Academic literature on the topic 'Martin (Church : Tünsdorf, Germany)'

This transcription of the Question and Answer period for the public event “Martin Luther and Anti-Semitism” was held at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York City on November 13, 2016. This event was co-presented by the Morgan Library & Museum, the Leo Baeck Institute, the German Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Paul in New York City, and the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany. The discussion session—as well as the two lectures preceding (also published in this issue)—took place as part of a series of events in conjunction with the Morgan Library & Museum’s exhibition “Word and Image: Martin Luther’s Reformation” which ran from October 7, 2016 through January 22, 2017. Professor Mark Silk, Director, Leonard Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life and Professor of Religion in Public Life at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, served as moderator for the Q&A session. The respondents were Professor Dean P. Bell, Provost, Vice President, and Professor of History at the Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership in Chicago and Dr. Martin Hauger, Referent für Glaube und Dialog of the High Consistory of the Evangelical Church (EKD) in Germany. The translator for portions of the Q&A session was the Rev. Miriam Gross, pastor of the German Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Paul ( Deutsche Evangelisch-Lutherische St. Pauls Kirche) in Manhattan. Theology Today is grateful to the Morgan Library & Museum for permission to publish the transcription of this discussion session.

The theoretical analysis of the philosophical - legal views of the theologian Martin Luther, the German religious and social figure, is presented. His main democratic ideas during the Reformation period in Germany and the countries of Western Europe are demonstrated. The stages of the struggle for the reform of the Catholic Church and for the return of its bases to their correspondence to the Bible from the Reformation times till the present time, are revealed.

The Protestant Reformation was the largest and most sustained challenge to authority ever experienced within the western Church. It involved a repudiation of existing teachings and forms of worship, along with a rejection, even a demonization, of the clergy and ecclesiastical hierarchy. From the 1520s a number of evangelical Churches developed which were often as hostile to each other as they were to the Catholic Church, and, as a result of polemical public discussions over competing teachings and beliefs, it was no longer clear to many people what constituted the Church or who should exercise authority over religious life. Some were led to question whether there was any need for a Church which imposed dogma and religious discipline on all people within a community or country. It is the discussion on the role and powers of the visible Church which will be examined here, by focusing on the city of Augsburg, but doing so through two significant writings by Martin Bucer, the leading theologian of the Protestant Church in Strasbourg. Recent research has added to our awareness of Bucer’s understanding of the relationship between Church and community, and this contribution will provide insight into how the views of Bucer impacted upon the debate on religious separatism which was taking place in Strasbourg, Augsburg and elsewhere in Germany. They show that even after Bucer had persuaded the government of his own city to expel religious radicals, he continued to believe that support for separatist and spiritualist ideas constituted a substantial challenge to the establishment of disciplined Protestant Churches.

On the first Sunday of Advent in 2017, a new university church was consecrated at Leipzig University in Germany. This celebration brought to an end the five-decade-long absence of a church within the old university. The inauguration of the Paulinum—as the combined church and assembly hall was named—visibly reconnected the university with a church history involving the active participation of personalities such as Martin Luther, Johann Tetzel, Felix Mendelssohn, and Johann Sebastian Bach. Under scrutiny in this article is the 1968 destruction of the University Church of Saint Paul, originally a medieval monastery, by the Socialist Unity Party (SED) as a kind of socialist iconoclasm. Through the destruction of the University Church of Saint Paul, I argue, the church became something of an architectonic and cultural martyr. Although the Paulinum is not viewed as a direct continuation of the university church, its completion and refurbishing with art treasures from the old church has, however, come to be viewed as a counterpart to SED barbarism and as an undoing of some aspects of the destruction. Moreover, some episodes from the university church and its destruction have been passed on and attached to the Paulinum as a mnemonic layer, much valued by the university, city, and region.

This year, five hundred years ago, Martin Luther according to the legend nailed his 95 Theses on the church door in Wittenberg. The Theses, originally written in Latin, were translated into German. Thanks to the invention of the art of printing, “My Theses were truly through all of Germany” Luther later suggested. In a few years they triggered a religious and political transformation in the northern part of Europe, including Scandinavia. This transformation was later termed the Reformation. Today Christian churches rooted in the Reformation are spread all over the world.

Despite the fact that Luther was referenced in order to justify anti-Semitic hatred of Jews during the time of National Socialism it took the German evangelical churches almost forty years to get round to intensively working through Luther’s anti-Jewish Statements and their effects through history. During the first decades after World War II, intra-church discussion focused on working through its own guilt (1945–1950) and finding a new direction for theology concerning Israel (1960–1980). However, the 500th anniversary of Luther’s birth in 1983 fueled a discussion about the Reformer’s attitude towards the Jews. It centered, first, on the question of how to assess the anti-Semitic co-option of Luther in the Nazi period; second, on how Luther’s friendly statements towards Jews in his early years relate to the invective of his late writings. The latest EKD statement turns away from a genetic view of Luther towards an appraisal of his theological assessment of Judaism in connection with his Reformation theology.

Abstract Plagues and pandemics are nothing new for the Christian church. Throughout its history, believers have been forced to grapple with outbreaks, the latest being the COVID-19 crisis of 2020. As a relatively young branch of the Christian faith, Pentecostalism itself does not have a great deal of experience with this subject compared to many older traditions. In addition, with its emphasis on divine healing, a triumphalist attitude has unfortunately hindered some segments of the movement from developing a robust response to sickness and suffering at all. Martin Luther’s sixteenth-century response to the Black Death outbreak in Germany, however, might offer a prime example for contemporary Pentecostals to emulate. His pastoral wisdom, approach to suffering, and distinctive theology of the cross together compose a prudent yet ultimately optimistic take on how Christians should behave in such instances, making his voice an invaluable one for the contemporary church to learn from.

Abstract: Confronted with the military advance of the Turkish Ottoman Empire against the Holy Roman Empire, including the siege of Vienna, Martin Luther wrote several treatises on the Turks. Luther rejected the idea of a war in the name of religion against the Ottoman onslaught, seeing instead the defense of the Holy Roman Empire as the duty of the Emperor. Luther understood the Turkish threat as God’s punishment for the laxity of Christians and so called for repentance and a return to the gospel. Luther wanted the Christians to have firsthand information about Islam and promoted a translation of the Qur’an in German against many obstacles. The Protestant church in Germany is very cautious about defining a present-day application of Luther’s approach.

Aim. We tend to believe that the religious life of Romanians in the diaspora – living in the proximity of the Romanian borders (we do not take into account the groups that left towards Spain, Italy, Germany, and so on at the beginning of the third millennium) - is a taboo subject. The Orthodox (Romanian) clerical elite focused less on the assiduous study of the religious life of their Romanian brothers outside the borders; in this case, in Hungary. Therefore, we have the scientific duty—but more importantly, the moral duty—to bring to light the truths that are either not known or are known in a distorted form. The road of Voniga (Giula-Giroc) that we followed during the PhD research period was a blessing from the point of view of a scientific void/niche. Methods. In our study, we have applied two “simple” components: the archive and the specialised bibliography. Results. The archive was largely preserved only by Elena Csobai and Emilia Martin. The respectable ladies professionally structured the archive (Romanian Orthodox Church in Hungary) and saved hundreds of research sources from the depth of history. Conclusion. As Moisa noted (2011), the puzzling ethnographic, linguistic, cultural, and historical bulk material is without a doubt focused on the Church. The church is inextricably linked to the lives of Romanians in Hungary. Going through the tens of thousands from the mentioned fields, even superficially, there is an undeniable truth: the spirituality is present, more or less, in the writings of most of the select researchers who have worked in the scientific field for the past three decades.

This dissertation traces the social-theological history of a German-Lutheran two-kingdoms concept---an often ambiguous social-ethical theory used by German-Lutheran theologians to interpret their social world and to define the relational boundaries for the church's existence in society. This study consists of three parts, each of which represents a fundamental rupture in the German social order:
Part one examines the formation of a two-kingdoms doctrine in the modern world. The opening chapter (chapter two) establishes Martin's Luther's use of a two-kingdoms hermeneutic as way to challenge late-medieval Catholic Church authority and to empower ("sacralize") the social sphere. Chapter three surveys the work of German-Lutheran theologians who found in Luther's two-kingdoms concept a model that corresponded to the modern public-private social structure. The intersection of Luther's concept and modern social theory enabled theologians to understand the social, economic, and political changes taking place in Germany and, wittingly or unwittingly, to validate the status quo.
Part two analyzes various applications and critiques of the two-kingdoms doctrine in Germany from 1919 to 1945. Chapter four focuses on the efforts of Emanuel Hirsch, Paul Althaus, Paul Tillich, and Karl Barth to construct a theology that addressed the crises of modernity: the loss of national identity, the failure of post-Enlightemnent rationalism, and the collapse of traditional political structures. Chapter five examines the work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who developed a critical two-kingdoms perspective to (re)define the ethical relationship between the "church for others" and the "world come of age."
Part three considers the reception of the two-kingdoms doctrine in the East German church (1949--1990). The objective of chapter six is to illustrate the various ways in which theologians in the German Democratic Republic nuanced a two-kingdoms concept to make sense of the church's missionary task in socialism. This chapter also demonstrates the links between Bonhoeffer's ethic of responsibility and an East German theological ethic of critical solidarity---a social-ethical theory articulated by pastors and theologians such as Bishop Albrecht Schonherr and Heino Falcke.
This study concludes with a brief discussion of the two-kingdoms doctrine's capacity to protect and to resist the status quo.

Summary and key words in German and English
Every church faces the challenge of procuring capable workers for the multifaceted task of ministry. For several decades now official denominational statements and the discipline of Practical Theology have been calling for a new understanding of giftedness in ecclesial service. As yet little fundamental research has been done in this area. This dissertation seeks to make a contribution both empirically and theologically. It marks the first time in the German–speaking world of Practical Theology that the issue of how one discovers charisms is addressed academically. The specific field of research is located in the Protestant Regional Church of Baden in southwest Germany. Nevertheless the findings can be applied more broadly since the research is based on thorough exegetical and systematic–theological analysis and has been verified empirically. There has been a quest for the charisms of the Spirit since the beginning of the twentieth century and even more so now in the face of the societal challenges of postmodernity. In the discussion of the different theological positionens arise as result that charisms have to be seen with an triune approach. In addtion, besindes the fact that charisms have a habitual meaning, they first of all have a relational dimension. The empirical research involved online–interviewings of pastors, plus interviews of church members. One of the major findings was that the views of pastors on how church members receive gifts is determined by their theological understanding of the charisms. Pastors discover gifts, not according to Pauline criteria, but largely according to emotional aspects, as proved by this research. It became apparent that protestant pastors are of the opinion that New Testament charisms are not first received at baptism, but already at birth. Another interesting finding is that members of both protestant main stream churches and pentacostal-charismatic churches hold the same believes about how to receive charisms. The only difference is their repertoire of gifts. This dissertation focuses on developing guidelines for the discovery of charisms within the congregation as the local body of the Church.
Fähige Mitarbeiter für eine vielgestaltige Gemeindearbeit zu finden, ist in jeder Kirche eine bleibende Aufgabe und Herausforderung. Seit einigen Jahrzehnten wird in kirchlichen Verlautbarungen und in der Praktischen Theologie verstärkt das Konzept einer gabenorientierten Mitarbeit betont. Dieses Feld ist noch wenig grundsätzlich erforscht. Die vorliegende Arbeit greift empirisch und theologisch in die aktuelle Diskussion ein. Innerhalb der Praktischen Theologie im deutschsprachigen Raum liegt mit ihr zum ersten Mal eine wissenschaftliche Untersuchung zur Frage vor, wie Charismen im Forschungsfeld der Evangelischen Landeskirche in Baden entdeckt werden. Die Ergebnisse reichen aber weit über diesen Rahmen hinaus und können grundsätzlich gelten, weil sie auf dem Hintergrund exegetischer und systematisch-theologischer Grundlagenarbeit in einer sorgfältigen empirischen Methodik erhoben, reflektiert und ausgewertet wurden. Die Ausführungen zeigen, dass die Suche nach Charismen seit Beginn des 20. Jh. angesichts der gesellschaftlichen Umbrüche im Kontext der Postmoderne zu einem großen Thema geworden ist. Aus den theologischen Positionen erwuchs die wesentliche Einsicht, dass Charismen trinitarisch einzuordnen sind und neben dem habituellen Charismenverständnis vor allem die relationale Dimension vorliegt. Die empirische Forschungsarbeit umfasst eine Online-Befragung von Pfarrern, ergänzend dazu wurden Gemeindeglieder interviewt. Als eines der Hauptergebnisse stellte sich heraus, dass die Meinung der Pfarrer, wie Gemeindeglieder Gaben empfangen, durch ihr theologisches Gabenverständnis bestimmt wird. Wie Pfarrer Gaben entdecken, richtet sich weithin nicht nach den paulinischen Kriterien, sondern nach emotionalen Gesichtspunkten, wie in der vorliegenden Arbeit nachgewiesen werden konnte. Wie sich herausstellte, sind Pfarrer der Überzeugung, dass neutestamentliche Gaben nicht erst bei der Taufe empfangen werden, sondern mit der biologischen Geburt. Ein weiterer interessanter Aspekt belegt, dass Gemeindeglieder der evangelischen Landeskirche im Vergleich zu charismatisch-pentekostalen Gemeindegliedern Gaben nach ihren subjektiven Glaubensüberzeugungen in derselben Weise empfangen, lediglich das Gabenrepertoire unterscheidet sich. Die vorliegende Arbeit zielt darauf ab, Leitlinien zum Entdecken von Charismen im Kontext der lokalen Gemeinde zu entwickeln.
Practical Theology
Thesis (D. Th. (Practical Theology))

Martin Niemöller’s apologetic interventions from the late 1920s to the early 1950s reveal a complicated trajectory. He stood at the front line of the Protestant struggle against aggressive secularism in Weimar Germany. After the Nazis seized power in 1933, Niemöller quickly emerged as the figurehead of attempts to defend the dogmatic integrity of the Protestant churches, yet also maintained the conversation with the German Christians in a common front against the ‘godless’ Bolsheviks and Freethinkers. After he had seriously contemplated converting to the Roman Catholic Church from 1939 to early 1941, he returned to a combative assertion of his Protestant identity vis-à-vis the Catholics in the early Federal Republic. Overall, the chapter argues that the dynamics of the religious field during the Third Reich are best understood as an intensification.

Lucas Cranach the Elder, a close friend of Martin Luther, not only produced the definitive visual record of the history of the Reformation but also became a major leader in the movement to transform Christianity. From 1518 onward, he designed art to advance the Reformation of the church across Germany and Europe. The Bible stood at the center of his media campaign. Cranach and his workshop designed the first Protestant Bible (1522) as well as subsequent imprints of Luther’s translations. He also developed innovative biblical propaganda (most importantly in the anti-papal Passion of Christ and Antichrist). Frequently in his immense oeuvre (including works designed for both Protestant and Catholic contexts) Cranach anchors the new biblicism in a humanist ideal of the authority of philology. A major accomplishment was his development of the portrait type of the professor of the Bible (preeminently Luther and Philipp Melanchthon) as an icon of the authority of humanist biblical philology for the Reformation.