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[German Version] I. Person – II. Art History I. Person (c. 347, Stridon – 419/420, Bethlehem). Jerome was from a landowning Christian family. After an excellent education in grammar and rhetoric in Rome, Jerome went to Trier in the mid-360s. There he became acquainted withmonasticism (II) and rejected a secular career. He spent the following years in upper Italy. Probably at the beginning of the 370s, he undertook a pilgrimage to the holy sites in the East. However, an illness forced him to stop in Antioch. After recovering, he set out into the “wilderness of Chalcis.” Jerome stylized ¶ th…

[English Version] I. Kirchengeschichtlich Pelagius (P.) war ein aus Britannien stammender Asket und theol. Autor, der vor 410 in Rom lehrte und sich 411/12 anläßlich der Einnahme Roms durch die Goten nach kurzem Aufenthalt in Nordafrika nach Palästina begab. Seine Lehre, nach der die Möglichkeit zur Sündlosigkeit unverfügbar zum Wesen des Menschen gehört, provozierte die Kritik von Augustin und Hieronymus. Kontext dieser Lehre ist die Seelsorge an Angehörigen der röm. Elite: Wenn man den Klienten i…

[German Version] I. Old Testament and Judaism – II. Christianity – III. Islam I. Old Testament and Judaism 1. Only in three passages does the Old Testament speak of humankind's being made in the image of God (collective use of הָ]אָדָם]/[ hā] ʾādām in Gen 1; cf. Gen 1:27: male and female): in the relationship between God and human beings in Gen 1:26f. and 9:6, and in the relationship between human beings in Gen 5:1, 3 (all P). Substantially the same idea is conveyed in Ps 8:6–9*; for later treatment of the theme, Sir 17:3–7 and Wis 2…

[German Version] I. Church History Pelagius was an ascetic and theological writer from Britain. Before 410 he taught in Rome, and in 411/412, following the capture of Rome by the Goths, went to Palestine after a short stay in North Africa. His teaching, according to which the possibility of sinlessness was an essential part of human nature, provoked the criticism of Augustine and Jerome. This teaching had its setting in the pastoral care of members of the Roman elite. Pelagius stated that when one re…

[English Version] I. Begriffsgeschichtlich Der klassischen Antike fehlt ein Begriff für W. Dieser wird erst durch die Christen in der Spätantike popularisiert. Aristoteles diskutiert die Problematik unter der Leitfrage, in welchem Sinn Handlungen »bei uns« (ε᾿ϕ᾿ η῾μι˜n̆/eph' hēmín) liegen (Arist.e.N. III 1 1110 a 1–3). Die Stoa nennt den Begriff το` αυ᾿τεξου´σιοn̆/to autexoúsion (»Selbstverfügung«; vgl. Chrysipp [SVF 2, 975/990]), lat. mit »liberum arbitrium« übers. Noch Augustin verknüpft das Problem mit dem Begriff προαι´ρεσις/prohaíresis (De libero arbitrio …

[English Version] I. Begriffsgeschichtlich Entwicklung und Verbreitung des Begriffs sind eng mit der Gesch. der christl. Theol. verbunden. Die klassische griech. Antike kannte noch keinen einheitlichen und distinkten Begriff des W. zur Bez. eines eigenständigen geistigen Vermögens. Die voluntative Dimension war in den Bez. für rationale Überlegung, Entscheidung, Bereitschaft sowie nicht-rationales Begehren enthalten. Für Aristoteles ist βουλη´/boulē´ ein Streben, das sich nach einer Überlegung und also auf der Basis von Wissen vernunftgeleitet einst…

[German Version] I. History of the Term The development and spread of the term will go hand in hand with the history of Christian theology. Classical Greek had no single, distinct term like will denoting an independent mental faculty. The voluntative dimension was contained in the terms used for rational deliberation, decision-making, willingness, and non-rational desire. For Aristotleβουλή/ boulḗ is conation (Striving) that ensues after deliberation and hence is guided by reason based on knowledge ( De anima III 10, 433a ¶ 20–23). In the Bible, especially in Paul, the phenom…

[German Version] I. Concept – II. Antiquity – III. New Testament – IV. Early Church – V. Systematic Theology I. Concept The notion of a “real person” residing within the outer human being is widely attested in ancient literature and became part of a comprehensive system of metaphors by the time of Hellenism at the latest. However, this notion is conveyed through very different terms, corresponding also to conceptions of rather differing nature. The single English concept “inner person,” which cannot adequately …

[German Version] I. Terminology – II. Law – III. Church History – IV. Philosophy of Religion – V. Dogmatics – VI. Ethics – VII. Judaism – VIII. Islam I. Terminology Classical Antiquity lacked a term for free will, a concept first popularized by Christians in Late Antiquity. Aristotle discussed the problem in the context of asking in what sense actions lie “within us” (ἐϕ᾿ ἡμῖν/ ephʾ hēmín; Arist. Eth. Nic. III 1, 1110a, 1–3). The Stoics called the concept τὸ αὐτεξούσιον/ to autexoúsion (“self-control”; ¶ cf. Chrysippus [ SVF II, 975–990]), translated into Latin as liberum arbitriu…

[English Version] I. Zum Begriff V.a. in der ökum. Diskussion (Ökumene) wird gern vorausgesetzt, daß mit dem Stichwort a.S. ein urspr. und klar definiertes Merkmal des kirchl. Amtes bez. würde. Allerdings kommt die Vorstellung, daß zu den Kennzeichen der Kirche eine lückenlos bis auf die Apostel zurückgehende Kette von Amtsträgern gehört, die jeweils durch Handauflegung eines anderen legitimen Amtsträgers in ihr Amt gekommen sind, erst relativ spät auf und ist auch nicht die urspr. Bedeutung des zugrundeliegenden griech. und lat. Begriffsfeldes. Die Termini griech. διαδοχη´/di…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Church History – III. Survey of the Christian Confessions – IV. Systematic Theology I. Religious Studies For an overview of Christianity at the end of the second millennium of its development, it is reasonable to give a comparative presentation against the background of the world of religion. It must be remembered, however, that “religion” is not an immutable, ahistorical quantity: it is variable and controversial. The modern concept of religion is …

[German Version] I. Concept, Presuppositions – II. Development – III. Middle Eastern Church History and Historiography – IV. Religious Education I. Concept, Presuppositions 1. Concept The concept of church history has not yet been studied sufficiently, but it is already clear that since antiquity extraordinarily different conceptions of Christian historiography have been in simultaneous competition over the interpretation of past, present, and future. Often the different methodological option…

[German Version] I. Terminology Ecumenical discussion (Ecumenicalism), in particular, assumes that the term “apostolic succession” refers to an original and clearly defined characteristic of the church office. However, the notion that the notae ecclesiae indicate an unbroken chain, going back to the apostles, of officeholders who have each come into office through the laying-on of hands by another legitimate officeholder, appeared only relatively late and is not the original meaning of the underlying Greek and Latin semantic field. The Greek and Latin terms διαδοχή/ diadochḗ/…

[German Version] I. Terminology Especially in ecumenical discussion (Ecumene), there is a widespread assumption that the expression apostolic succession denotes a primitive and clearly defined attribute of ecclesiastical office. However, the notion that the marks of the church (Notae ecclesiae) include an unbroken chain of office holders going back to the apostles and that each of these office holders was placed in office through the laying-on of hands of another legitimate office holder appeared on the scene rel…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Christianity – III. Philosophy – IV. Judaism – V. Islam I. Religious Studies Gnosis (Gk γνῶσις/ gnṓsis, “knowledge”) is a particular form of religious knowledge that brings salvation per se. It is not dependent on a particular object but has its value and its justification in itself. It is total knowledge, since it overcomes the dichotomy between subject and object – in fact every dichotomy –, because it is absolute knowledge of the absolute. From the point of view of the history o…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Ancient Near East and Israel – III. Judaism – IV. Greece and Rome – V. New Testament – VI. Church History – VII. Dogmatics – VIII. Ethics – IX. Philosophy I. Religious Studies History is a major aspect of the study of religion. Apart from its roots in the Enlightenment idea of tolerance, it owes its scholarly development to the historicism of the 19th century. As a result, the expression history of religions ( Religionsgeschichte, histoire des religions, storia delle religioni) has remained dominant in continental Europe, in con…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Old Testament – III. Primitive Christianity – IV. Church History – V. Judaism – VI. Islam – VII. Asia, Africa, and Latin America – VIII. Social Sciences – IX. Psychology – X. Philosophy of Religion – XI. Practical Theology I. Religious Studies To date there have been hardly any works devoted to men from the perspective of religious studies. Given the androcentrism of traditional scholarship, the category of homo religiosus has usually yielded knowledge of the religious male, but this work must …

[German Version] I. New Testament – II. Church History – III. Dogmatics – IV. Liturgical History – V. Practical Theology – VI. Missiology I. New Testament 1. Background Sacred meals are common to all religions. Before examining them in the context of the NT, it is necessary first to inquire into their background in the OT and in Judaism, whereupon it becomes evident that sacrificial meals play no role in them. Only the dai…