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[German Version] I. Church History 1. General. The term Neo-Lutheranism refers to the 19th-century theological and ecclesiological movement that sought to turn its back on the Enlightenment and rationalism and to renew Lutheranism (Lutherans) on the basis of strict fidelity to Scripture and the Lutheran confessions. Although the term, coined (as Ger. Neuluthertum) by K. Schwarz ( Zur Geschichte der neuesten Theologie, 1856, 353), was intended to emphasize the difference between a Neo-Lutheranism and old Lutheranism ( Altluthertum), it soon came to designate those who wan…

[German Version] I. Philosophy A value judgment is a judgment by which something is assessed as valuable or valueless. In contrast to the judgment of fact, which constitutes a descriptive statement of facts with a claim to scientifically verifiable objectivity, the value judgment in the sense of a normative (prescriptive) assessment constitutes the act of recognizing or revocating a validity, mostly in practical respects (also indirectly). Where it is not directly meant to guide actions, it contains…

[German Version] I. Philosophy – II. Philosophy of Religion and Fundamental Theology I. Philosophy A statement that is simply incredible is described in philosophy and logic as a paradox, if, in spite of its “unbelievability,” it seems nevertheless to be correctly deduced from acceptable premises. An example of this kind is the Socratic paradox stating that action against better knowledge is impossible (cf. Plato Prot. 351b–358e). From the prima facie plausible pragmatic theory assumption: (1) “People always freely do what seems best (for them),” the statement se…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. New Testament and Early Christianity – III. Systematic Theology I. Religious Studies In religious studies, the concept of “charisma” refers especially to religious phenomena which exhibit characteristics such as originality, immediacy, spontaneity, and dynamics, and which stand in sharp contrast or even in outright opposition to the ordinary. From an ideal-typological perspective, these phenomena thus entail a potential disruption of tradit…

[German Version] I. Natural Sciences – II. Philosophy – III. Fundamental Theology – IV. Ethics I. Natural Sciences In the natural sciences, the term paradigm (from Gk παράδειγμα/ parádeigma, “pattern, model”) is commonly used to refer to exemplary models for scientific work. A particular way of setting up an experiment or a simulation, or a strategy for giving evidence for a conclusion, can be described as a paradigm. On a more general level, influential basic theories or scientific works introducing such theories (e.g. Jo…

[German Version] I. Meaning – II. Old Testament – III. Early Judaism – IV. New Testament – V. Ethics I. Meaning Love of one's neighbor is the love of creaturely persons, for other concrete creaturely persons (“neighbors”) as being in the image of God; it includes love of enemies (Matt 5:44 = Luke 6:27; Enemy,). The Reformers believed that the twofold law of love (Mark 12:29–31 parr.), expressive of a well-ordered creation, embodies all the demands of the law (cf. Luther, BSLK 586). The love…

[German Version] I. Literary Criticism – II. Philosophy – III. Philosophy of Religion – IV. Fundamental Theology – V. History of Art I. Literary Criticism Metaphor (Gk μεταφορά/ metaphorá, “transfer,” from μεταφέρω/ metaphérō, “to transfer”) is a figure of speech in which, by means of a linguistic image, that is, in a figurative sense, reference is made to an object. The semantic analysis of metaphor, its distinction from other tropes, and discussion of the effectiveness and comprehensibility of poetic metaphors are some of the more difficult tasks of literary criticism. Definit…

[English Version] I. ReligionswissenschaftlichDie Bez. Gottes als »Vater« ist religionsgesch. nahezu universal. Sie tritt bes. häufig in bestimmten Kontexten auf: 1. Mit zunehmendem Abstand vom Tod beginnt in manchen Kulturen die Gottwerdung der Ahnen (im Hinduismus nach drei Generationen). Die Vorväter verlieren allmählich ihre Individualität und werden zu Göttern oder verschmelzen mit bekannten Gottheiten. So wird der Urahne häufig mit dem Höchsten Wesen in eins gesetzt. Beide gelten dann als »Vater« und bilden …

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Old Testament – III. Early Judaism – IV. New Testament – V. Dogmatics – VI. Philosophy of Religion I. Religious Studies The use of father as a designation of God is almost universal. It is especially frequent in certain contexts: 1. In many cultures, deification of ancestors begins as their death recedes into the past (in Hinduism after three generations). Forefathers gradually lose their individuality and become gods or merge with familiar deities. Thus the original ancestor is often identif…