 |
Jurgen MoltmannGerman Orthodox Protestant theologian
Date of Birth: 08.04.1926
Country:  Germany |
Content:
Early Life and Influences
Jürgen Moltmann was born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1926. His upbringing was secular, with his grandfather being a Grand Master of the Freemasons. At the age of 16, Moltmann admired Albert Einstein and aspired to study physics and mathematics. However, the outbreak of World War II led to him being drafted into the Luftwaffe at age 17.
During the war, Hamburg was heavily bombed, and a bomb that exploded near a young Moltmann killed his school friend. This event led him to question God's existence and ask about the purpose of his survival.
Captivity and Conversion
After fighting in the war, Moltmann was captured and imprisoned in various prisoner-of-war camps for three years. While in a camp in Belgium, he was exposed to images of Nazi atrocities and felt disillusioned with German culture.
Amidst his despair, Moltmann encountered a group of Christians in the camp. An American chaplain gave him a New Testament and Psalms, which he read and discussed, finding comfort in the Christian faith. He remarked, "I did not find Christ, but He found me."
Post-War Studies and Career
After his release in 1947, Moltmann attended the first post-war World Student Christian Federation conference. This experience confirmed his path toward Christian theology. He then studied theology at the University of Göttingen, under the influence of followers of Karl Barth and members of the Confessing Church.
In 1952, Moltmann completed his doctoral dissertation under Otto Weber, who had a significant impact on his theological thinking. During his studies, he met his future wife, Elisabeth Wendel, an advocate for women's rights.
From 1952 to 1957, Moltmann served as a pastor in Bremen. In 1958, he became a professor of theology at the Confessing Church seminary in Wuppertal. He later joined the theological faculty of the University of Bonn in 1963.
From 1967 to 1994, Moltmann held the position of Professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Tübingen. He also served as a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Systematic Theology at Emory University in Atlanta from 1983 to 1993.
Throughout his career, Moltmann was active in various organizations, including the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches and the Louisville Institute. He received several awards, including the Grawemeyer Award in Religion in 2000.
Theology
Moltsmann's theological thought was shaped by his experiences of war, suffering, and encounters with oppression. He emphasized the connection between hope and suffering and solidarity with the oppressed.
According to Moltmann, Christian theology should provide humanity with a way out of the self-inflicted situations it faces. He stated, "How a person can speak of God 'after Auschwitz' is his problem; but even more so, how a person can refrain from speaking of God 'after Auschwitz' is his problem. Who else is there to speak of if not God?"
While not a fundamentalist, Moltmann grounded his theology in the Bible, with some influence from Jewish writings. He rejected the notion of a Methodist proof for God and emphasized the role of revelation as a promise that inspires faith and hope.
Influence
Molmann's theology was influenced by various factors, including World War II and thinkers such as Otto Weber, Ernst Wolf, Hans Joachim Iwand, Karl Barth, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Ernst Bloch, and Franz Rosenzweig.
His unique synthesis of ideas from diverse sources led to a transformative theology that influenced Protestant, Catholic, and even Orthodox theologians. Among the theologians influenced by Moltmann are Johann Baptist Metz, James Cone, Gustavo Gutiérrez, and the Minjung movement in South Korea.
