Peter Lampe (born 28 January 1954) is a German

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

and chaired Senior

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of New Testament Studies/History of Early Christianity at the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

in Germany.

Life

After studies in

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region () of Detmold (region), Detmold and the L ...

and

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

(Germany) and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

(Italy) he received his Ph.D. and his Dr. habil. at the

University of Bern The University of Bern (, , ) is a public university, public research university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern. It was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the canton of Bern. It is a comprehensive university offering a br ...

in Switzerland with works about the social history of the early Christians in the city of Rome in the first two centuries and about the concept of unity and community in the Pauline letters. Scholarships of the German Academic Scholarship Foundation (Studienstiftung) supported his university education and PhD studies. From 1981 on he taught at the University of Bern as assistant professor ("Wissenschaftlicher Assistent") until he was called to a chair of New Testament Studies at Union Theological Seminary in Virginia, USA, in 1986. In 1992, he took the chair of History and Archaeology of Early Christianity and Its Environment at the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ''Academia Holsator ...

in Germany, where he also served as dean of the school of theology. In 1999, he accepted a call to a chair at the

. In 2005, he co-founded the ''Research Center for International and Interdisciplinary Theology'' (FIIT) at the University of Heidelberg, and in 1997 he founded the ''Societas Theologicum Adiuvantium'' in Kiel. He has been on the editorial board of international scholarly journals and book series. He is a K.St.J. (Germany), a member of ''

PEN America PEN America (formerly PEN American Center), founded in 1922, and headquartered in New York City, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose goal is to raise awareness for the protection of free expression in the United States and worldwide th ...

''/''

PEN International PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide professional association, association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association ...

'', the international '' Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas'' (SNTS), the ''Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft für Theologie'' (WGTH), and the ''

Society of Biblical Literature The Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), founded in 1880 as the Society of Biblical Literature and Exegesis, is an American-based learned society dedicated to the academic study of the Bible and related ancient literature. Its current stated mis ...

'' (SBL). He is an ordained Lutheran minister and has been married to Margaret Birdsong, having two children, Daniel and Jessica.

Work

His works focus on the

social history Social history, often called history from below, is a field of history that looks at the lived experience of the past. Historians who write social history are called social historians. Social history came to prominence in the 1960s, spreading f ...

of early Christianity (groundbreaking studies on, for example, early Christianity in Rome in the 1st/2nd centuries, and on Paul's correspondence with Philemon; his work also contributed decisively to the paradigm shift toward a more contextual reading of the Letter to the Romans); on the

Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

background of early Christianity; on Pauline studies (including rhetorical studies); on early Christian

and

epigraphy Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

; as well as on methodological and hermeneutical questions. He pioneered applying constructivist categories to New Testament exegesis and hermeneutics. Furthermore, he was one of the first to explore the potential of psychological interpretation in his field. From 2001 to 2008, he directed annual archaeological campaigns in

Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; , ''Phrygía'') was a kingdom in the west-central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. Stories of the heroic age of Greek mythology tell of several legendary Ph ...

, Turkey. During these interdisciplinary campaigns, together with William Tabbernee of Tulsa, numerous unknown ancient settlements were discovered and archaeologically documented. Two of them are the best candidates in the search for the identification of the two holy centers of ancient

Montanism Montanism (), known by its adherents as the New Revelation, was an History of Christianity#Early Christianity (c. 31/33–324), early Christian movement of the Christianity in the 2nd century, mid-to-late 2nd century, later referred to by the n ...

, Pepouza and Tymion. Historians such as W. Weiss, T. Gnoli, S. Destephen, M. Ritter, C.M. Robeck, T.D. Barnes, M. Mazza, and the renown classical historian and epigrapher Stephen Mitchell (2023) affirm that Lampe and his team can “claim credit for identifying the location of the Montanist centres Pepuza and Tymion". Scholars had searched for these lost sites since the 19th century. The Montanist patriarch resided at Pepouza, and the Montanists expected the heavenly Jerusalem to descend to earth at Pepouza and Tymion. In late antiquity, both places attracted crowds of pilgrims from all over the Roman Empire.

Books

* ''Eschatologie und Friedenshandeln: Exegetische Beiträge zur Frage christlicher Friedensverantwortung'' (together with U. Luz et al.; Stuttgarter Bibelstudien, vol. 101) Stuttgart: Katholisches Bibelwerk 1981, 2nd edition 1989, ISBN 978-3-460-04011-3. * ''Die Anfänge des Christentums: Alte Welt und neue Hoffnung'' (together with J. Becker et al.) Stuttgart: Kohlhammer 1987, ISBN 978-3-17-001902-7. * 1987 + 1989: ''Die stadtrömischen Christen in den ersten beiden Jahrhunderten: Untersuchungen zur Sozialgeschichte,'' Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2/18 (Mohr-Siebeck: Tübingen 1987; 2nd, revised and enlarged edition 1989) , ISSN 0340-9570, , ISSN 0340-9570. * ''Christian Beginnings: Word and Community from Jesus to Post-Apostolic Times'' (together with J. Becker et al.) Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press 1993, ISBN 978-1-56338-264-2. Translation of the 1987 ''Die Anfänge des Christentums: Alte Welt und neue Hoffnung''. * 1995: ''Pocahontas: Die Indianer-Prinzessin am Englischen Hof'' (Diederichs: München 1995) * 1998: ''Die Briefe an die Philipper, Thessalonicher und an Philemon,'' NTD 8/2 (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht: Göttingen 1998) (together with N. Walter and E. Reinmuth) , * 2003 ff: ''From Paul to Valentinus: Christians at Rome in the First Two Centuries'' (Fortress: Minneapolis/Continuum: London, 2003; 6th ed. 2010) , , , , E-book (2006) ED001856 * 2004: ''Felsen im Fluss: Schriftworte in provokativer Auslegung zu Themen der Zeit'' (Neukirchener: Neukirchen-Vluyn, 2004) * 2005: ''Wortglassplitter'' (a book of poetry; Athena: Oberhausen, 2005) * 2006: ''Die Wirklichkeit als Bild: Das Neue Testament als ein Grunddokument abendländischer Kultur im Lichte konstruktivistischer Epistemologie und Wissenssoziologie'' (Neukirchener: Neukirchen-Vluyn, 2006) . * 2007: ''Küsste Jesus Magdalenen mitten auf den Mund?: Provokationen, Einsprüche, Klarstellungen'' (Neukirchener: Neukirchen-Vluyn, 2007) * 2008: ''Pepouza and Tymion: The Discovery and Archaeological Exploration of a Lost Ancient City and an Imperial Estate'' (deGruyter: Berlin/New York, 2008; together with W. Tabbernee) und * 2008: ''Neutestamentliche Exegese im Dialog: Hermeneutik – Wirkungsgeschichte – Matthäusevangelium'' (Neukirchener: Neukirchen-Vluyn 2008) (ed. together with M. Mayordomo, M. Sato) * 2010: ''Neutestamentliche Grenzgänge: Symposium zur kritischen Rezeption der Arbeiten Gerd Theißens'' (Göttingen: Vandenhoek and Ruprecht 2010) (ed. together with H. Schwier) * 2010: ''Paul and Rhetoric'' (New York/London: Clark 2010) (together with J.P. Sampley) * 2012: ''New Testament Theology in a Secular World: A Constructivist Work in Philosophical Epistemology and Christian Apologetics'' (translated by Robert L. Brawley from the 2006 German edition with substantial subsequent revisions and augmentations by the author; London & New York: T&T Clark/Bloemsbury, 2012) * 2019: ''Ad ecclesiae unitatem: Eine exegetisch-theologische und sozialpsychologische Paulusstudie'' (437 pp; Habilitationsschrift; Bern: Universität Bern, 1989) online: Heidelberg: Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg, 2019, DOI: 10.11588/diglit.48669; https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/lampe1989 * 2023: ''Los primeros cristianos en Roma: De Pablo a Valentín'' (603 pp; Salamanca: Ediciones Sígueme, 2023) * 2024: Montanism' in the Roman World: The New Prophecy Movement from Historical, Sociological, and Ecclesiological Perspectives'' (FS William Tabbernee; NTOA 132; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht/Brill, 2024) (ed. together with H.E. Mader)

Awards and Honours

In 2003, Lampe received the German ''Ecumenical Preaching Award'' (Bonn, Germany). In 2008, he was made honorary professor at the

University of the Free State The University of the Free State (; Sotho language, Sesotho: ''Yunivesithi ya Freistata'') is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State (province), Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It wa ...

in South Africa. In 1987, in the United States his German book ''Die stadtrömischen Christen'' was awarded the distinction of ''Scholar’s Choice'' (''significant current theological literature from abroad''). National merit scholarships of the German Academic Scholarship Foundation (Studienstiftung). To mark his 65th birthday, scholars from five continents co-authored a two-volume festschrift in his honour.''Talking God in Society: Multidisciplinary (Re)constructions of Ancient (Con)texts. Festschrift for Peter Lampe,'' vol. I (807 pp.) & II (532 pp.), Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht/Göttingen: 2020, ed. by Ute E. Eisen & Heidrun E. Mader.

About Peter Lampe

* E.-M. Becker, ed., ''Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft,'' UTB 2475, Tübingen – Basel: 2003, 167-175; http://www.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/archiv/25282 * Gerd Theißen im Gespräch mit Peter Lampe, ''Jahresheft der Theologischen Fakultät der Universität Heidelberg'' 9 (2013/14), 61-68; http://www.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/archiv/25149 * Portrait of Peter Lampe in the national weekly

Die Zeit (, ) is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The first edition of was ...

; http://www.zeit.de/2002/23/Auf_den_Spuren_der_Ekstase * Ute E. Eisen & Heidrun E. Mader, eds., ''Talking God in Society: Multidisciplinary (Re)constructions of Ancient (Con)texts. Festschrift for Peter Lampe,'' vol. I: Theories and Applications (807 pp.) & vol. II: Hermeneuein in Global Contexts: Past and Present (532 pp.), NTOA 120/1+2, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht/Göttingen: 2020 (vol. I: ISBN Print: 9783525573174, ISBN E-Book: 9783647573175; vol. II: ISBN Print: 9783525573181, ISBN E-Book: 9783647573182); especially vol. I, pp. 9-13 (about Lampe's oeuvre) & vol. II, pp. 495-521 (Lampe's bibliography)

References

External links

Picture, cv and bibliography of Peter Lampe: Webpage of the University of Heidelberg

Who’s Who in the World
(2003 ff) an

(2003 ff) * Peter Lampe in German Wikipedia * German Ecumenical Preaching Award * Research Center for International and Interdisciplinary Theology
Societas Theologicum Ordinem Adiuvantium

Portrait of Peter Lampe in DIE ZEIT
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lampe, Peter 1954 births Living people German biblical scholars 20th-century German Protestant theologians 21st-century German Protestant theologians New Testament scholars University of Bern alumni Union Presbyterian Seminary faculty Academic staff of the University of Kiel Academic staff of Heidelberg University German male non-fiction writers