such a way, "The scientific theological system should thus reproduce the real life-system of the biblical doctrine, for which the coherent activity of God is central" (Claude Welch, "Protestant Thought in the Nineteenth Century", vol. 1 [New Haven: Yale UP, 1972] ), 197).

Karl Barth (among others) has responded to J.T. Beck as an important dialogue partner.