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[German Version] I. Fundamental Theology The words nature and grace are used (primarily in Catholic theology) to explain the relationship between philosophical anthropology (I) and the reality of God’s salvation, conceived theologically. This discussion, peculiar to the West, normally involves only the nature of human beings, not that of other beings. The language of medieval Aristotelianism, especially that of Thomas Aquinas, decisively shaped the treatment of this topic by fundamental theology. According to Thomas, grace does not abolish nature but perfects it ( Summa theolo…

[German Version] See also Heavenly voice, Memra, Revelation. I. Religious Studies Humans experience messages from the deity or divine beings (Inspiration/Theopneusty, Revelation) in the form of speech. Formally we must distinguish (a) the word of the deity himself, as recorded in sacred scripture after a phase of oral transmission (Torah, Qurʾān, Vedas, Avesta); (b) words communicated by individuals specially chosen and called by God (the word that calls); (c) words spoken by elect individuals having a spe…

[German Version] refers to the process of constituting or preserving a whole and is employed in the humanities primarily as a sociological and educational-psychological category. Consequently, in the field of theology, integration is a term with primary relevance for practical theology. Conceptually, in particular the third of the meanings of the Latin adjective integer (1. sound, incorrupt, 2. new, 3. whole) has come to dominate the current notion of integration, while the Latin substantive, integratio, primarily connoted “renovation.” The modern concept of integrati…

[German Version] I. Definition Sociology is an empirical social science; its field of study encompasses the relatively enduring forms and structures of social action (Action, Science of ) and the resultant social units, from entities like the family and kinship group and social groups to large-scale organizations and states. The word itself is an artificial combination of Latin socius (“companion, fellow”) and Greek logos (“word, truth,” in an extended sense “knowledge”). It appears for the first time in vol. IV of the Cours de philosophie positive of A. Comte (1838). As a scie…

[German Version] (Mar 20, 1900, Schönbach, Saxony – Sep 2, 1970, Göttingen) was a practical theologian of Lutheran provenience who may be categorized in the sphere of influence of “Word of God theology” (K. Barth), but who sought to take into account influences from Berneuchen theology (W. Stählin, A.D. Müller, O. Haendler) and empirical aspects of the chu…

[German Version] (Apr 18, 1890, Komsomolsk [Ger. Löwenhagen], Russia – Jan 12, 1981, Berlin). After pastoring in Gumtow, Prignitz and Stralsund, Haendler was director of the seminary in Stettin (1931–1935), pastor in Neuenkirchen near Greifswald (1935–1949) and professor of practical theology at Greifswald (1945–1951) and East Berlin (1951–1959). Marked by ¶ the depth psychology of C.G. Jung and the Evangelische Michaelsbruderschaft, he became an early proponent of pastoral psychology in Germany before its broad acceptance after 1970. His 1941 textbook Die Predigt [The sermo…

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[German Version] (Jun 2, 1912, Ückermünde, Pomerania – Aug 25, 1982, Loccum), was deeply influenced by his studies under R. Hermann in Greifswald and by D. Bonhoeffer's preachers' seminary in Finkenwalde. He became campus minister in 1937, performed his military service and was a prisoner of war (1939 to 1955), officiated as pastor in Bünde, Westphalia, and was professor of practical theology in Bonn from 1962 to 1977. Until his death, Krause was one of the two editors of the …

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Old Testament – III. New Testament – IV. Philosophy of Religion – V. Dogmati…

[German Version] Physical and emotional injuries are commonly called traumas (from the Gk word for “wound”). In a narrower sense, traumas are psychological wounds that manifest themselves as long-term impairments, especially after the experience of war, a catastrophe, or an accident, as well as after crimes of violence (rape, sexual abuse, including abuse within the family). If the traumatic event (after an initial period of latency) leads to obtrusive flashbacks within six months, with fear of re…

[German Version] (Biblical Scholarship, Hermeneutics, Interpretation)…

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[German Version] (Jan 12, 1890, Hauptmannsgrün, Vogtland – Aug 4, 1972, Leipzig), pastor from 1917, and from 1930 professor of practical theology in Leipzig. As early as 1934, Müller cooperated with Leipzig psychologists in order to include spiritual care in the curriculum. First influenced by religious socialism (L. Ragaz), and later, more decisively, by the Evangelische Michaelsbruderschaft, Müller's Grundriß transposed their experiences into practical theology. In functional proximity to O. Haendler, Müller designed a practical theology related to both church and culture, in which, despite the reception of depth psychology, the “unconditional critical philosophy of Christian faith” must remain the determining factor ( Grundriß, 292). Michael Meyer-Blanck Bibliography …

[German Version] I. Terminology and Theory In its scientific exploration of the past, all historiography aims at a synthesis in the sense of a valid overview of what has gone before. At best, however, the quest can succeed only paradigmatically and typically, because any reconstruction of an histoire totale is doomed to failure. Nevertheless historiography cannot abandon the ven-¶ ture of viewing history (History/Concepts of history) as a whole, because otherwise the incalculable mass of detail would rule out any interpretation of historical processes. Therefore the history of the historical disciplines has been marked by the repeated emergence of new critical “schools,” which have accused the then dominant views of deficiencies in particular areas, which they have undertaken to overcome with new questions and methods. Among them – if we ignore certain precursors – is the social history that emerged in the 1960s. In the context of the general his…

[German Version] I. History of Religion – II. Bible – III. Dogmatics – IV. Philosophy – V. Philosophy of Religion – VI. Ethics – VII. Practical Theology – VIII. Judaism I. History of Religion …

[German Version] In a broad sense, the educational dilemma of the church is the consequence of the modern tension between religion and science, first apparent in the 18th century. In 1799 F.D.E. Schleiermacher defended religion from its cultured despisers, who had enthusiastically adopted aesthetic and moral forms of self-assurance while educating the general populace in a religion to which they themselves were “totally indifferent” (Schleiermacher, 32). As the middle class grew during the 19th century, this ¶ tendency led to education in a cultural religion indep…

[German Version] I. Definition In the Middle Ages, it was common to call theology practica in contrast to speculativa (e.g. Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae I/I q. 4f.; but contrast Luther, ¶ WA.TR, 153). In German Protestantism today, the term practical theology ( Praktische Theologie) denotes a discipline within academic theology that was established in the early 19th century. Introduced encyclopaedically by F.D.E. Schleiermacher for the “proper approach to dealing with all the functions that come under the heading of church leadership” ( Kurze Darstellung des theologische…