Johann Baptista Baltzer was a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 Catholic theologian

Theology

Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

.
He was born at Andernach

Andernach

Andernach is a town in the district of Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, of currently about 30,000 inhabitants. It is situated towards the end of the Neuwied basin on the left bank of the Rhine between the former tiny fishing village of Fornich in the north and the mouth of the...

, studied at Bonn

Bonn

Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....

, and after his ordination to the priesthood in 1829, was made professor

Professor

A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 of theology at Breslau in the following year. He was at first an enthusiastic follower of Georg Hermes

Georg Hermes

Georg Hermes , German Roman Catholic theologian, was born at Dreierwalde, in Westphalia, and was educated at the gymnasium and university of Münster, in both of which institutions he afterwards taught....

 in his attempt to reconcile the newer German philosophy with the Roman Catholic

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 teaching, but definitely broke with his school in 1839 and associated himself with the speculations of Anton Günther

Anton Günther

Anton Günther was an Austrian Roman Catholic philosopher whose work was condemned by the church as heretical tritheism.-Biography:...

. After the papal condemnation of the latter's teachings Baltzer submitted indeed, but his independent spirit led him into further difficulties, and he was suspended in 1862.

Baltzer was a strenuous opponent of the definition of papal infallibility

Papal infallibility

Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, by action of the Holy Spirit, the Pope is preserved from even the possibility of error when in his official capacity he solemnly declares or promulgates to the universal Church a dogmatic teaching on faith or morals...

 and was a promoter of the Old Catholic movement in Silesia

Silesia

Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...

. He published Die biblische Schöpfungsgeschichte (two volumes, 1867-73), and Ueber die Anfänge der Organismen (fourth edition, 1869). For his life, consult: Friedberg

Emil Albert Friedberg

Emil Albert Friedberg was a German canonist.Friedberg was born at Konitz, Province of Prussia. His Jewish parents had joined the Evangelical Church in Prussia before his birth, letting him baptised Protestant. Friedberg was educated at Berlin and Heidelberg...

(Leipzig, 1873), and Meltzer (Bonn, 1877), both favoring Baltzer's attitude, and Franz (Berlin, 1873), representing the other side.