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[German Version] (Jul 22, 1911, Rostock – Nov 10, 1999, Marburg), philologist, theologian, and philosopher of religion. After beginning a course in oriental studies in Leipzig, Ratschow was redirected to theology by A. Alt’s lectures on Israel’s religious history. He continued the study of theology in Göttingen and Rostock, completing his studies in 1935. After obtaining his doctorate in theology under F. Brunstäd, on L. Klages’s vitalism, he returned to Göttingen, where in 1938 he gained his Habilitation with a thesis on the verb hayah, and a doctorate ( Magie und Religion, 1947). Af…

[German Version] I. Philosophy of Religion Especially in the tradition of theologia negativa, unavailability (or inaccessibility, Ger. Unverfügbarkeit) char­acterizes divinity, the unconditioned (Absolute necessity), and the absolute, which is divorced (Lat. absolutum) from all relationships and conditions and thus is not available and accessible in any natural, material intramundane referential context. In categorial distinction from that context, it is implicit and premised as the (metaphysical or transcendental) ground of …

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Philosophy of Religion – III. Old Testament I. Religious Studies Deities defined by emphasis on their relationship to ancestors (“fathers,” see also Ancestors, Cult of) are historically and ethnographically attested in Near Eastern and East African cultures. Usually named in the form “God of X” or “God of my/your father” or “God of my/your fathers,” they can also be known by a specific proper name. The cult of such father deities occurs – independently of a specific…

[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…

[German Version] I. Neurobiology and Psychology – II. Religious Studies – III. Ancient Near East and Old Testament – IV. Early Judaism – V. Greco-Roman Antiquity – VI. New Testament – VII. Church History – VIII. Fundamental Theology – IX. Practical Theology – X. Missiology – XI. Art History I. Neurobiology and Psychology Dreams are hallucinatory experiences that generally occur during sleep. Unlike real experiences, they involve associations that are temporally, spatially, and emot…