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[German Version] I. Religious Studies The German word Hexe (witch) derives from the West Germanic hag (fence, gate). In Old High German hagazuzza is the “fence rider” (fem.). During the phase of Christian expansion until the early Middle Ages, missionaries met among Celtic, Germanic and Slavic peoples who knew, in addition to high gods, a number of lower and local divinities. Common to all Germanic peoples was belief in the power of magic, including harmful magic, which was everywhere punished. Gifts of food to good …

[German Version] I. Church History – II. Theology – III. Ecumenics I. Church History The unity of the church as a theological term does not appear explicitly in the New Testament; it emerged during the early history of the church, although the concept itself is a central NT theme. A further difficulty for a historical presentation is the nature of unity: is it ethical and theological (consensus in faith and conduct; cf. Eph 4:1–6) or juridical and structural (singularity)? The t…

[German Version] (c. 1548/1549, Emmendingen, Kaufbeuren or Kuchen – Aug 1, 1589, Kempten), Swabian Lutheran theologian. Pflacher studied from 1567 in Tübingen (M.A. Aug 10, 1569), and is then believed to have been rector in Krems, Austria; in 1573 he was ordained in Tübingen; then appointed by Johann v. Ortenau to bring the Reformation to the county, and in 1582 as court preacher; dismissed a year later, after the sovereign prince turned to the Reformed church. In 1585 Pflacher gained his doctorate under J. Andreae in Tübingen (disputation: De iure vocandi ministros ecclesiae), and in …

[German Version] I. History of Religion (Ancient Near East and Antiquity) – II. Old Testament – III. New Testament – IV. Church History – V. Iconography – VI. Practical Theology – VII. Judaism – VIII. Islam I. History of Religion (Ancient Near East and Antiquity) The term “demon” as used in European language groups derives from the Greek (δαίμων/ daímōn), where it initially also referred simply to gods (ϑεοί/ theoí; cf. Homer Iliad 1.122) without either positive or negative connotations. The exclusively “negative” charge associate…