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[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Old Testament – III. New Testament – IV. Practical Theology I. Religious Studies The laying-on or imposition of hands is a physical gesture usually performed in the context of a ritualized series of actions or as a symbol by itself. It can be ascribed to a divine being conceived anthropomorphically. The ritual gesture is attested in many cultures, especially in the ancient Near East, but it is not universal – it is unknown, for example, in Buddhism and Islam. Its mean…

[German Version] I. Terminology and Scope The book of Psalms is a unique collection of 150 poetic texts compiled to make a work sui generis. Its Hebrew title תְּהִלִּים(סֵפֶר) /( sēper) tĕhillîm, “(Book of) Praises,” is already found at Qumran (earliest instance: 4QMa [= 4Q491] 174, 1st cent. bce). As in the New Testament occurrences from about a century later (Luke 20:42; Acts 1:20: βίβλος ψαλμῶν/ bíblos psalmṓ n), it appears to be used primarily in the technical sense of a scroll containing psalms (cf. the frgm. 4QPs), but it might also denote a form of the Psalter. In 11QPsa, a collectio…

[English Version] I. ReligionswissenschaftlichDer urspr. in der Rechtssprache beheimatete Begriff S. wird v.a. im Rahmen der christl. Theol. reflektiert, doch scheint er durchaus geeignet, auch in der Religionswiss. Anwendung zu finden, wenn auch eine eingehende syst. Behandlung bislang noch nicht geleistet wurde. Im allgemeinsten Sinne ist dann von S. zu sprechen, wenn das eigentlich betroffene oder agierende Subjekt (sei es ein Gott, eine Einzelperson, z.B. der König, oder ein Kollektiv) durch j…

[English Version] I. ReligionsgeschichtlichV. – die Erwiderung von Gutem durch Gutes und Bösem durch Böses, in der Rel. in Form von göttlichem bzw. schicksalhaftem Lohn oder Strafe für menschliches Verhalten in diesem Leben oder nach dem Tod – ist ein Aspekt der Reziprozität, des Prinzips von Leistung und Gegenleistung (Verdienst). Richard Thurnwald verwies als erster auf die Bedeutung der Reziprozität für das soziale Handeln und das Weltbild in ethnischen Gesellschaften. Nicht nur die Erwiderung …

[German Version] I. History of Religions – II. Biblical – III. Philosophy of Religion – IV. Dogmatics – V. Ethics – VI. Science I. History of Religions 1. So-called chaos research (see VI below) has renewed a positive meaning of the term with the model of the “creative” self-organization of matter (thus without the goal-oriented will of an ordering creator). Previously, since Late Antiquity, a negative evaluation of chaos had prevailed: Since creation demonstrates the existence of God, chaos was a negative in relation to the Creator God in a dualistic system, as disorder ( confusio: Augus…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. History of Religions – III. Philosophy of Religion – IV. Art History I. Religious Studies All cultures have concepts of a hereafter or beyond (“the next world”), although they are extremely diverse. They involve a realm of existence different from the visible earthly world but nevertheless thought of as real. Concepts of the hereafter are part of cosmology and therefore are related to the real world: the hereafter may be localized above or below the earth, in inaccessib…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. History of Religions – III. Old Testament – IV. New Testament – V. Philosophy of Religion – VI. Dogmatics – VII. Judaism ¶ I. Religious Studies Concepts of the hereafter do not, of themselves, necessarily contain statements concerning eternal life. On the contrary, concepts of the hereafter develop with dynamics of their own and thus variability. Eternal life and …

[German Version] I. Religious Studies The term substitution, originating in the language of law, is used primarily in Christian theology, but it is well suited for use in religious studies as well, even though so far there has been no detailed systematic treatment of it. In the most general sense, we speak of substitution when the true subject affected or acting (God, an individual like the king, or a collective) is represented by another ¶ entity (a person or group, an animal, or an object) as a substitute involved (actively or passively) in the action, acting for the…

[German Version] Lament I. Religious Studies – II. Bible – III. Systematic Theology – IV. Practical Theology – V. Judaism I. Religious Studies Lament has its roots in human experience; it gives voice to suffering and mourning, in ritual, poetic, or informal form. Its end is not theoretical, like theodicy, but practical: people react to the experience of situations perceived as mentally, physically or socially painful and process these experiences individually or collectively. The prototypical occasion for mournin…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies Retribution – recompense of good with good and evil with evil, in religion as reward (Payment) or punishment for human conduct, imposed in this life or the next by God or fate – is an aspect of reciprocity, the principle of quid pro quo (Merit). Richard Thurnwald was the first to point out the significance of reciprocity for social action and worldview in ethnic societies. It goes beyond reciprocating with a gift or assistance, or exchanging daughters between exogamous groups; the moral, legal, and religi…

[English Version] I. Begriff und Umfang der Psalmen/des PsaltersDas Buch der Pss ist eine einzigartige Zusammenstellung von 150 poetischen Texten zu einem Werk sui generis. Seine hebr. Bez. תְּהִלִּים (סֵפֶר)/(sepær) t ehilli^m, »Buch der (Lob-)Preisungen«, findet sich schon in Qumran (ältester Beleg: 4QM a [= 4 Q 491] 174 [1.Jh. v.Chr.]). Ähnlich wie in den ca.100 Jahre jüngeren ntl. Stellen Lk 20,42; Apg 1,20 (βι´βλος ψαλμω˜n̆/bi´blos psalmō´n) scheint damit zunächst im technischen Sinn eine Schriftrolle mit Pss gemeint zu sein (vgl. die Frgm. 4QPs)…

[English Version] I. PhilosophischDas Wort »W.«, das schon im frühma. Deutsch nachweisbar ist, bez. i. allg. ein »vorstellungsmäsziges bild der welt, wie es sich aus der gesamtheit der welteindrücke und weltanschaulichen vorstellungen ergibt« (DWb 28 [= 14,1,1], 1955, 1553). So ist die Bedeutung des Wortes mit der von »Weltanschauung« verwandt und kommt in der Philos. auch meist zus. mit diesem vor. Dabei wird das W. sowohl als Voraussetzung wie als Resultat der Weltanschauung verstanden. W. Dilth…

[German Version] I. Natural Sciences and Psychology – II. Religious Studies – III. Philosophy – IV. Old Testament – V. New Testament – VI. Church History – VII. Dogmatics and Ethics – VIII. Judaism – IX. Islam I. Natural Sciences and Psychology 1. Evolution From the perspective of the natural sciences, the theory of evolution offers the most comprehensive framework for understanding human beings. It views the human species as a late product of a biogenetic process that began with the origin of life (VI) on earth some 3.8 billion …

[German Version] I. Philosophy The word Weltbild (“worldview”; more lit. “world picture”) is already found in early medieval German; it is defined as a “conceptual view of the world that emerges from the totality of impressions made by the world and ideas of one’s Weltanschauung” ( DWb 28 [14.1.1], 1955, 1553). Its meaning is thus related to the meaning of Weltanschauung . Philosophy usually treats both together. A Weltbild can be understood as both a premise and a product of a Weltanschauung. W. Dilthey called a Weltbild “the basis of one’s appreciation of life and understanding…

[English Version] I. Religionsgeschichtlich 1.  GrundfragenLeben, Natur, Umwelt und Zeitenlauf (Zeit/Zeitvorstellungen) sind für jede Gesellschaft Alltagserfahrungen. Zur Wirklichkeit gehört aber auch das Risiko, wonach dieser natürliche Lebensraum bedroht und bedrohlich ist. Chaos und Tod gehören zum Kosmos (Welt). Die Realität ist ambivalent. Evolutionstheoretisch gehört zu den entscheidenden Symptomen der Entwicklung vom vormenschlichen zum humanen Existenzbereich, daß diese Risikoerfahrung ritue…

[German Version] I. History of Religion – II. Old Testament – III. Judaism – IV. New Testament – V. History of Theology – VI. Creation and Preservation – VII. Religious Education – VIII. Islam – IX. Science – X. Art History I. History of Religion 1. Fundamentals Life, nature, the environment, the passage of time – these are everyday experiences for any society. But reality also includes the danger that this world may be imperiled or perilous. Chaos and death are part …