- Gerd Theissen
Gerd Theissen (1943- ) is a German Protestant
theologian andNew Testament scholar. He is Professor of New Testament Theology at theUniversity of Heidelberg .He received the Burkitt Medal for Biblical Studies in 2002 from The
British Academy [http://www.britac.ac.uk/misc/burkitt.html] , he is:... one of the earliest pioneers in the application of the principles and methods ofsociology to the study of the New Testament. Notable works in this field are "The First Followers of Jesus: A Sociological Analysis of the Earliest Christians" (which concentrated on conditions in Palestine) and "The Social Setting of Primitive Christianity" (a Pauline study dealing mainly with Corinth).:... not simply a sociologist. He has never ceased to be a theologian, who has always emphasised the theological as well as the historical significance of his sociological studies and has written specifically on the meaning of faith. On having a "Critical Faith: an Evolutionary Approach" is particularly important in this respect. But his recent publications also include "The Religion of the Earliest Churches", "Gospel Writing and Church Politics: a Socio-rhetorical Approach", and T"he Shadow of the Galilean". This last is a most unusual life of Jesus, accessible to any intelligent reader, but based on the strictest critical discipline.
Career
*Dr. theol. 1968
*Dr. habil. 1972
*Private lecturer University of Bonn 1973-1978
*Teacher 1976-1978
*Professor (Copenhagen) 1978Bibliography
*Psychological Aspects of Pauline theology (1987, german 1983)
*The Shadow of the Galilean: The Quest of the Historical Jesus in Narrative Form (1987)
*The Historical Jesus: A Comprehensive Guide, by Gerd Theissen, Annette Merz (1998)
*Gospel Writing and Church Politics: A Socio-rhetorical Approach (Chuen King Lecture Series - CKLS 3 Chung Chi College: TheChinese University of Hong Kong ) 2001 ISBN 962-7137-29-4
*The miracle stories of the early Christian tradition
*The Social Setting of Pauline Christianity: Essays on Corinth
*Biblical Faith: An Evolutionary Approach
*The Quest for the Plausible Jesus: The Question of Criteria, by Gerd Theissen, et al
*The Religion of the Earliest Churches: Creating a Symbolic World
*Fortress Introduction to the New Testament
*Sociology of Early Palestinian Christianity
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