Karl Friedrich Bahrdt (August 25, 1741 - April 23, 1792), German theologian and adventurer, was born at Bischofswerda, where his father, afterwards professor, canon and general superintendent at Leipzig, was pastor.

At the age of sixteen young Bahrdt, a precocious lad whose training had been grossly neglected, began to study theology under the orthodox mystic Christian August Crusius (1715-1775), who in 1757 had become first professor in the theological faculty. The boy varied the monotony of his studies by pranks which revealed his unbalanced character, including an attempt to raise spirits with the aid of Dr Faust's Höllenzwang. His orthodoxy was, however, unimpeachable, his talent conspicuous, and in 1761 he was appointed lecturer on biblical exegesis, and preacher (Katechet) at the church of St Peter. His eloquence soon gave him a reputation, and in 1766 he was appointed professor extraordinarius of biblical philology. Two years later, however, the scandals of his private life led to his dismissal.

The cycle continued throughout his life. The strain of writing had forced him to give up his lectures, and he opened an inn on the Weinberg near Halle. Here he lived with his mistress and his daughters--he had repudiated his wife--in disreputable peace until 1789, when he was condemned to a year’s imprisonment for a lampoon on the Prussian religious edict of 1788. His year's enforced leisure he spent in writing indecent stories, coarse polemics, and an autobiography which is described as "a mixture of lies, hypocrisy and self-prostitution." He died on the 23rd of April 1792.