Helmut Thielicke

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Helmut Thielicke (b. December 4, 1908 in Wuppertal - d. March 5, 1986 in Hamburg) was a German theologian and the rector of the University of Hamburg from 1960 to 1978.

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[edit] Biography

Thielicke grew up in Wuppertal, went there to a humanistic Gymnasium and made his Abitur in 1928. After this he began to study philosophy and theology in Erlangen, but soon he had to undergo an operation at his thyroid. Despite the negative turnout of this operation (pulmonary embolism, tetany), which caused complications even 4 years later, he finished his studies and in 1932 he did his doctor's degree in philosophy with "Das Verhältnis zwischen dem Ethischen und dem Ästethischen".

After convalescing, Thielicke listened to Karl Barth in Bonn, whom he criticized, mainly because of Barth's exclusion of the natural anthropology. Eventually he did his doctor's degree in theology in 1934 with a work under the supervision of Paul Althaus in Erlangen. He made his postdoctoral lecture qualification with "Offenbarung, Vernunft und Existenz. Studien zur Religionsphilosophie Lessings" in 1935, but under the growing pressure of the Nazi-Regime, which refused him, being a member of the "Confessing Church", an appointment to Erlangen. In 1936 he obtained a professorship in systematic theology in Heidelberg, where he met Marie-Luise Herrmann, to whom he was married in 1937. They had four children.

After repeated interrogations by the Gestapo beginning in the middle of the 1930s, he finally was deposed in 1940. Thielicke was conscripted, but nine months later he was able to take over the rectory in Regensburg with the help of regional bishop Wurm. In 1942 he assumed a theological office in Stuttgart, from where he undertook numerous proclamations and lecture tours, which were made difficult by the government by means of bans on travel, publication and preaching. Thielicke published a critique of Bultmann's composition about the demythologisation of the New Testament, which caused a respectful, but inconclusive correspondence between the two. He also contacted the resistance group Freiburger Kreis, but without working actively at their plans for a revolution.

The bombing of Stuttgart in 1944 forced Thielicke and his wife to go to Korntal, where he continued in the following years his lecture tours and preaching services, which were read out on various fronts of the war after being translated into many languages in Switzerland. Immediately after the end of the war Thielicke travelled with a group of delegates to Frankfurt, where he got involved with talks with the military government about the recreation of a faculty and the resumption of academic work in the political and academic vacuum of the postwar period. He took over a professorship at the recreated theological faculty in 1947 and got headmaster of the university and president of the headmasters conference in 1951. In 1954 he was called to Hamburg to found a new theological faculty, where he acted as a dean, professor and preacher in the main church of Hamburg, St. Michaelis.

He got to know Billy Graham at lecture tours in the USA and was received by Jimmy Carter in 1977. Thielicke travelled to Asia, South Africa, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand in the 1960s and 1970s.

Thielicke died 1986 in Hamburg, aged 77. The Thielickestieg behind the "Hamburger Michel" was named after him.

[edit] Andere Zeiten

After Thielicke's retirement, Zeiten founded a Faith Information Project Group working with prisoners in Hamburg's jails, passing on his experiences from preaching and supporting young preachers, as well as for presenting the Christian faith. This group continues to actively work in Hamburg, with the name Andere Zeiten (Alternative Times), and carries out web-based and other activities throughout the year (see[1]).

[edit] External links

[edit] Selected English Translations of Works by Thielicke

  • Notes from a Wayfarer; the Autobiography of Helmut Thielicke Translated by David R. Law. New York: Paragon House, 1995. ISBN 1-55778-708-5
  • A Little Exercise for Young Theologians Translated by Charles L. Taylor. Foreword by Martin E. Marty. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1962.
  • Man in God's World Translated and edited by John W. Doberstein. New York: Harper & Row, 1963.
  • Nihilism: Its Origin and Nature -- With a Christian Answer Translated by John W. Doberstein. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1981.
  • Between God and Satan Translated by C.C. Barber. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1958.
  • Theological Ethics Translated by William H. Lazareth. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1966-69.
  • The Waiting Father: Sermons on the Parables of Jesus Translated by John W. Doberstein. New York: Harper & Row, 1959.
  • Encounter with Spurgeon Translated by John W. Doberstein. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1963.
  • How the World Began: Man in the First Chapters of the Bible Translated with an introduction by John W. Doberstein. Philadelphia: Muhlenberg, 1961.
  • The Ethics of Sex Translated by John W. Doberstein. New York: Harper & Row, 1964.
  • Faith, the Great Adventure Translated by David L. Schmidt. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985.
  • The Freedom of the Christian Man: A Christian Confrontation with the Secular Gods Translated by John W. Doberstein. New York: Harper & Row, 1963.
  • The Hidden Question of God Translated by Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1977.
  • Christ and the Meaning of Life: A Book of Sermons and Meditations Translated by John W. Doberstne. New York: Harper & Row, 1962.
  • Our Heavenly Father: Sermons on the Lord's Prayer Translated by John W. Doberstein. New York: Harper & Row, 1960.
  • The Silence of God Translated with an introduction by Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1962.
  • Life Can Begin Again: Sermons on the Sermon on the Mount Translated by John W. Doberstein. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1963.
  • Between Heaven and Earth: Conversations with American Christians Translated and edited by John W. Doberstein. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1975, 1965.
  • I Believe: the Christian's Creed Translated by John W. Doberstein and H. George Anderson. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1968.
  • How to Believe Again Translated by H. George Anderson. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1972.
  • The Evangelical Faith Translated and edited by Geoffrey W. Bromiley, 3 vols. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1974-1977.
  • Modern Faith and Thought Translated by Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1990.
  • Living With Death Translated by Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1983.
  • Being Human -- Becoming Human: An Essay in Christian Anthropology Translated by Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Garden City: Doubleday, 1984.
  • Being Christian When the Chips are Down Translated by H. George Anderson. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1979.
  • How Modern Should Theology Be? Translated by H. George Anderson. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1969.
  • The Trouble With The Church: A Call For Renewal London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1965.

[edit] Sources

  • "Helmut Thielicke," Contemporary Authors Online. The Gale Group, 2000 [2]
  • Lawrence S. Cunningham, "Notes From a Wayfarer (review)," Commonweal, Jan 12, 1996 v123 n1 p27(3) [3]
  • Marvin J. Dirks, Laymen Look at Preaching: Lay Expectation Factors in Relation to the Preaching of Helmut Thielicke, Christopher Pub. House (North Quincy, MA), 1972. [4]
  • Steve Schroeder, "Notes From a Wayfarer (review)," Booklist, June 1, 1995 v91 n19-20 p1698(1) [5]
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