Kategorie: English Texts

Karl Barth, Christ and We Christians (1947): „Christ is the victor. Victory is more than consolation. And hope is more than good courage. Perhaps traditional Christianity suffers above all from the fact that we understand Christ at best as a comforter and his gift at best as good courage, as the gift of patience and confidence and decisiveness. That is nothing small, but there is another horizon. As the church of Jesus Christ, we would not only owe ourselves, but also God and mankind a decisive debt if we did not want to realize that Christianity not only has a Good Friday side, but also an Easter side. Rightly understood, the cross is not a sign of paradox and dark mystery, but a sign of victory.“

Christ and We Christians (1947) By Karl Barth Our topic has the characteristic of being very simple. Christ and us … Mehr

How a Theologian Promoted the Doctorate in Philosophy (Dr. phil./PhD). Friedrich Schleiermacher’s Report on Academic Dignities from 1810: „Whoever wishes to become a doctor in the philosophical faculty must submit a Latin dissertation from the field of the science to which he particularly wishes to devote himself. If this is not rejected, the examination follows, which is limited to the same scientific field and to philosophy, insofar as it contains the principles thereof.“

Immanuel Kant was never a Doctor of Philosophy, but (only) Magister Artium. Until the beginning of the 19th century, the … Mehr

Hans Joachim Iwand, Before the Storm (The Hour of Apostasy, 1937): „Not only are we in a time of apostasy, but, what is worse, time itself does not know this; on the contrary, it believes it is in the hour of an unparalleled religious renewal. Certainly, it too will wake up terribly once in a while. But there is a new one that does not lead to repentance. For the time being, however, enough false prophets ensure that the dream continues to be dreamed. For we can learn this from the Holy Scriptures: the apostasy of the people from the living God goes hand in hand with the appearance of false prophets who interpret the hunger dreams and substitute their visions for the Word of God.“

Perhaps the most powerful speech (not sermon) given within the Confessing Church in Germany between 1933 and 1945: Before the … Mehr

Martin Luther, To the Christians of Augsburg, letter of consolation in adversity for the sake of the Gospel, December 11, 1523: „Whoever does not want the cross must also lack the word. It is true that there is nothing love­lier in heaven and on earth than the word without the cross. But pleasure would not last long; for nature is not able to bear joy and pleasure for so long; as it is said: man can suffer all things without good days; and there must be strong legs to bear good days.“

To the Christians of Augsburg, letter of consolation in adversity for the sake of the Gospel, December 11, 1523 By … Mehr

Johann Christoph Blumhardt, The Legacy of the Departing Savior. Sermon on Ascension Day 1861: „Salvation shall come, salvation shall come upon all the peoples of the earth, deliverance, redemption, refreshment, upon all troubled minds. It is a merciful look of love that He casts everywhere with silent thoughts, which are based on a reality, because it is still to come. Dear friends, think of Him hovering over us today with blessing hands, perhaps even with compassionate tearful eyes, wishing salvation, offering salvation to all, assuring salvation to all who want it.“

The Legacy of the Departing Savior. Sermon on Ascension Day 1861 By Johann Christoph Blumhardt And behold, I will send … Mehr

Word and Fire Instead of Sound and Smoke. Why an Abstract „God“ Is not to be Believed: „The memory of suffering leads into the liturgical memory of names, which takes into prayer the mystery of salvation of Jesus Christ before YHWH: Name to Name rather than Dust to Dust. Should God-thinking (or God-not-thinking) have the last word among us humans, anonymous grave fields in cemeteries would be the foretaste of eternity.“

Word and Fire Instead of Sound and Smoke. Why an Abstract „God“ Is not to be Believed By Jochen Teuffel … Mehr

Karl Steinbauer’s Sermon on Matthew 2:13-23 (Bethlehemite Infanticide) with Reference to the National Socialist Educational Dictatorship from January 1939: „There should be hearses running for those who have had Christ torn from their hearts, for the victims of this bloodless Bethlehemite infanticide, then our skin would shiver!“

Sermon on Matthew 2:13-23 (Bethlehemite Infanticide) with Reference to the National Socialist Educational Dictatorship By Karl Steinbauer Karl Steinbauer (1906-1988) … Mehr

There are no harps in heaven, only guitars: „Why are we still biblically attached to the harp as the instrument of heaven, when it should be the far more popular guitar? The answer is simple: when Christianity came to Europe north of the Alps and the message of the Bible had to be translated, only the Celtic harp was known there as a stringed instrument. Lute instruments only came over the Alps from the Mediterranean region in the High Middle Ages. By then, however, heaven was already full of harps in terms of books and illustrations.“

There are no harps in heaven, only guitars Everyone seems to agree: in heaven they play the harp. All English-language … Mehr