Gerd Theißen (or Theissen; born 24 April 1943) is a German

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

scholar. He is Professor of New Testament Theology at the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

Early life and education

Theissen obtained his doctorate in theology in Protestant theology from the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine ...

in 1968. He then took a position studying Evangelical Theology at the University of Bonn. He obtained his habilitation in 1972 in Bonn, with a form-critical work on early Christian miracle stories.

Academic career

He was a lecturer at the

from 1973 to 1978. In 1978, he became professor at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public research university in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia after Uppsala Unive ...

. Since 1980 he has been a professor at the University of Heidelberg. From 2007 to September 2009 he was secretary of the Philosophical class of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences. In 2002, he was awarded the Burkitt Medal by the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars spa ...

. It is granted 'in recognition of special service to Biblical Studies'.

Personal life

Theissen is married to psychotherapist Dr. Christa Schaible. They have two children.

Work

His ''Sociology of early Palestinian Christianity'' (1978) is useful for interpreting intertestamental literature. Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. p. 251. Theissen received the Burkitt Medal for Biblical Studies in 2002 from The

. According to the British Academy's citation, Theissen is: "... one of the earliest pioneers in the application of the principles and methods of

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

to the study of the New Testament. Notable works in this field are ''The First Followers of Jesus: A Sociological Analysis of the Earliest Christians'' (which concentrated on conditions in Palestine) and ''The Social Setting of Primitive Christianity'' (a Pauline study dealing mainly with Corinth)." the citation goes on to say that :"... Prof. Theissen is not simply a sociologist. He has never ceased to be a theologian, who has always emphasised the theological as well as the historical significance of his sociological studies and has written specifically on the meaning of faith. ''A Critical Faith'' and ''Biblical Faith: an Evolutionary Approach'' are particularly important in this respect. But his recent publications also include ''The Religion of the Earliest Churches'', ''Gospel Writing and Church Politics: a Socio-rhetorical Approach'', and ''The Shadow of the Galilean''. This last is a most unusual life of Jesus, accessible to any intelligent reader, but based on the strictest critical discipline." His works are translated into more than ten languages, both European and Asian languages.

Bibliography

; Books translated in English * ''The Miracle Stories of the Early Christian Tradition'' (1974), Fortress Press, 1983, * ''Sociology of Early Palestinian Christianity'' (1977), Fortress Press, 1978, ** also published as: ''The First Followers of Jesus: A Sociological Analysis of the Earliest Christianity'' (1977), SCM Press, 1978, * ''A Critical Faith: A Case for Religion'' (1978), Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1979, ** also published as: ''On having a Critical Faith'', London: SCM Press 1979 * ''The Social Setting of Pauline Christianity: Essays on Corinth'' (1979), Philadelphia: Fortress Press 1982 (reprint: Wipf & Stock, 2004), ** also published as: ''The Social Reality and the Early Christians: Theology, Ethics and the World of the New Testament'' (1979), Minneapolis: Fortress 1992 (reprint T. & T. Clark, 1999), * ''Psychological Aspects of Pauline Theology'' (1983), Philadelphia: Fortress Press 1987 (reprint: T. & T. Clark, 1999, * ''Biblical Faith: An Evolutionary Approach'' (1984), Fortress Press, 1985, * ''The Shadow of the Galilean: The Quest of the Historical Jesus in Narrative Form'' (1986), Fortress Press, 1987; Updated edition 2007, . * ''The Gospels in Context: Social and Political History in the Synoptic Tradition'' (1989), Minneapolis: Fortress 1991 (reprint: T. & T. Clark, 1999), * ''The Open Door: Variations on Biblical Theme'' (1990), Fortress Press, 1991, * ''The Sign Language of Faith. Opportunities for Preaching Today'' (1994), SCM Press, 1995, * ''Traces of Light: Sermons and Bible Studies'' (1994), SCM Press, 1996, * Gerd Theissen, Annette Merz, ''The Historical Jesus: A Comprehensive Guide'' (1996), Augsburg Fortress, 1998, * Gerd Theissen, Dagmar Winter, ''The Quest for the Plausible Jesus: The Question of Criteria'' (1997), Westminster John Knox Press, 2002, * ''Signs of Life'' (1998), SCM Press, 1998, * ''The Religion of the Earliest Churches: Creating a Symbolic World'' (1999), Fortress Press, 1999, * ''A Theory of Primitive Christian Religion'' (2000), SCM Press, 1999, * ''Gospel Writing and Church Politics: A Socio-rhetorical Approach'' (Chuen King Lecture Series - CKLS 3 Chung Chi College: The

Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public research university in Ma Liu Shui, Hong Kong, formally established in 1963 by a charter granted by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. It is the territory's second-oldest university and ...

), 2001 * ''The New Testament: History, Literature, Religion'' (2002), T & T Clark, 2003, * Wolfgang Stegemann, Bruce J. Malina, Gerd Theissen (eds.), ''The Social Setting of Jesus and the Gospels'', Fortress Press, 2002, * ''The Bible and Contemporary Culture'' (2003), Fortress Press, 2007, * ''The New Testament: A Literary History'' (2007), Fortress Press, 2011, ; Books not translated * ''Untersuchungen zum Hebräerbrief'', Gütersloh: Mohn, 1969 * ''Jesus als historische Gestalt. Beiträge zur Jesusforschung'', Göttingen: Vandenhoeck, 2003 * Gerd Theissen, P.v. Gemünden, M. Konradt, ''Der Jakobusbrief. Beiträge zur Rehabilitierung der „strohernen Epistel“ '', Münster: LIT, 2003 * ''Die Jesusbewegung. Sozialgeschichte einer Revolution der Werte'', Gütersloh: Kaiser, 2004 * ''Erleben und Verhalten der ersten Christen. Eine Psychologie des Urchristentums'', Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2007 * "Regards psychologiques et sociologiques sur le christianisme primitif: cinq études de Gerd Theissen", ''Études théologiques et religieuses'' 83 (2008) * "Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft vor und nach 1945: Karl Georg Kuhn und Günther Bornkamm", ''Schriften der Philosophisch-historischen Klasse der Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften'' 47, Heidelberg: Winter, 2009 * "Von Jesus zur urchristlichen Zeichenwelt", "Neutestamentliche Grenzgänge“ im Dialog, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck, 2011 * ''Die Ritualdynamik urchristlicher Sakramente. Von prophetischen Zeichenhandlungen zu geheimnisvollen Riten'', = ''La dinamica rituale dei sacramenti nel cristianesimo primitivo. Da azioni simbolico profetiche a riti misterici'', Lectiones Vagagginianae IV, Rom: Cittadella Editrice e Pontificio Ateneo Sant'Anselmo, 2013 * ''Polyphones Verstehen. Entwürfe zur Bibelhermeneutik'', Münster: LIT, 2014 * ''Transparente Erfahrung: Predigten und Meditationen'', Gütersloh, Gütersloher Verlagshaus 2014 * ''Polyphones Verstehen: Entwürfe zur Bibelhermeneutik'', Münster: LIT, 2015 * Gerd Theissen, Petra von Gemünden, ''Der Römerbrief. Rechenschaft eines Reformators'', Göttingen: Vandenhoeck 2016 * Gerd Theissen, Lung Pun Chan, István Czachesz, ''Kontraintuitivität und Paradoxie. Zum kognitiven Ansatz in der Exegese'', BVB 29, Münster: LIT 2017 * ''Veränderungspräsenz und Tabubruch. Die Ritualdynamik urchristlicher Sakramente'', BVB 30, Münster: LIT 2017 * ''Der Anwalt des Paulus'', Gütersloh, Gütersloher Verlagshaus 2017 * ''Glaubenssätze: ein kritischer Katechismus'', Gütersloh, Gütersloher Verlagshaus 2018 * ''Texttranszendenz, Beiträge zur polyphonen Hermeneutik'', Münster: LIT 2019 * ''Urchristliche Wundergeschichten: ein Beitrag zur formgeschichtlichen Erforschung der synoptischen Evangelien'', Gütersloh, Gütersloher Verlagshaus 2019 * ''Beiträge zu einer polyphonen Bibelhermeneutik'', Münster: LIT 2019 * ''Religionskritik als Religionsdiskurs: Plädoyer für einen postsäkularen Dialog'', Stuttgart: Alfred Kröner Verlag 2020 * ''Resonanztheologie: Gott, Christus, Geist'', Münster: LIT 2020 * Gerd Theissen, Sylvia Thonak, ''Militärseelsorge: das ungeliebte Kind protestantischer Friedensethik? : Konzepte und Probleme'', Münster: LIT, 2020 * ''Kirchenträume - Kirche in urchristlicher Zeit und Gegenwart'', Münster: LIT, 2021

Notes

External links

List of Publications
{{DEFAULTSORT:Theissen, Gerd 1943 births 20th-century German Protestant theologians 21st-century German Protestant theologians Critics of the Christ myth theory German biblical scholars German male non-fiction writers Living people New Testament scholars