Julius Müller manuscript, circa 1840 -- 1849

Julius Müller was a German Protestant theologian. Born in Brzeg, Poland on April 10, 1801, Müller completed his studies in law in Germany at Breslau and Göttingen universities. In 1823, Müller moved to Berlin and committed to the study of theology. He was ordained in 1825, and served as a pastor and preacher, respectively, at both universities where he had previously studied. During his career in the Protestant Church, Müller was a beacon for conservative Protestant theology and a leader in negotiations surrounding the Prussian Evangelical Union of the Lutheran and Reformed churches in the early/mid-19th century. A skilled lecturer and writer, Müller was among the most prominent German theologians of his time. He was well known in many theological and secular philosophical circles, particularly at Halle University, where he became professor ordinaries of theology in 1839. There, he established his reputation as a dogmatist and believer in Protestant Union. His work with the notion of sin in Christian doctrine, in particular, was taken up by a number of philosophical and theological scholars, from his German contemporary, Philip Schaff, to Soren Kierkegaard, who refers to Müller's ruminations on sin and freedom in his own thinking. Some of his most significant writings include Die Christliche Lehre von der Sunde and the Dogmatische Abhandlungen (1870). The latter work was a compilation of writings produced by Müller, J.A.W. Neander and K.I. Nitzsch, with whom he founded the Deutsche Zeitschrift fur christliche Wissenschaft und christliches Leben. Julius Müller died on September 27, 1878 in Halle.