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[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Bible – III. Philosophy I. Religious Studies Memory, in the present context, is the ability to store motor skills, experiences, and learned materialover longer periods; remembrance on the other hand has to do with the use of memory. Individual memory is already ¶ socially conditioned (through language, socialization, cultural setting) and thus has a communicative character. Institutionalization (e.g. feasts, school) and objectivization (e.g. rites [Rite and ritual], texts) serve to stabilize the co…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies In general usage, tradition (from Lat. transdare/ tradere, “hand on, transmit”) connotes retention and safeguarding, understood as a conservative handing down of mores, customs, norms, rules, and knowledge. The emphasis is on continuity with the past. Jan Assmann interprets tradition as an exemplary case of “cultural memory,” an enduring cultural construction of identity. In religions appeal to tradition is a prominent element justifying interpretations, practices, claims to leadership, and much more. When continuity is emphasized, the processual aspect of tradition is often forgotten, though it is of fundamental importance. Religious traditions are continually changing (Change of religion) to adapt to social changes and/or new cultural contexts (Diaspora, Minorities). It is in fact the capacity of tradition to refresh itself that enables it to be passed on successfully to succeeding generations. The interpretation and presentation of tradition arises from the demands of the present; often it entails reinterpretive construction of tradition and its history. Reforming movements, for example, criticize conventional tradition and call for its radical renewal. There is also an “invented” tradition (Hobsbawn & Ranger), which appeals to “original” or “forgotten” sources to legitimize particular interests…

[German Version] I. Old Testament – II. Early Judaism – III. New Testament – IV. Historical Theology and Dogmatics – V. Social Ethics I. Old Testament Although English Bibles have generally used kingdom of God to render Heb. מַלְכּוּת/ malkût and Gk βασιλεία/ basileía with a divine subject (genitive), some modern translators prefer instead a purely functional term such as kingship…

[German Version] Logia/Sayings Source/Q, terms for a second source (abbreviated with the siglum “Q” [for Ger. Quelle = source] since J. Weiß) that is believed to have existed alongside Mark and from which Matthew and Luke drew in the writing of their own Gospels. The postulated existence of such a document, which is neither attested by manuscripts nor mentioned in other sources, thus rests on the premise that the synoptic question can be resolved by the Two-Source Hypothesis. Within this hypothesis, the assumpt…

[English Version] I. Religionswissenschaftlich Im allg. Sprachgebrauch ist »T.« (lat. transdare, »weiterreichen, übergeben, überliefern«) als ein Festhalten und Bewahren konnotiert; als ein konservierendes Weiterreichen von Sitten, Bräuchen, Normen, Regeln und Wissen verstanden. Im Vordergrund steht der…

[English Version] I. Altes TestamentMit R.G. hat Luther hebr. מַלְכּוּת/malkût und griech. βασιλει´α/basileía bei göttlichem Subj. (Genitiv) übers. Moderne Übersetzer bevorzugen statt dessen einen rein funktionalen Begriff, »Königsherrschaft« o. ä., ohne räumlich-geographische Konnotation. Diese war dem hebr. Ausdruck durchaus eigen, der zudem nur im Sg. benutzt wird für Königtum (Königtum Gottes im Alten Testament) mit universalem Anspruch und von מַמְלָכָה/mamlākāh, einer von einem gewöhnlichen König regierten Einheit, abgehoben wird (1Chr 29,30; Esr …