Robert P. Scharlemann (April 4, 1929 – July 10, 2013) was a radical

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 ...

best known for his theological works on the being of

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

and as an interpreter of

Paul Tillich Paul Johannes Tillich (; ; August 20, 1886 – October 22, 1965) was a German and American Christian existentialist philosopher, religious socialist, and Lutheran theologian who was one of the most influential theologians of the twenti ...

. Scharlemann taught at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

and the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

Career

Scharlemann received a B.A. and a B.D. from

Concordia Seminary Concordia Seminary is a Lutheran seminary in Clayton, Missouri. The institution's primary mission is to train pastors, deaconesses, missionaries, chaplains, and church leaders for the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). Founded in 1839, t ...

of St. Louis, Missouri, before going to 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 ...

for his doctorate under a Fulbright Scholarship. After briefly teaching at both

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. It is an independent Lutheran university with five colleges. It enrolls nearly 2,300 students and has a campus. The university is known for its Luthe ...

and the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, he became Professor of Religious Studies at the School of Religion at the

in 1963. He remained there until 1981, when we became Commonwealth Professor of Religion at the University of Virginia. In addition to his teaching posts, his work included a stint as editor of the influential Journal of the

American Academy of Religion The American Academy of Religion (AAR) is the world's largest association of scholarly method, scholars in the List of academic disciplines, field of religious studies and related topics. It is a nonprofit member association, serving as a profess ...

. He was also a moving force in the emergence of the North American Paul Tillich Society. He died on July 10, 2013.

Theological works

Scharlemann's more significant contributions to theology fall into two categories. First, Scharlemann has written a number of books and essays that investigate the nature of thinking theologically. These included the influential ''The Being of God.'' The Death of God theologian Thomas J. J. Altizer wrote in his autobiography that "Robert Scharlemann is the philosophical theologian who once most engaged me, and I regard his ''The Being of God: Theology and the Experience of Truth'' as a truly seminal theological work. Here not only are philosophical and theological thinking truly united, but the Crucifixion is unraveled in thinking itself, and in pure thinking itself. ... Scharlemann's formula, 'the being of God when God is not being God,' is not simply an assault upon the metaphysical God, but upon every Godhead manifest apart from the Crucifixion..."Thomas J.J. Altizer, Living the Death of God: A Theological Memoir (Albany: SUNY Press, 2006, p. 23. In addition to this work, Scharlemann published a volume of essays entitled ''Inscriptions and Reflections: Essays in Philosophical Theology.'' These further examine themes found in ''The Being of God.'' Scharlemann is also known for his works interpreting the theological system of

. Of decisive influence was his early work, Reflection and Doubt in the Thought of Paul Tillich (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1969).

Bibliography

As primary author: * ''The Being of God: Theology and the Experience of Truth'' (New York: Seabury, 1981). * With Julian N. Hartt and Ray L. Hart. ''The Critique of Modernity: Theological Reflections on Contemporary Culture'' (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1986). * ''Inscriptions and Reflections: Essays in Philosophical Theology'' (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1989). * ''The Reason of Following: Christology and the Ecstatic I'' (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1991). * ''Reflection and Doubt in the Thought of Paul Tillich'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1969). * ''Religion and Reflection: Essays in Paul Tillich's Theology'' (Munster: LIT Verlag, 2005). * ''Thomas Aquinas and John Gerhard'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1964). As editor: * ''Negation and Theology'' (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1992). *''Theology at the End of the Century: A Dialogue on the Postmodern'' (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1990). Includes essays by Scharlemann, Mark C. Taylor, Charles Winquist, and Thomas J. J. Altizer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scharlemann, Robert P. 1929 births 2013 deaths 20th-century American theologians 21st-century American theologians Concordia College (Moorhead, Minnesota) alumni Heidelberg University alumni University of Iowa faculty University of Southern California faculty University of Virginia faculty Valparaiso University faculty People from Lake City, Minnesota Concordia Seminary alumni