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[German Version] The term “lie” refers to a deliberate false claim or a denial of the truth. In the Old Testament, it is used, for example, in the context of malicious gossip (Ps 4:3, etc.). In the New Testament, “lie” (ψεῦδος/ pseúdos) refers predominantly to the culpable negation of salvation interpreted as truth (John 14:6). Accordingly, the lie has satanic origins (John 8:44) and belongs to the sphere of the unredeemed (Rom 1:25; 3:5; cf. Ps 116:11). Already in the NT the term “lie” also occurs in polemic against heresy (e.g. 2 The…

[German Version] I. Existential Conflicts – II. Social Conflicts – III. Theological Interpretation of Social Conflicts The issue of conflict is relevant to theology from two perspectives, namely as an existential and as social conflict. The Christian interpretation of conflict attempts to elucidate both aspects. I. Existential Conflicts Paul describes existence as a conflict between the will to do good and the incapacity to accomplish it (Rom 7:7–25), but also as a conflict between one's old life and the new one attained through faith (Rom 6:1–4, also 7 and elsewhere). Furthermore, Paul raises the question as to t…

[German Version] For modern fatalism, because all actions are determined in a way that can be demonstrated scientifically, alleged freedom thus merely represents “false consciousness.” Causal determinism differentiates modern fatalism from earlier assumptions of blind fate and destiny ( moíra). G.W. Leibniz still tried to delimit his own concept of fate from determinism. During the subsequent period, theories came to differentiate such notions as practical fatalistic-deterministic worldviews. Marxism, for example, views all actions a…

[German Version] This expression, common since F. Nietzsche, refers to an ethos that – allegedly as an act of self-effacement but in fact on account of deficient vitality – eschews direct self-assertion but subtly brings fatal consequences by distortion of a person’s life force. Matthias Heesch Bibliography F.D.E. Schleiermacher, “Rede zum Geburtstag Friedrichs des Großen,” 1817, in: idem, Kritische Gesamtausgabe, vol. I/11, 2002, 241–250 S. Kierkegaard, Frygt og Beeven, 1843; ET: Fear and Trembling…

[German Version] I. Definition of Terms – II. History – III. Reflections on the Present I. Definition of Terms …

[German Version] the Greek term for “purification,” was employed systematically in Aristotle's poetics ( Poet. 6): by producing pity ( éleos) and fear (   phóbos) in the observer, the action portrayed leads to purification ( kátharsis) from these affects. This assertion reflects the notion that the objectification of besetting emotions makes them manageable, as it were. Similar ideas lie behind the theology and practice of confession, although in the Middle Ages (and in Catholicism still today) they have been…

[German Version] is an ethics grounded on predefined values (Value/Values). The term gained acceptance in Neo-Kantian and phenomenological practical philosophy during the early 20th century (M. Scheler, N. Hartmann), but as a substantial category it can clearly be extended to earlier approaches. According to …

[German Version] (Apr 13, 1899, Vienna – May 20, 1959, NY), a lawyer, initially explored sociological and economic topics as a sideline. His principal work, Der sinnhafte Aufbau der sozialen Welt, appeared in 1932 (61993; ET: The Phenomenology of the Social World, 1967). Forced to emigrate, Schütz began teaching as professor of sociology in New York in 1943. Following in the footsteps of H. Bergson, he initially sought to understand sociological phenomena on the basis of the structure of self-awareness. Later he tried to put the sociol…

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[German Version] The word utopia was coined by T. More in 1516, though utopias were already discussed in substance in antiquity. The term means a theoretical or belletristic conception of an ideal configuration or improvement of human life based on rational or religious principles, often with the presumption of advancing technology (positive utopias). Negative utopias, common since the 20th century (e.g. George Orwell and Aldous Huxley), caution against the unforeseeable consequences of such experiments. A utopia claims a conceptual wealh that transcends reality. Contrary to its self-conception, Marxism should also be labeled a utopia, since its claim to have identified the laws of historical development and hence to be a science rather than a utopia is hardly acceptable. All utopias presuppose that the effects of rational conceptions within the life-world are predictable. This is the point addressed by criticisms of utopias: experience shows that the future effects are far less predictable than we usually assume (see esp. H. Jonas). Furthermore, past …

[German Version] I. Religious Studies Rigorism is an ethical category used mostly in connection with perfectionist communities. It means unbending and rigid adherence to principles of conduct (and thought) and is in opposition to laxity as a carefree and casual moral attitude. When this approach is applied ¶ …

[German Version] I. Social Sciences and Ethics – II. Practical Theology I. Social Sciences and Ethics The term the masses (or the crowd) is a peculiarly modern, strongly normative designation for a great number of human beings thought of as an amorphous whole. Since antiquity there have been references to disorganized groups of people, uneducated and hence susceptible to demagoguery ( óchlos, ple…

[German Version] I. Terminology and History Utopians aspire to achieve fundamental improvement of human life from a rational, religious, or technological perspective – often in combination. To present their ideas, they frequently make use of a form somewhere between a philosophical or theological treatise and a narrative account, called a utopia after the eponymous Utopia of T. More (1516). But the theme is much earlier, going back to Plato’s …

[German Version] I. Philosophy of Religion – II. Ethics – III. Practical Theology I. Philosophy of Religion To begin the interpretation of society and religion with the notion of interaction means to assume a basis of action. Fundamental forms of interaction are, for example, coop…

[German Version] I. Philosophy The philosophical value concept is the result of a hypostatization of value predicates that are assigned to objects or circumstances as signs of human esteem. By way of inference, the evaluative assessment gives rise to a value, which is in turn meant to serve as a source of norms. …

[German Version] I. Concept – II. Antiquity – III. New Testament – IV. Early Church – V. Systematic Theology …

[German Version] I. General The word slavery…

[German Version] I. Terminology No term equivalent to vocation is found in classical Greek and Latin. An officium was exercised by virtue of a preexisting status, usually by birth. Trades (including medicine) fulfilled the conditions of a regular vocation (τέχνη/ téchnē), but had no self-awareness reflected in terminology. In the New Testa…