Christl Ruth Vonholdt (born 1954) is a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
physician for Child and Adolescent Medicine, former Director of the
German Institute for Youth and Society
The Reichenberg Fellowship is a German non-denominational ecumenical community. In German it is called the Offensive Junger Christen (OJC) e.V.. It belongs to the EKD and is situated in Reichelsheim in the Odenwald and in Greifswald. They are k ...
(Deutsches Institut für Jugend und Gesellschaft), Christian
author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states:
"''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
and is member of the
Reichenberg Fellowship
The Reichenberg Fellowship is a German non-denominational ecumenical community. In German it is called the Offensive Junger Christen (OJC) e.V.. It belongs to the EKD and is situated in Reichelsheim in the Odenwald and in Greifswald. They are k ...
.
Life
Vonholdt studied medicine and received a doctorate at the
Hannover Medical School
The Hannover Medical SchoolAlthough the English spelling of the city name is "Hanover", this form of the name, using the German spelling of the city name, is used as the English-language name of the school, for example . (german: Medizinische Ho ...
for a study on
varicose veins
Varicose veins, also known as varicoses, are a medical condition in which superficial veins become enlarged and twisted. These veins typically develop in the legs, just under the skin. Varicose veins usually cause few symptoms. However, some indiv ...
(''Rezidivhäufigkeit und Komplikationen nach operativer Therapie der primären
Varikosis (Krampfadern)'' ). She is specialist (''Facharzt'') for child and youth medicine
[ide]
Fachärztin: Nichts ist stärker als Beziehung zur Mutter
, AdventEcho online (Advent-Verlag Lüneburg), Mai 29., 2009
original link
).
On 18. Oktober 2004 she was invited to an official hearing of the
German Parliament
The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the German Federalism, federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representat ...
by the
CDU/CSU
CDU/CSU, unofficially the Union parties (german: Unionsparteien, ) or the Union, is a centre-right Christian-democratic political alliance of two political parties in Germany: the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and the Christian S ...
-parliamentary faction. She was questioned on the bill calling for the revision of German
civil partnership
A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...
law
2009 she has been lecturer at the
International congress on psychiatry and counseling
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
in
Marburg
Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approx ...
, Germany.
Views on Homosexuality
Vonholdt's views on homosexuality are controversial. They are based upon both theological and psychological arguments.
Theology
From a biblical standpoint, she, together with most Christians worldwide, holds homosexual practise (''praktizierte Homosexualität'') to be sinful.
[Christl Ruth Vonholdt: ''Eine Frage des Menschenbildes – Warum Homosexualität Sünde ist.'' In: Zeitzeichen 6 (2005), p. 33-34.]
She states that, from a theological perspective, it is only the unity of man and woman which is able to represent a complete human being and marriage is an icon of God, a reflection of God's image. Sexuality is the creative energy which enables us reach out beyond ourselves to the opposite sex. Homosexual intercourse has been called sin by Jews and Christians because it fails to be an icon of God. She believes the argument, that homosexuality is natural and therefore, not to be considered sin, has its roots in
Gnosticism
Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Judaism, Jewish and Early Christianity, early Christian sects. These ...
.
In regards to the religious viewpoint, Vonholdt has expressed her belief that God has created everyone with sexuality. It is the duty of man to then ''be oriented'' in the correct manner, which is toward the ''opposite sex''.
Psychology
From a psychological standpoint, she regards homosexuality to be a symptom for a deeper underlying dysfunction. She assumes that homosexuality can be caused by deep emotional suffering in early childhood. Based on this assumption she recommends therapy for
egodystonic
In psychoanalysis, egosyntonic refers to the behaviors, values, and feelings that are in harmony with or acceptable to the needs and goals of the ego, or consistent with one's ideal self-image. Egodystonic (or ''ego alien'') is the opposite, re ...
homosexuals.
* http://www.dijg.de/132.html
* http://www.dijg.de/608.html
* http://www.dijg.de/133.30.html
* http://www.dijg.de/fileadmin/dijg-uploads/pdf/bulletin_12_06_editorial.pdf She describes it, in the Catholic journal
Communio
''Communio'' is a federation of theological journals, founded in 1972 by Joseph Ratzinger, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Henri de Lubac, Walter Kasper, Marc Ouellet, Louis Bouyer, and others. ''Communio'', now published in fifteen editions (inc ...
, as the "development of a mature heterosexual potential".
[C. Frank]
"'Homoheiler' im Hörsaal"
Süddeutsche Zeitung
The ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' (; ), published in Munich, Bavaria, is one of the largest daily newspapers in Germany. The tone of SZ is mainly described as centre-left, liberal, social-liberal, progressive-liberal, and social-democrat.
Histo ...
, April 29, 2009
English
Works
Books
* Christl Ruth Vonholdt: ''Rezidivhäufigkeit und Komplikationen nach operativer Therapie der primären Varikosis.'' Dissertation an der Medizinischen Hochschule Hannover, Hannover 1981
* Christl Ruth Vonholdt (Ed.): ''Striving for Gender Identity: Homosexuals and Christian Counseling. A workbook for the Church.'' Reichelsheim 1996, Reichenberg Fellowship
* Christl Ruth Vonholdt,
Gerhard Besier
Gerhard Besier (born 30 November 1947, in Wiesbaden) is a German Lutheran theologian, historian and politician best known for his work on church-state relations in the Third Reich and in the German Democratic Republic.
Work
Besier's publicati ...
und Hermann Klenk: ''Christliche Hoffnung, Weltoffenheit, Gemeinsames Leben. Gelbe Mammuts auf dem Berg.'' Festschrift für
Horst-Klaus Hofmann, Brunnen-Verlag, Gießen 1998,
* Christl Ruth Vonholdt,
Andreas Laun,
Norbert Geis
Norbert Geis (born January 13, 1939 in Großwallstadt, Bavaria) is a German politician. He is a member of the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU).
Life
Geis studied Philosophy, Theology and Law at the Universities of Freiburg and Würzburg ...
et at. (Hrsg.): ''Homo-Ehe. Nein zum Ja-Wort aus christlicher Sicht.'' Zisterzienserkonvent Langwaden, 2001,
* Christl Ruth Vonholdt
rsg. ''Verwundete Weiblichkeit : homosexuell empfindende Frauen verstehen'' Brunnen-Verlag, 2005,
Articles
* Christl Ruth Vonholdt
''The Deconstruction Of Marriage and Family''* Christl Ruth Vonholdt: ''Eine Frage des Menschenbildes – Warum Homosexualität Sünde ist.'' In: ''
Zeitzeichen 6 (2005), p. 33-34 (German)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vonholdt, Christl Ruth
German non-fiction writers
1954 births
Living people
German women writers