Start of the Summer Semester in Tübingen

NEWS FROM TÜBINGEN

by Dennis Lindsay

At the time when most colleges and Universities in the USA and elsewhere are wrapping up the "academic year" and celebrating commencement, the Universities here in Germany are just getting started with the "summer semester"—the second half of our academic year. The program at the Institute is just now coming into full-swing. We have a complete lineup of weekly presentations in our English-German Colloquium in New Testament that will take us up through the end of July. The presenters represent doctoral students and faculty from the University of Tübingen, as well as the University of Edinburgh and the University of Bucharest. The "Readings in Theological English" course is also under way, with a focus on selections from  British theologian Alister McGrath's book entitled: "Theology: The Basic Readings." In this text McGrath presents excerpts from Christian authors throughout the history of the church (e.g., Augustine, Irenaeus, Martin Luther, John Wesley, Karl Barth, C.S. Lewis, and many others) on a variety of theological topics of central interest to the New Testament

Lectures in Heiligenkreuz

NEWS FROM TÜBINGEN

by Dennis Lindsay

Since the middle of January I have been teaching a course on "Mission in the New Testament" for M.A. and M.Div. students at TCM's Institute. Most of the coursework has been online, but for in the middle of March the class met at Haus Edelweiss in Heiligenkreuz, Austria for a week-long in-person intensive session. Students enrolled in the class were from a number of central and Eastern European countries, including Estonia, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Austria. The group included individuals engaged in pastoral ministry, mission, youth ministry, music ministry, and seminary instructors. This rich mix of ministries and nationalities provided fertile soil for cutting-edge conversations about the nature and needs of Christian mission in Europe today! The class officially ends in April when students will submit final projects tailored to address mission work in their own current contexts.

Special guest lecture at the English German Colloquium f. NT

In the last session of the English German Colloqiuim on the New Testament for the 2023-2024 winter semester, the Institut zur Erforschung des Urchristentums and the Evangelisch-Theologische Fakultät der Universität Tübingen was happy to host Dr. Matan Orian of Tel Aviv University, currently a visiting scholar at the Institutum Judaicum Delitzschianum of the University of Münster.

Dr. Orian, whose research interests focus on the Jewish view of non-Jews in the Second Temple period, lectured on the Jewish concept of “Gentile impurity” in the Second Temple period, as reflected in the writings of Josephus, the Dead Sea Scrolls and several texts of the New Testament, including the Gospels of John and Luke, Acts of the Apostles, and a number of Pauline letters. In his lecture, titled “Paul and Luke-Acts on Circumcision and Gentile Impurity,” Dr. Orian drew a connection between the Jewish view of non-Jews as impure and the debate, in the early church, over the requirement of circumcision from non-Jewish Christian believers, thus offering a possible explanation for the centrality of this debate in the pertinent NT texts.

Blessings for the NEW YEAR

by Birgit Hallmann

In Germany, “business as usual” takes a restful and reflective break during the Christmas and New Year holidays.  It has been quiet at the Institute as I have been able to spend time with my two adult Kids, and  Karen and Dennis spend the Christmas Days with their daughter Mia who was visiting from Portland, Oregon.   
As we embark upon this new year, we do so with the programs of the Institute in full swing.  Colloquium sessions are booked up with presenters for the remainder of the Winter Semester.
From all of us at the Institute and EES, I wish you and your loved ones rich blessings in this new year as we all work in our own ways and callings to serve the ONE who is making all things new. 

Digital Learning Technology Enhancement is progressing

NEWS FROM TÜBINGEN
by Birgit Hallmann

Time is quickly running by and next Sunday we will be celebrating the first of Advent here in Tübingen.

We are in the middle of the busy semester and we have welcomed our first overnight guests to our rooms again.
Our guest this week was Jonas Müller, a doctoral student of Loren Stuckenbruck from the University in Munich. He presented his work on: “The role of Abraham in the Galatian conflict. An introductory question in the context of ancient Judaism“ at the English German Colloquium for New Testament.

Due to a public transport strike, one of our scheduled speakers, Frau Dr. Verena Fugger from Vienna, was unable to travel to Tübingen at the last minute. Thanks to the technology capabilities of our University partners, we were able to shift her lecture to a live online presentation with very short notice.

The renovation and the digital upgrade of our seminar room at the Institute are also progressing very well.

The first furniture has been delivered, the 50+ year-old massive library tables have been disposed of, and all the materials for the digital classroom have been delivered. With the help of Mihail Bolonka from Heiligenkreuz in Austria, we hope to have all of this done before the Christmas break.

We would like to thank everyone, especially Mihail, for their great support in this major project.

1. Before:

2. After:

(If you would like to make a special "end-of-the-year" contribution to help defray the expenses of this mission-critical upgrade, we would be most grateful for this additional help!)