Jürgen Moltmann
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Jürgen Moltmann (born 8 April 1926) is a German Reformed
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 ...
who is Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology at the
University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-W ...
and is known for his books such as the ''Theology of Hope'', ''The Crucified God'', ''God in Creation'' and other contributions to systematic theology. Jürgen Moltmann is the husband of Elisabeth Moltmann-Wendel, a notable feminist theologian. Jürgen Moltmann described his own theology as an extension of
Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Calvinist theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Declar ...
's theological works, especially the Church Dogmatics, and he has described his own work as ''Post-Barthian''. He has received
honorary doctorates An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...
from a number of institutions, such as
Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist Jam ...
(1973), the
University of Louvain A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
in Belgium (1995), the
Alexandru Ioan Cuza University The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University ( Romanian: ''Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza"''; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in Iași, Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former Academia Mi ...
in Romania (1996), the
Chung Yuan Christian University Chung Yuan Christian University (CYCU; ) is a private university in Zhongli District, Taoyuan City, Taiwan. The university was established as Chung Yuan Christian College of Science and Engineering in 1955 by a group of Taiwanese and United State ...
in Taiwan (2002), the Nicaraguan Evangelical University (2002), and the
University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 ...
in South Africa (2017). Moltmann was selected to deliver the prestigious Gifford Lectures in 1984–85, and was also the recipient of the 2000
University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one ...
and Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary Grawemeyer Award in Religion. Moltmann developed a form of
liberation theology Liberation theology is a Christian theological approach emphasizing the liberation of the oppressed. In certain contexts, it engages socio-economic analyses, with "social concern for the poor and political liberation for oppressed peoples". I ...
predicated on the view that God suffers with humanity, while also promising humanity a better future through the hope of the
Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...
, which he has labelled a 'theology of hope'. Much of Moltmann's work has been to develop the implications of these ideas for various areas of theology. Moltmann has become known for developing a form of social trinitarianism. His two most famous works are ''Theology of Hope'' and ''The Crucified God''. Moltmann also served as a mentor to
Miroslav Volf Miroslav Volf (born September 25, 1956) is a Croatian Protestant theologian and public intellectual and Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology and Director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture at Yale University. He previously taught at the ...
.


Life and career


Youth

Moltmann was born in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...
on 8 April 1926. He described his German upbringing as thoroughly
secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
. His grandfather was a grand master of the
Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
s. At sixteen, Moltmann idolized
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theor ...
, and anticipated studying
mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
at university. The
physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...
of relativity were "fascinating secrets open to knowledge"; theology as yet played no role in his life.


World War II

He took his entrance exam to proceed with his education, but went to war instead as an Air Force auxiliary in the German army. "The 'iron rations' in the way of reading matter which he took with him into the miseries of war were
Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...
's poems and the works of
Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his car ...
." He was drafted into military service in 1943 at the age of 16, when he became a soldier in the German army. He worked in an anti-aircraft battery during the RAF bombing of his hometown of Hamburg, an attack that killed 40,000 people including a friend standing next to him. Ordered to the
Klever Reichswald The Klever Reichswald is an Imperial forest in North Rhine-Westphalia ( Germany) between the rivers Rhine and Meuse at the German–Dutch border. The forest is located in the municipal territory of Kleve, Goch, Kranenburg and Bedburg-Hau. It i ...
, a German forest at the front lines, he surrendered in 1945 in the dark to the first British soldier he met. For the next few years (1945–48), he was confined as a
prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of ...
and moved from camp to camp. He was first confined in
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
. In the camp at Belgium, the prisoners were given little to do. Moltmann and his fellow prisoners were tormented by "memories and gnawing thoughts"—Moltmann claimed to have lost all hope and confidence in German culture because of the atrocities at
Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed int ...
and
Buchenwald concentration camp Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or su ...
s. They also glimpsed photographs nailed up confrontationally in their huts, bare photographs of Buchenwald and
Bergen-Belsen concentration camp Bergen-Belsen , or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, in 1943, parts of it became a concentra ...
. Moltmann claimed his remorse was so great, he often felt he would have rather died along with many of his comrades than live to face what their nation had done. Moltmann met a group of
Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...
in the camp, and was given a small copy of the
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 Chris ...
and
Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...
by an American
chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intelligence ...
. He gradually felt more and more identification with and reliance on the Christian faith. Moltmann later claimed, "I didn't find
Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...
, he found me." After Belgium, he was transferred to a POW camp in
Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...
,
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, where he worked with other Germans to rebuild areas damaged in the bombing. The hospitality of the Scottish residents toward the prisoners left a great impression upon him. In July 1946, he was transferred for the last time to Norton Camp, a British prison located in the village of
Cuckney Cuckney is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Norton and Cuckney, in the Bassetlaw district of Nottinghamshire, England, located between Worksop and Market Warsop. The A60 road connects Market Warsop and Cuckney via Cuc ...
near
Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...
, UK. The camp was operated by the
YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...
and here Moltmann met many students of
theology 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 th ...
. At Norton Camp, he discovered
Reinhold Niebuhr Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr (June 21, 1892 – June 1, 1971) was an American Reformed theologian, ethicist, commentator on politics and public affairs, and professor at Union Theological Seminary for more than 30 years. Niebuhr was one of Ameri ...
's ''
The Nature and Destiny of Man ''The Nature and Destiny of Man'' (two volumes, 1943) is one of the important works of the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. The book is partly based on his 1939 Gifford Lectures. In 1998, the Modern Library ranked it the 18th-greatest non-fi ...
''—it was the first book of theology he had ever read, and Moltmann claimed it had a huge impact on his life. His experience as a POW gave him a great understanding of how suffering and hope reinforce each other, leaving a lasting impression on his theology.


After the war

Moltmann returned home at 22 years of age to find his hometown of Hamburg (in fact, much of his country) in ruins from Allied bombing in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. Moltmann immediately went to work in an attempt to express a theology that would reach what he called "the survivors of isgeneration". Moltmann had hope that the example of the "
Confessing Church The Confessing Church (german: link=no, Bekennende Kirche, ) was a movement within German Protestantism during Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to unify all Protestant churches into a single pro-Nazi German ...
" during the war would be repeated in new ecclesiastical structures. He and many others were disappointed to see, instead, a rebuilding on pre-war models in a cultural attempt to forget entirely the recent period of deadly hardship. In 1947, he and four others were invited to attend the first postwar Student Christian Movement in Swanwick, a conference center near
Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...
, England. What happened there affected him very deeply. Moltmann returned to Germany to study at the
University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...
, an institution whose professors were followers of
Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Calvinist theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Declar ...
and theologians who were engaged with the confessing on-statechurch in Germany. He received his doctorate from the
University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...
, under the direction of Otto Weber in 1952. From 1952 to 1957 Moltmann was the pastor of the Evangelical Church of Bremen-Wasserhorst. In 1958 Moltmann became a theology teacher at an academy in
Wuppertal Wuppertal (; "''Wupper Dale''") is, with a population of approximately 355,000, the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia as well as the 17th-largest city of Germany. It was founded in 1929 by the merger of the cities and tow ...
that was operated by the Confessing Church and in 1963 he joined the theological faculty at 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 ...
. He was appointed Professor of Systematic Theology at the
University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-W ...
in 1967 and remained there until his retirement in 1994. From 1963 to 1983, Moltmann was a member of the Faith and Order Committee of the
World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most ju ...
. From 1983 to 1993, Moltmann was the Robert W. Woodruff Distinguished Visiting Professor of Systematic Theology at Candler School of Theology at Emory University in
Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, the mos ...
. He delivered the Gifford Lectures at the University of Edinburgh in 1984–1985. Moltmann won the 2000 Louisville Grawemeyer Award in Religion for his book ''The Coming of God: Christian Eschatology''. In April 2017, Moltmann was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Theology degree (''Doctor Divinitatis Honoris Causa'') by the
University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 ...
, South Africa.


Theological views

The early Moltmann can be seen in his trilogy, ''Theology of Hope'' (1964), ''The Crucified God'' (1972), and '' The Church in the Power of the Spirit'' (1975): *''Theology of Hope'' was strongly influenced by the
eschatological Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that nega ...
orientation of the
Marxist Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialecti ...
philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
Ernst Bloch Ernst Simon Bloch (; July 8, 1885 – August 4, 1977; pseudonyms: Karl Jahraus, Jakob Knerz) was a German Marxist philosopher. Bloch was influenced by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Karl Marx, as well as by apocalyptic and religious thinkers ...
's ''The Principle of Hope''. *''The Crucified God'' posited that God died on the Cross, raising the question of the
impassibility Impassibility (from Latin ''in-'', "not", ''passibilis'', "able to suffer, experience emotion") describes the theological doctrine that God does not experience pain or pleasure from the actions of another being. It has often been seen as a co ...
of God. *''The Church in the Power of the Spirit'' explores the implications of these explorations for the church in its own life and in the world. The later Moltmann took a less systematic approach to theology, leading to what he called his "systematic contributions to theology" that sought to provoke and engage more than develop some kind of set Moltmannian theology. Moltmann corroborates his ideas with those of Roman Catholics, Orthodox Christians, and Jews in an attempt to reach a greater understanding of Christian theology, which he believes should be developed ecumenically. Moltmann has a passion for the Kingdom of God as it exists both in the future, and in the God of the present. His theology is often referred to as "Kingdom of God" Theology. His theology is built on eschatology, and the hope found in the resurrected Christ. This theology is most clearly explained in his book, ''Theology of Hope''. Moltmann's theology is also seen as a theology of liberation, though not in the sense that the term is most understood. Moltmann not only views salvation as Christ's "preferential option for the poor," but also as offering the hope of reconciliation to the oppressors of the poor. If it were not as such, divine reconciliation would be insufficient.


Systematic contributions

Jürgen Moltmann's most significant works consist of two sets of theological work: the first is his ''Contributions to Systematic Theology'' and the second is his ''Original Trinity''.


Jürgen Moltmann's Original Trinity

* Theology of Hope (1967); ''Theologie der Hoffnung'' (1964); * The Crucified God (1974); ''Der gekreuzigte Gott'' (1972) * The Church in the Power of the Spirit (1975); ''Kirche in der Kraft des Geistes'' (1975)


Jürgen Moltmann's systematic contributions

* The Trinity and the Kingdom: The Doctrine of God (1981); ''Trinität und Reich Gottes. Zur Gotteslehre'' (1980) * God in Creation: An Ecological Doctrine of Creation (1985); ''Gott in der Schöpfung. Ökologische Schöpfungslehre'' (1985) * The Way of Jesus Christ: Christology in Messianic Dimensions (1990); ''Der Weg Jesu Christi. Christologie in messianischen Dimensionen'' (1989) * The Spirit of Life: A Universal Affirmation (1992); ''Der Geist des Lebens. Eine ganzheitliche Pneumatologie'' (1991) * The Coming of God: Christian Eschatology (1996) ''Das Kommen Gottes. Christliche Eschatologie'' (1995) * Experiences in Theology: Ways and Forms of Christian Theology (2000); ''Erfahrungen theologisen Denkens'' (2000) * Ethics of Hope (2012); ''Ethik der Hoffnung'' (2010)


Eschatology / Theology of Hope

Moltmann's Theology of Hope is a theological perspective with an eschatological foundation and focuses on the hope that the resurrection brings. Through faith we are bound to Christ, and as such have the hope of the resurrected Christ ("Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3, NIV)), and knowledge of his return. For Moltmann, the hope of the Christian faith is hope in the resurrection of Christ crucified. Hope and faith depend on each other to remain true and substantial; and only with both may one find "not only a consolation in suffering, but also the protest of the divine promise against suffering" However, because of this hope we hold, we may never exist harmoniously in a society such as ours which is based on sin. When following the Theology of Hope, a Christian should find hope in the future but also experience much discontentment with the way the world is now, corrupt and full of sin. Sin bases itself in hopelessness, which can take on two forms: presumption and despair. "Presumption is a premature, selfwilled anticipation of the fulfillment of what we hope for from God. Despair is the premature, arbitrary anticipation of the non-fulfillment of what we hope for from God." In Moltmann's opinion, all should be seen from an eschatological perspective, looking toward the days when Christ will make all things new. "A proper theology would therefore have to be constructed in the light of its future goal. Eschatology should not be its end, but its beginning." This does not, as many fear, 'remove happiness from the present' by focusing all ones attention toward the hope for Christ's return. Moltmann addresses this concern as such: "Does this hope cheat man of the happiness of the present? How could it do so! For it is itself the happiness of the present." The importance of the current times is necessary for the Theology of Hope because it brings the future events to the here and now. This theological perspective of eschatology makes the hope of the future, the hope of today. Hope strengthens faith and aids a believer into living a life of love, and directing them toward a new creation of all things. It creates in a believer a "passion for the possible" Moltmann, Theology of Hope, pg. 35 "For our knowledge and comprehension of reality, and our reflections on it, that means at least this: that in the medium of hope our theological concepts become not judgments which nail reality down to what it is, but anticipations which show reality its prospects and its future possibilities." This passion is one that is centered around the hope of the resurrected and the returning Christ, creating a change within a believer and drives the change that a believer seeks make on the world. For Moltmann, creation and eschatology depend on one another. There exists an ongoing process of creation, continuing creation, alongside
creation ex nihilo (Latin for "creation out of nothing") is the doctrine that matter is not eternal but had to be created by some divine creative act. It is a theistic answer to the question of how the universe comes to exist. It is in contrast to ''Ex nihilo n ...
and the consummation of creation. The consummation of creation will consist of the eschatological transformation of this creation into the new creation. The apocalypse will include the purging of sin from our finite world so that a transformed humanity can participate in the new creation.


Liberation theology

Moltmann's
liberation theology Liberation theology is a Christian theological approach emphasizing the liberation of the oppressed. In certain contexts, it engages socio-economic analyses, with "social concern for the poor and political liberation for oppressed peoples". I ...
includes an understanding of both the oppressed and the oppressor as needing reconciliation. "Oppression has two sides: on one side there is the master, on the other side the slave... Oppression destroys humanity on both sides." The goal is one of mutual liberation. God's 'preferential option for the poor' should not be exclusive, but rather include the rich; insofar as God holds judgment over them also. The sufferings of the poor should not be seen as equal to or a representation of the sufferings of Jesus. Our suffering is not an offering to God, it is not required of us to suffer. The point of the crucified Christ was to present an alternative to human suffering. Human suffering is not a quality of salvation, and should not be viewed as such. This is not to say that the sufferings of humans is of no importance to God. This "mutual liberation" necessarily involves a "liberation of oppressors from the evil they commit; otherwise there can be no liberation for a new community in justice and freedom." However, the liberation of the oppressed takes priority and must involve their own agency in order for true justice and reconciliation to be enacted: "In order to achieve this goal, the oppressed will have to free themselves from the constraints of oppression and cut themselves off from their oppressors, so as to find themselves and their own humanity. It is only after that that they can try to find a truly humane community with their previous oppressors." This seeks to avoid either the dependency of the oppressed or the co-optation of the struggles of the oppressed by the oppressor. It is with this sensibility that Moltmann explores, in his ''Experiences in Theology'', what various liberation theologies might mean for the oppressor: Black theology for whites, Latin American liberation theology for the First World, feminist theology for men, etc. He also moves beyond oppression as a mere personal sin and instead calls for oppressors to withdraw from the "structures of violence" that destroy the lives of the oppressed.


Trinitarian theology

Moltmann stresses the perichoresis of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is to say that he believes the three dwell in one another. The three persons are differentiated in their characteristics, but related in their original exchange. Moltmann seeks to defeat a monotheistic Christianity that is being used as a tool for political and clerical absolute monarchism. He believes the doctrine of the Trinity should be developed as the "true theological doctrine of freedom." He suggests that we "cease to understand God monotheistically as the one, absolute subject, but instead see him in a trinitarian sense as the unity of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit."Trinitat Moltmann relates his views on the trinity to three modes of human freedom. The first mode is the political meaning of freedom as supremacy. This mode is rejected by Moltmann, who sees it as corresponding to a God who rules over his creation, which exists merely to serve Him. It is a relation of a subject with an object, where the goal is to enhance the supremacy of the subject. The second mode of human freedom is the socio-historical and Hegelian meaning of freedom as communion, which implies the relation between two subjects. This relationship aims at love and solidarity, and corresponds to the perichoresis of the Father and Son, and through the Son the children of God, or humanity. This relationship is both liberating and loving, and is one Moltmann favors. The third mode of human freedom is the implicitly religious concept of freedom as the passion of the creature for his or her potential. This deals with the relationship between subjects and their common future project. This is the mode favored most by Moltmann, who correlates this relationship with the one humans share with God in the realm of the Holy Spirit. Here, an indwelling of the Spirit allows humans to be friends with God. As you can see, the first mode of freedom is political, and focuses on The Father; the second is communal, focusing on the Son; and the third is religious, focusing on the Spirit.


Influences

Upon his return to Germany in 1948, Moltmann began his course of study at Göttingen University, where he was strongly influenced by Karl Barth's dialectical theology. Moltmann grew critical of Barth's neglect of the historical nature of reality, and began to study
Bonhoeffer Dietrich Bonhoeffer (; 4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who was a key founding member of the Confessing Church. His writings on Christianity's role in the secular world have ...
. He developed a greater concern for social ethics, and the relationship between church and society. Moltmann also developed an interest in
Luther Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (gi ...
and
Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends a ...
, the former of whose doctrine of justification and theology of the cross interested him greatly. His doctoral supervisor, Otto Weber helped him to develop his eschatological perspective of the church's universal mission. Moltmann cites the English pacifist and anti-capitalist theologian
Geoffrey Anketell Studdert Kennedy Geoffrey Anketell Studdert Kennedy (27 June 1883 – 8 March 1929) was an English Anglican priest and poet. He was nicknamed "Woodbine Willie" during World War I for giving Woodbine cigarettes to the soldiers he met, as well as spiritual ai ...
as being highly regarded. However the inspiration for his first major work, ''Theology of Hope'', was the Marxist philosopher
Ernst Bloch Ernst Simon Bloch (; July 8, 1885 – August 4, 1977; pseudonyms: Karl Jahraus, Jakob Knerz) was a German Marxist philosopher. Bloch was influenced by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Karl Marx, as well as by apocalyptic and religious thinkers ...
's ''
The Principle of Hope ''The Principle of Hope'' (german: Das Prinzip Hoffnung) is a book by the Marxist philosopher Ernst Bloch, published in three volumes in 1954, 1955, and 1959, in which the author explores utopianism, studying the utopian impulses present in art, l ...
''. Bloch is concerned to establish hope as the guiding principle of his Marxism and stresses the implied humanism inherent in mystical tradition. Bloch claims to identify an atheism at the core of Christianity, embodied in the notion of the death of God and the continued imperative of seeking the Kingdom. The whole theme of the ''Theology of Hope'' was worked out in counterpoint to the theology of Wolfhart Pannenberg, who had worked alongside Moltmann at Wuppertal, and had also undergone a conversion experience during Germany's defeat in World War II. With its slogan of "History as Revelation", Pannenberg's theology has many parallels, but Moltmann was concerned to reject any notion of history as a closed system and to shift the stress from revelation to action: hope as the principle of revolutionary openness to the future. The background influence in all these thinkers is Hegel, who is referenced more times than any other writer in the ''Theology of Hope''. Like the
Left Hegelians The Young Hegelians (german: Junghegelianer), or Left Hegelians (''Linkshegelianer''), or the Hegelian Left (''die Hegelsche Linke''), were a group of German intellectuals who, in the decade or so after the death of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel ...
who immediately succeeded the master, both Moltmann and Pannenberg are determined to retain the sense of history as meaningful and central to Christian discourse, while avoiding the essentially conformist and conservative aspects of his thought. In so doing, they are wrestling with the history of Germany itself. They are also implicitly offering a critique of the Neo-Orthodox theology of
Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Calvinist theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Declar ...
and Emil Brunner, which they see as ahistorical in its core. Moltmann writes that Barth's eschatology was at first "not unfriendly towards dynamic and cosmic perspectives" but that he then came under the influence of
Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
and
Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and aest ...
and so "set to work in terms of the dialectic of time and eternity and came under the bane of the transcendental eschatology of Kant". The liberalism of
Rudolf Bultmann Rudolf Karl Bultmann (; 20 August 1884 – 30 July 1976) was a German Lutheran theologian and professor of the New Testament at the University of Marburg. He was one of the major figures of early-20th-century biblical studies. A prominent criti ...
is not sharply distinguished from the other dialectical theologies, since it is still focussed on an event of revelation – albeit as "an event which transposes me into a new state of my self". For Moltmann's second major work, ''The Crucified God'', the philosophical inspiration comes from a different tendency within Marxist philosophy. In "Explanation of the Theme", his introduction to the book, Moltmann acknowledges that the direction of his questioning has shifted to that of existentialist philosophy and the Marxism of the
Frankfurt School The Frankfurt School (german: Frankfurter Schule) is a school of social theory and critical philosophy associated with the Institute for Social Research, at Goethe University Frankfurt in 1929. Founded in the Weimar Republic (1918–1933), dur ...
, particularly
Theodor Adorno Theodor is a masculine given name. It is a German form of Theodore. It is also a variant of Teodor. List of people with the given name Theodor * Theodor Adorno, (1903–1969), German philosopher * Theodor Aman, Romanian painter * Theodor Blue ...
and
Max Horkheimer Max Horkheimer (; ; 14 February 1895 – 7 July 1973) was a German philosopher and sociologist who was famous for his work in critical theory as a member of the Frankfurt School of social research. Horkheimer addressed authoritarianism, militari ...
– close associates of
Paul Tillich Paul Johannes Tillich (August 20, 1886 – October 22, 1965) was a German-American Christian existentialist philosopher, religious socialist, and Lutheran Protestant theologian who is widely regarded as one of the most influential theolo ...
. An unacknowledged influence, and certainly an important parallel, is probably the Death of God theology that was winning notice in the mid-1960s, particularly the essay collection under that title, edited by William Hamilton and
Thomas J. J. Altizer Thomas Jonathan Jackson Altizer (May 28, 1927 – November 28, 2018) was an American university professor, religious scholar, and theologian, noted for his incorporation of Death of God theology and Hegelian dialectical philosophy into his body o ...
in memory of
Paul Tillich Paul Johannes Tillich (August 20, 1886 – October 22, 1965) was a German-American Christian existentialist philosopher, religious socialist, and Lutheran Protestant theologian who is widely regarded as one of the most influential theolo ...
. The title of Moltmann's crucial work, however, is derived not from
Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his car ...
but from
Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...
, and its use marked a renewed engagement with a specifically Lutheran strain in Protestant theology, as opposed to the more Calvinist tenor of his earlier work. Moltmann's widening interest in theological perspectives from a broad cultural arena is evident in his use of the 1946 book by Kazoh Kitamori, ''Theology of the Pain of God'', which he relates to Bonhoeffer's prison reflections.J. Moltmann, ''The Crucified God'', London: SCM, 1974, p. 47. However, he footnotes Kitamori's very conservative, individualist conclusions, which he does not share. Moltmann continued to see Christ as dying in solidarity with movements of liberation, God choosing to die with the oppressed. This work and its footnotes are full of references, direct and implied, to the
New Left The New Left was a broad political movement mainly in the 1960s and 1970s consisting of activists in the Western world who campaigned for a broad range of social issues such as civil and political rights, environmentalism, feminism, gay rights ...
and the uprisings of 1968, the
Prague Spring The Prague Spring ( cs, Pražské jaro, sk, Pražská jar) was a period of political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First ...
the French May and, closest to home, the German APO, and their aftermath. In the Spring 2004 ''
Pneuma ''Pneuma'' () is an ancient Greek word for "breath", and in a religious context for " spirit" or "soul". It has various technical meanings for medical writers and philosophers of classical antiquity, particularly in regard to physiology, and is ...
'', Moltmann cites
Johann Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning " Yahweh is Gracio ...
and
Christoph Blumhardt Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt (1842–1919) was a German Lutheran theologian and one of the founders of Christian socialism in Germany and Switzerland. He was a well-known preacher. In 1899 he announced his support for socialism and joined the ...
as being major contributors to his thought.


Bibliography of works in English


Major works

*''Theology of Hope: On the Ground and the Implications of a Christian Eschatology'', SCM, London, 1967 *''The Crucified God: The Cross of Christ As the Foundation and Criticism of Christian Theology'', SCM, London, 1973 *''The Church in the Power of the Spirit: A Contribution to Messianic Ecclesiology'', SCM, London, 1975 *''The Trinity and the Kingdom: The Doctrine of God'', Harper and Row, New York, 1981 *''God in Creation'', SCM, London, 1985 *''The Way of Jesus Christ'', SCM, London, 1990 *''The Spirit of Life: A Universal Affirmation'', SCM, London, 1992 *''The Coming of God: Christian Eschatology'', Fortress, Minneapolis, 1996 *''Experiences in Theology: Ways and Forms of Christian Theology'', SCM, London, 2000


Other works

*"The Lordship of Christ and Human Society," in ''Two Studies in the Theology of Bonhoeffer'', pp. 19–94, 1967 *''Theology of Joy'', SCM, London, 1972 (American edition: ''Theology of Play'', Harper & Row, New York, 1972 ote: pagination differs *''Religion, Revolution and the Future'', Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1969 *''Hope and Planning'', Harper & Row, New York, 1971 *''The Gospel of Liberation'', Word, Waco, Texas, 1973 *''Human Identity in Christian Faith'', Stanford University Press, Stanford, 1974 *''Man: Christian Anthropology in the Conflicts of the Present'', SPCK, London, 1974 (Reprinted as ''On Human Being: Christian Anthropology in the Conflicts of the Present'', Fortress, Minneapolis, 2009) *''The Experiment Hope'', SCM, London, 1975 *''The Open Church'', SCM, London, 1978 (American edition: ''The Passion for Life: A Messianic Lifestyle'', Fortress, Philadelphia, 1978) *''Meditations on the Passion: Two Meditations on Mark 8:31-38'', Paulist, New York, 1979 *''The Future of Creation'', SCM, London, 1979 *''Experiences of God'', SCM, 1980 *''God–His and Hers'', Crossroad, New York, 1981 *''Jewish Monotheism and Christian Trinitarian Doctyine: A Dialogue by Pinchas Lapide and Jürgen Moltmann'', Fortress, Philadelphia, 1981 *''Following Jesus Christ in the World Today: Responsibility for the World and Christian Discipleship'', Institute of Mennonite Studies, Elkhart, IN, 1983 *''Humanity in God'', Pilgrim, New York, 1983 *''The Power of the Powerless'', SCM, London, 1983 *''On Human Dignity: Political Theology and Ethics'', Fortress, Philadelphia, 1984 *''Communities of Faith and Radical Discipleship'', Mercer University Press, Macon, 1986 *''Theology Today: Two Contributions Towards Making Theology Present'', Trinity International, Philadelphia, 1988 *''Creating a Just Future: The Politics of Peace and the Ethics of Creation in a Threatened World'', Trinity International, Philadelphia, 1989 *''History and the Triune God: Contributions to Trinitarian Theology'', SCM, London, 1991 *''Jesus Christ for Today's World'', SCM, London, 1994 *''Theology and the Future of the Modern World'', Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada, Pittsburgh, PA, 1995 *''The Source of Life'', SCM, London, 1997 *''A Passion for God's Reign'', Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI, 1998 *''Is There Life After Death?'', Marquette University Press, Milwaukee, 1998 *''Passion for God: Theology in Two Voices'', Westminster John Knox, Louisville, KY, 2003 *''Science and Wisdom'', SCM, London, 2003 *''In the End the Beginning'', SCM, London, 2004 *''A Broad Place: An Autobiography'', Minneapolis, Fortress, 2009 *''Sun of Righteousness, Arise! God's Future for Humanity and the World'', Fortress, Minneapolis, 2010 *''Ethics of Hope'', Fortress, Minneapolis, 2012 *''Jürgen Moltmann: Collected Readings'', Fortress, Minneapolis, 2014 *''The Living God and the Fullness of Life'', Westminster John Knox, Louisville, KY, 2015 *''The Spirit of Hope: Theology for a World in Peril,'' Westminster John Knox Louisville, KY, 2019


Articles and chapters

*″Is 'Pluralistic Theology' Useful for the Dialogue of World Religions?″ in D’Costa, Gavin, ''Christian Uniqueness Reconsidered (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1990)'' *'Is the world unfinished? On interactions between science and theology in the concepts of nature, time and the future', ''Theology'', vol. 114, no. 6 (Nov 2011). Professor Moltmann's Boyle Lecture, with response by A. J. Torrance


See also

*
Evangelical Church of Bremen The Evangelical Church of Bremen (german: Bremische Evangelische Kirche) is a United Protestant member church of the Evangelical Church in Germany in the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. The seat of the church is in Bremen. It is a full member of ...


Footnotes


Works cited

*Jürgen Moltmann, "Why Am I a Christian?" in ''Experiences of God'' (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1980). *Jürgen Moltmann, "An Autobiographical Note" in A. J. Conyers, ''God, Hope and History: Jürgen Moltmann and the Christian Concept of History'' (Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1988). *Jürgen Moltmann, Foreword to M. Douglas Meeks, ''Origins of the Theology of Hope'' (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1974). *Jürgen Moltmann, address given at Nazarene Theological Seminary, December 10, 2001. *Jürgen Moltmann, "Stubborn Hope", interviewer Christopher A. Hall, ''Christianity Today'', vol. 37, no. 1 (January 11, 1993).
Public Theology: Jurgen Moltmann: The Theology of Hope. 11, 1993.


Further reading

*''Moltmann: Messianic Theology in the Making'', by Richard Bauckham, Basingstoke, Marshall Pickering, 1987 *''God, Hope, and History: Jürgen Moltmann and the Christian Concept of History'', by A. J. Conyers, Mercer, GA, Mercer University, 1988 *''The Creative Suffering of God'', by Paul S. Fiddes, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1988 *''The Theology of Jürgen Moltmann'', by Richard Bauckham, Edinburgh, T & T Clark, 1995 *''The Future of Theology: Essays in Honour of Jürgen Moltmann'', ed. M. Volf, Grand Rapids, MI, Eerdmans, 1996 *''God Will Be All in All: The Eschatology of Jürgen Moltmann'', ed. Richard Bauckham, Edinburgh, T & T Clark, 1999 *''Disavowing Constantine: Mission, Church and the Social Order in the Theologies of John H. Yoder and Jürgen Moltmann'', by Nigel Wright, Carlisle, Paternoster, 2000 *''The Kingdom and the Power: The Theology of Jürgen Moltmann'', by Geiko Muller-Fahrenholz, Minneapolis, Fortress, 2001 *''Spirit of the Last Days: Pentecostal Eschatology in Conversation with Jürgen Moltmann'', by Peter Althouse, London, T & T Clark, 2003. (Foreword by Moltmann) *''Jürgen Moltmann's Ethics of Hope: Eschatological Possibilities For Moral Action'', by Timothy Harvie, Burlington, VT, Ashgate 2009. (Foreword by Moltmann) *'' Theology as Hope: On the Ground and Implications of Jürgen Moltmann's Doctrine of Hope'', Princeton Theological Monograph Series, No. 99, by Ryan A. Neal, Eugene, OR, Pickwick Publications, 2009. * VILELA, D. M. ''Utopias esquecidas. Origens da Teologia da Libertação''. São Paulo: Fonte Editorial, 2013. * Aguzzi, Steven D. ''Israel, the Church, and Millenarianism: A Way Beyond Replacement Theology, with a Foreword by Jürgen Moltmann''. New York: Routledge, 2017.


External links


Jürgen Moltmann Reading Room
Extensive primary and secondary sources on-line (Tyndale Seminary)
Jürgen Moltmann Bibliography
Various bibliographies of primary and secondary works
English Language Bibliography of Moltmann's Works
Non-exhaustive, up to 1996

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110207123520/http://jurgenmoltmann.com/ Discussion Group devoted to Moltmann and the Theology of Hopebr>Jürgen Moltmann at Theopedia
(conservative
Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...
perspective)
Jürgen Moltmann: The Life-Power of Hope
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moltmann, Jurgen 1926 births Living people Writers from Hamburg German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United Kingdom German Calvinist and Reformed theologians Systematic theologians Christian Peace Conference members Holocaust theology 20th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians 21st-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians University of Göttingen alumni 20th-century German Protestant theologians German male non-fiction writers Political theologians Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg Luftwaffenhelfer German Army personnel of World War II