Background
He was born in Hobøl as a son of priest David Middelthon Jansen and his wife Eleonore Cathrine Elstrand.
He was born in Hobøl as a son of priest David Middelthon Jansen and his wife Eleonore Cathrine Elstrand.
He finished his secondary education in 1861, and graduated with the candidate.theol.
Their son Einar Jansen became a notable historian, genealogist and archivist. degree in 1869. He first worked as a teacher, at the same time editing the magazines Børnenes Blad and Hjemmet, but was hired as a curate in Skjeberg in 1873. He became vicar in Varteig in 1883 and in Røyken in 1890, and retired due to bad health in January 1898.
He was especially known for his sermons, as well as the lectures Kristendom og Videnskab (1882) and Hvor meget tror vi? (1887), which were both printed in 1903.
Several of his sermons were later printed, as well as the memoirs Oplevet og tænkt (1909). He was also a columnist and literary critic in Morgenbladet.
His aim was to induce a personal and rational Lutheran faith. He saw the influence of Orthodox theologian Gisle Johnson as unpassable, under a certain influence from free-thinkers Søren Kierkegaard and Georg Brandes.
Jansen died while vacationing at Ringebu in 1912.