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Prolegomena: The Relation of Theology to Modern Thought-Forms
English, German (translation)
- GenresTheologyChristianity
420 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 1968
About the author
Helmut Thielicke
170 books23 followersHelmut Thielicke (1908–1986) was a German Protestant theologian, pastor, author, and influential Christian thinker whose work explored the relationship between faith, ethics, culture, and modern life.
Born in Wuppertal, Germany, Thielicke studied philosophy and theology at the University of Erlangen, earning doctorates in both disciplines. His academic career developed during the increasingly hostile climate of Nazi Germany. A member of the Confessing Church, he faced repeated interrogation by the Gestapo and was eventually dismissed from his professorship in Heidelberg in 1940. Despite restrictions on his teaching, preaching, travel, and publishing, he continued to speak and write widely, becoming known for addressing Christian faith in language that engaged directly with the realities of ordinary life.
During the Second World War, Thielicke preached extensively and maintained contact with members of the German resistance, while also developing his vision for rebuilding Germany's intellectual and spiritual life after the war. His ideas contributed to the founding of the Evangelical Academy at Bad Boll in 1945.
After the war, Thielicke returned to academic life, first at the University of Tübingen and later at the University of Hamburg, where he helped establish a new theological faculty. He served as rector of the University of Hamburg from 1960 to 1978 and was also pastor of Hamburg's celebrated St. Michaelis church.
Thielicke became widely known beyond Germany through his books, sermons, lectures, and international travels. He lectured throughout Europe, North America, Asia, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, meeting figures including Billy Graham and President Jimmy Carter.
His writing is noted for its combination of theological depth, philosophical reflection, and pastoral warmth. Rather than treating Christianity as an abstract system of ideas, Thielicke sought to explore what faith means in the midst of doubt, suffering, moral responsibility, culture, and everyday human experience.
He died in Hamburg in 1986, aged 77. His books remain valued by readers interested in Christian theology, ethics, philosophy, and the challenges of living out faith in the modern world.
Born in Wuppertal, Germany, Thielicke studied philosophy and theology at the University of Erlangen, earning doctorates in both disciplines. His academic career developed during the increasingly hostile climate of Nazi Germany. A member of the Confessing Church, he faced repeated interrogation by the Gestapo and was eventually dismissed from his professorship in Heidelberg in 1940. Despite restrictions on his teaching, preaching, travel, and publishing, he continued to speak and write widely, becoming known for addressing Christian faith in language that engaged directly with the realities of ordinary life.
During the Second World War, Thielicke preached extensively and maintained contact with members of the German resistance, while also developing his vision for rebuilding Germany's intellectual and spiritual life after the war. His ideas contributed to the founding of the Evangelical Academy at Bad Boll in 1945.
After the war, Thielicke returned to academic life, first at the University of Tübingen and later at the University of Hamburg, where he helped establish a new theological faculty. He served as rector of the University of Hamburg from 1960 to 1978 and was also pastor of Hamburg's celebrated St. Michaelis church.
Thielicke became widely known beyond Germany through his books, sermons, lectures, and international travels. He lectured throughout Europe, North America, Asia, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, meeting figures including Billy Graham and President Jimmy Carter.
His writing is noted for its combination of theological depth, philosophical reflection, and pastoral warmth. Rather than treating Christianity as an abstract system of ideas, Thielicke sought to explore what faith means in the midst of doubt, suffering, moral responsibility, culture, and everyday human experience.
He died in Hamburg in 1986, aged 77. His books remain valued by readers interested in Christian theology, ethics, philosophy, and the challenges of living out faith in the modern world.
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July 26, 2024
THE FIRST VOLUME IN A THREE-VOLUME SERIES
Helmut Thielicke (1908-1986) was a German Protestant theologian, and rector of the University of Hamburg from 1960 to 1978. This volume consists of two sections: The State of Theological Discussion, and Theology in Self-Grounded Secularity.
He explains the title in his Preface as follows: "when I use the title Evangelical Faith ... What I have in view is faith to the degree that it stands representative for him who is believed and for what is bound with his benefits... the book is about the relation between God and man and not about a purely transcendent God taken theistically in and for himself." (Pg. 15)
He distinguishes between "modern" (or "Cartesian," as he calls it) and "conservative" theology, noting that "the word 'conservative' is also a poor one... because it is already freighted in theology to the extent that it ... carries with it the sense of what is past and dead and done with... we have thus thought it better to use the word `non-Cartesian.'" (Pg. 115) He defines the crucial issue in modern theology to be whether "the kerygma (message) is put under man's control, so that in the last analysis theology is reduced to a mere chapter in anthropology." (Pg. 53)
He states that "The NT is supra-mythical inasmuch as it proclaims as reality what belongs to the structure of mythical speech (the incarnation). In so doing it goes beyond myth. It thus demythologizes, yet not in such a way as to set forth the signification of mythical statements, but rather by claiming a reality behind the mythical ciphers." (Pg. 83) He concludes that the Bible is "poles apart from the world of myth." (Pg. 88)
He asserts that "the Christian is always ahead of the theologian... because theology is never more than an inquiry into the basis of the Christianity that is already there." (Pg. 125) He argues that the Holy Spirit "does not let us begin with the axioms of our own self-understanding but turns our gaze on what has happened historically." (Pg. 138) He makes the interesting statement, "God acknowledges his Word. This means that in principle the canon is not closed on the Reformation view. We cannot say what might not prove to be canonical in the further course of proclamation." (Pg. 201)
Thielicke's work will be of interest to most students of evangelical theology.
Helmut Thielicke (1908-1986) was a German Protestant theologian, and rector of the University of Hamburg from 1960 to 1978. This volume consists of two sections: The State of Theological Discussion, and Theology in Self-Grounded Secularity.
He explains the title in his Preface as follows: "when I use the title Evangelical Faith ... What I have in view is faith to the degree that it stands representative for him who is believed and for what is bound with his benefits... the book is about the relation between God and man and not about a purely transcendent God taken theistically in and for himself." (Pg. 15)
He distinguishes between "modern" (or "Cartesian," as he calls it) and "conservative" theology, noting that "the word 'conservative' is also a poor one... because it is already freighted in theology to the extent that it ... carries with it the sense of what is past and dead and done with... we have thus thought it better to use the word `non-Cartesian.'" (Pg. 115) He defines the crucial issue in modern theology to be whether "the kerygma (message) is put under man's control, so that in the last analysis theology is reduced to a mere chapter in anthropology." (Pg. 53)
He states that "The NT is supra-mythical inasmuch as it proclaims as reality what belongs to the structure of mythical speech (the incarnation). In so doing it goes beyond myth. It thus demythologizes, yet not in such a way as to set forth the signification of mythical statements, but rather by claiming a reality behind the mythical ciphers." (Pg. 83) He concludes that the Bible is "poles apart from the world of myth." (Pg. 88)
He asserts that "the Christian is always ahead of the theologian... because theology is never more than an inquiry into the basis of the Christianity that is already there." (Pg. 125) He argues that the Holy Spirit "does not let us begin with the axioms of our own self-understanding but turns our gaze on what has happened historically." (Pg. 138) He makes the interesting statement, "God acknowledges his Word. This means that in principle the canon is not closed on the Reformation view. We cannot say what might not prove to be canonical in the further course of proclamation." (Pg. 201)
Thielicke's work will be of interest to most students of evangelical theology.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review