The Lord´s Prayer: Symposium volume published in November

News from Tübingen
by Birgit Hallmann

We are in the middle of the winter semester in Tübingen and a very busy time.
The English German Colloquium continues to draw a strong demand for scholars wishing to deliver papers. The hybrid version also allows for great international networking among speakers and students.
Some examples of international scholars presenting via zoom include:
Dr. Grzegorz Olek, Christian-Theological Academy in Warsaw,
“Hendiadys in Philippians 1,1? About the origins, misunderstandings and argumentation of constantly reappearing theory”;
Prof. Dr. Beate Kowalski,(TU Dortmund),
“Exodus Motifs in the NT Writings”;
And Merete Hodt, MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society,
​(topic to be announced later).
The Theological English class is also well under way.  Dennis Lindsay is leading the students through a series of readings related to “The History of Early Christian Literature.” The readings alternate between scholarly essays and primary texts from the first and second centuries AD.
We are also pleased to announce that the WUNDT volume on the symposium "The Lord´s Prayer" is finally available in print as of the first of November. The printed volume includes a special tribute to Dr. Beth Langstaff, who passed away on March 20th of this year.

The Lord's Prayer

Edited by Beth Langstaff, Loren T. Stuckenbruck, and Michael Tilly

2022. XI, 321 Seiten. WUNT I 490 Leinen 139,00 €

Links fort he Order of the new Symposium Publication „The Lord´s Prayer“ (price = 139€,hardback, also available as a kindle ebook edition)

https://www.amazon.de/Lords-Prayer-English-Beth-Langstaff-ebook/dp/B0BL24886C/

https://www.mohrsiebeck.com/buch/the-lords-prayer-9783161614408

Start of the new Wintersemester in Tübingen

News from Tübingen:

by Dennis Lindsay

As the “Winter Semester” kicks off the new academic year for the University of Tübingen, activities are coming into full swing at the Institute for the Study of Christian Origins.  The English-German Colloquium for New Testament, jointly sponsored with the Protestant faculty of the University, dates back to the early 1960’s and is one of the hallmarks of our Institute.  Meeting weekly throughout the academic year, the Colloquium serves as an academic crucible where theological scholars, both students and established professionals, can share their latest research projects, receive critique and feedback, and advance insight and understanding in a wide variety of areas related to New Testament studies.  The opening session this October was attended by scholars from Egypt, Romania, and America, in addition to the German participants—both in-person and via Zoom—and we have a robust lineup of presenters and presentations for this semester.  Our first presenter was Mark Hoover, a doctoral student in Tübingen, who completed undergraduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania and earned his M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary.  One of Mark’s areas of research interest is in Syrian and Ethiopian Christianity, and his paper for the colloquium addressed the topic of the “Two-Law” hermeneutic (i.e., the principle that the Old Testament Torah was comprised of “good laws” and “bad laws”) in the writings of third century Syrian Christians.

Update from Tübingen

Update from Tübingen

by Dennis Lindsay

WE’RE FINALLY HERE!!! After almost four months of preparation and transition, Karen and I arrived back in Tübingen at the end of September. There are still a million details to tend to (down considerably from about 10 million details!), but the heavy lifting is behind us and the joy of ministry lies directly ahead.

At the Institute we are shifting into high gear as we prepare for the start of the Winter Semester in mid-October. The normal ministries of the Institute are all set to resume this fall. We have students, professors, and visiting scholars signing up to read papers at our German-English Colloquium for New Testament – both in person and via Zoom. And I am looking forward to the two classes I will teach in Theological English and Theological German. I don’t yet know the enrollment numbers, but it will be a real joy to engage with students here in theological discussion, reflection, and deeper learning. Thank you for your support of the European Evangelistic Society. I look forward to sharing more about our ministry in the coming months.

Besuch von Dennis Lindsay - dem neuen Leiter des Instituts - in Tübingen

by Dennis Lindsay

After 30 years the Lindsays are making Tübingen their home once again!  This was home for Karen and me from 1985-1992 when I was working on my doctorate at the University here and served as pastor of the Christliche Gemeinde.  In the intervening years, we served at Springdale College in England and then, the past 22 years, at Bushnell University in Eugene, Oregon.  I have now stepped into the role of Director for the Institute for Early Christianity, and Karen and I have spent the month of July in Tübingen preparing for our permanent move later in September.  It has been a whirlwind of a month as we have shopped for an apartment (we’ve got one!), as we have navigated the bureaucracy of obtaining residence permits and other legal requirements (we’re making progress…), and as we’ve had our house in Eugene on the market for sale (just received and accepted an offer this past weekend!).  The Lord has been paving the way for us to transition into this new ministry, and we are most grateful.  We’ll be back in the States in August/September to complete the sale of our house, free ourselves from the years of accumulated “stuff”, and get our essentials packed and moved to Germany.  And, of course, we will spend lots of time with our daughter Mia, who is entering her senior year at the University of Portland!

In the meantime, the ministry and the activities of the Tübingen Institute continue to take place through the end of July, when the “summer semester” comes to an end.  The weekly German-English Colloquium for New Testament has continued to attract and engage participants from all over the world, both through the in-person and simultaneous online (Zoom) opportunities.  I have been “initiated” into the online platform of the University so that we can begin our offerings of Theological English and Theological German when the winter semester begins in October. I have also had preliminary discussions with Prof. Tilly of the Protestant faculty about our next co-sponsored international symposium. We’ll keep you updated on that as we make further plans.

The publication of essays from the last symposium on the Lord’s Prayer will be released this fall. At Loren Stuckenbruck’s initiation, we decided to delay the publication a few months so that we could include in the frontispiece a special dedication to Dr. Beth Langstaff.  We are grateful for Loren’s work on this and it will provide a wonderful and fitting tribute to Beth and her work, not only on this volume, but throughout her ministry here in Tübingen as Institute Director.

As always, Birgit Hallmann continues to provide invaluable support for our work here, and we are grateful for her faithful service and always cheerful disposition.  I couldn’t imagine stepping into this new role without her assistance.

I would ask you to keep Karen and me in your prayers as we continue to navigate this major life transition.  We are excited about the opportunity to serve here once again, and I look forward to providing updates in the future.

Blessings,

Dennis Lindsay

Dr. Leopold Lucas Preisverleihung 2022

by Birgit Hallmann

Dr. Leopold Lucas Prize 2022 awarded to the Judaist Maren Niehoff on May 10.

This year's Dr. Leopold Lucas Prize of the Faculty of Protestant Theology was awarded to historian, Judaist, scholar of religion and literature Maren R. Niehoff. She is Max Cooper Professor of Jewish Thought at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She was honored for her interdisciplinary approach to questions of the relationship between Judaism, Christianity and Greco-Roman culture. The Dr. Leopold Lucas Prize is endowed with 50,000 euros.

Maren Niehoff has presented extensive research on Philon of Alexandria and Jewish biblical interpretation. She has shown how cultural transfer processes take place and what effects they can have, said the committee awarding the prize.

Institute

The English German Colloquium for NT is enjoying very brisk demand this semester. For the first time in a few years, we have to put off speakers until the winter semester, although the group is meeting weekly again.

Topics in May:

Romans 7 in Context (D.Schumann, Tübingen); Exodus Motifs in the NT Writings (Prof. Kowalski Dortmund); Desacralizing „Acts“. Early Christian Apocrypha „Ascents of James“ (Rec.1.27(33)-71) ( Aleksei Volchkov).

We are also preparing for the visit of the new Institute Director, Dr. Dennis Lindsay, and his wife in July. This will e.g. include preparations for the Lindsay family's move to Tübingen and planning for the resumption of the Theological German and Theological English classes in the Wintersemester.