Volume 82, Issue 1

With the idea in Genesis 1 that all human beings are created in the image of God - instead of just the king - the Bible formulates an early conceptual prerequisite of egalitarianism, which forms the anthropological foundation of any democracy. Genesis 1 democratizes the traditional ideology of kingship and renders every human capable of (king-like) responsible rule. Important factors in the intellectual history of ancient Israel that prepared the way for the idea of the likeness of all human beings to God can be found: (1) in the subversive reception of Assyrian treaty theology and its transfer to the relationship between God and people; (2) in the criticism of kings within biblical prophecy, which was confirmed as factual by the fall of Judah and Jerusalem in 587 BCE; and (3) in the increasingly critical stance toward slavery in the Torah, which ideally brought the position of slaves ever closer to that of free people.

The present essay is intended as a contribution to the current discussion on a »migration-sensitive theology« from the perspective of Hebrew Bible scholarship. It develops four basic elements of a theology of migration that do justice both to the complexity of processes of the emergence of the migration theme and to its enduring claims to validity. Theological, historical, literary-historical and canon-theological aspects of the Pentateuch, the Enneateuch (Gen-2 Kgs) and the biblical understanding of God are considered.

In a multilateral ecumenical setting, this paper analyses the challenges Christian churches have to deal with in modern »secularized« societies. First, it outlines Charles Taylor’s study The Secular Age as a helpful tool to understand the fundamental cultural changes. Second, it highlights three characteristic shifts: the continuous decrease of membership in mainline churches, the growing diversity of (Christian and non-Christian) religious communities, and the failing transgenerational transmission of religious knowledge and practice. As churches cannot any longer take their cultural relevance for granted, third, the paper pleas for an attitude of ›exploring relevance‹ which is open to new forms of communicating the gospel without, however, losing confidence in the respective formative traditions. Finally, the paper argues that, because all churches share these challenges, the situation encourages ecumenism.

Der Mord an Samuel Paty im Oktober 2020 hatte die Welt schockiert. Obwhol die Tat von fast allen verurteilt wurde, scheiden sich die Geister über die Meinungsfreiheit, die den Mord verursacht hat. Dieser Artikel möchte die Konzepte der Meinungsfreiheit nachzeichnen, wie sie in Frankreich rezipiert wurden. Basierend auf Luthers Schrift »Von der Freiheit eines Christenmenschen « argumentiert der Artikel dann für die Relevanz von Luthers Freiheitskonzept, um die Suche nach wahrer Freiheit fruchtbar zu beantworten. Er entfaltet die Potenziale von Luthers Freiheitskonzept und zeigt, wie Luthers Denken eine sinnvollere Alternative bieten kann als der säkulare Freiheitsbegriff, wie er von der französischen Aufklärung rezipiert wurde.

The establishment of numerous truth and reconciliation commissions worldwide in states in transition processes has helped the concept of reconciliation gain increasing attention, not only in political discourses. This article then sketches out, from a theological-ethical perspective, the milestones of a theology of reconciliation, including remembrance, repentance and confession of guilt, forgiveness as well as justice and reparation.