The theological understanding of »church history« is commonly quite literal – the history of the ... more The theological understanding of »church history« is commonly quite literal – the history of the Christian church from its apostolic beginnings to our present day. This article proposes the somewhat different approach of a Historical Theology encompassing not only the Christian Era but all history of mankind. By highlighting selected concepts from Augustine (ecclesia ab Abel), Marsilio Ficino (prisca theologia) and Simone Weil (images du Christ) it aims to show why the study of different eras from prehistory to secular postmodernism can indeed be relevant and informative for the theological endeavor in general.
16th century humanists and church reformers were not the first to employ the idea of a »Middle Ag... more 16th century humanists and church reformers were not the first to employ the idea of a »Middle Age«, but it stems in fact from early Christian soteriological thinking and is still present in designations like the »Constantinian Age« and »Postmodernity«. At its core, the notional figure underlying all its variants is inevitably judgmental to a degree that strongly dissuades its improvident use in the study of (church) history.
While the impact of Hayden White's concept »Metahistory« has been vastly influential in many soci... more While the impact of Hayden White's concept »Metahistory« has been vastly influential in many social and cultural sciences over the last decades, reactions by scholars of theology have been relatively scarce by comparison. This article's aim is to highlight some key aspects of White's theories with regard to their potential significance for today's study of church history: the problems of ideological bias, authorial perspective, and narrative form.
Zeitschrift für Religions- und Geistesgeschichte, 2020
For the longest time historians have treated the infamous »Libelo de Sevilla« (1480) as an authen... more For the longest time historians have treated the infamous »Libelo de Sevilla« (1480) as an authentic document of the heresy of »Judaizing« allegedly wide spread among the so-called marrano or converso population. However, a closer look reveals that the pamphlet in question is much more likely the fabrication of Old Christian agitators aiming to discredit both converts from Judaism and their allies.
Thirty years after it's original publication, Francis Fukuyama's declaration of »The End of Histo... more Thirty years after it's original publication, Francis Fukuyama's declaration of »The End of History« is still up for debate. Despite having drawn considerably more criticism than support, Fukuyama's claim continues to challenge academic thought about the nature and development of human society both philosophically and methodologically. Given that his Hegelian notion of history as a teleological and (potentially) finite process is ultimately rooted in early christian eschatology, Fukuyama's thesis certainly merits consideration from the perspective of academic church historians. In the most general sense, his efforts to argue for a sense of goal and direction in universal history all but demonstrate that it is indeed viable and scientifically sound to frame the study of history within a larger narrative of meaning, just as ecclesiastical history has done from the beginning.
The Breve reprehensorium (1465) is a treatise in favour of the newly converted Christians of Jewi... more The Breve reprehensorium (1465) is a treatise in favour of the newly converted Christians of Jewish descent. Based on the only known surviving manuscript, this edition and translation is presented together with an introduction examining the historical background of the controversy surrounding the so-called cristianos nuevos or conversos in late medieval Iberia. Unlike the more famous churchmen and scholars of his time, the author of this "Short Reprehension" is so little known that even his name can only be guessed to be Gutierre de Palma. A highly learned and well-connected member of the Toledan elite, he defended the equality of New and Old Christians both with a plethora of established pro-converso arguments and a number of rather original notions, as his treatise goes to show.
Das 15. Jahrhundert ist das Zeitalter der letzten Massenkonversionen zum Christentum auf der Iber... more Das 15. Jahrhundert ist das Zeitalter der letzten Massenkonversionen zum Christentum auf der Iberischen Halbinsel. Unter starkem Druck und zum Teil mit Gewalt wurde die zuvor große jüdische Bevölkerung gedrängt, sich taufen zu lassen. Gleichwohl akzeptierten große Teile der christlichen Mehrheit die Neubekehrten nicht als gleichwertig und bezweifelten ihre Rechtgläubigkeit. Gegen diese Diskriminierung wandten sich immer wieder Geistliche und Gelehrte mit Predigten, Briefen und Denkschriften. Die vorliegende Studie zeichnet erstmals detailliert die wesentlichen Inhalte ihrer Theologie nach, ihre spezielle Auslegung der Bibel und deren Wurzeln in Recht und Tradition der lateinischen Kirche.
The theological understanding of »church history« is commonly quite literal – the history of the ... more The theological understanding of »church history« is commonly quite literal – the history of the Christian church from its apostolic beginnings to our present day. This article proposes the somewhat different approach of a Historical Theology encompassing not only the Christian Era but all history of mankind. By highlighting selected concepts from Augustine (ecclesia ab Abel), Marsilio Ficino (prisca theologia) and Simone Weil (images du Christ) it aims to show why the study of different eras from prehistory to secular postmodernism can indeed be relevant and informative for the theological endeavor in general.
16th century humanists and church reformers were not the first to employ the idea of a »Middle Ag... more 16th century humanists and church reformers were not the first to employ the idea of a »Middle Age«, but it stems in fact from early Christian soteriological thinking and is still present in designations like the »Constantinian Age« and »Postmodernity«. At its core, the notional figure underlying all its variants is inevitably judgmental to a degree that strongly dissuades its improvident use in the study of (church) history.
While the impact of Hayden White's concept »Metahistory« has been vastly influential in many soci... more While the impact of Hayden White's concept »Metahistory« has been vastly influential in many social and cultural sciences over the last decades, reactions by scholars of theology have been relatively scarce by comparison. This article's aim is to highlight some key aspects of White's theories with regard to their potential significance for today's study of church history: the problems of ideological bias, authorial perspective, and narrative form.
Zeitschrift für Religions- und Geistesgeschichte, 2020
For the longest time historians have treated the infamous »Libelo de Sevilla« (1480) as an authen... more For the longest time historians have treated the infamous »Libelo de Sevilla« (1480) as an authentic document of the heresy of »Judaizing« allegedly wide spread among the so-called marrano or converso population. However, a closer look reveals that the pamphlet in question is much more likely the fabrication of Old Christian agitators aiming to discredit both converts from Judaism and their allies.
Thirty years after it's original publication, Francis Fukuyama's declaration of »The End of Histo... more Thirty years after it's original publication, Francis Fukuyama's declaration of »The End of History« is still up for debate. Despite having drawn considerably more criticism than support, Fukuyama's claim continues to challenge academic thought about the nature and development of human society both philosophically and methodologically. Given that his Hegelian notion of history as a teleological and (potentially) finite process is ultimately rooted in early christian eschatology, Fukuyama's thesis certainly merits consideration from the perspective of academic church historians. In the most general sense, his efforts to argue for a sense of goal and direction in universal history all but demonstrate that it is indeed viable and scientifically sound to frame the study of history within a larger narrative of meaning, just as ecclesiastical history has done from the beginning.
The Breve reprehensorium (1465) is a treatise in favour of the newly converted Christians of Jewi... more The Breve reprehensorium (1465) is a treatise in favour of the newly converted Christians of Jewish descent. Based on the only known surviving manuscript, this edition and translation is presented together with an introduction examining the historical background of the controversy surrounding the so-called cristianos nuevos or conversos in late medieval Iberia. Unlike the more famous churchmen and scholars of his time, the author of this "Short Reprehension" is so little known that even his name can only be guessed to be Gutierre de Palma. A highly learned and well-connected member of the Toledan elite, he defended the equality of New and Old Christians both with a plethora of established pro-converso arguments and a number of rather original notions, as his treatise goes to show.
Das 15. Jahrhundert ist das Zeitalter der letzten Massenkonversionen zum Christentum auf der Iber... more Das 15. Jahrhundert ist das Zeitalter der letzten Massenkonversionen zum Christentum auf der Iberischen Halbinsel. Unter starkem Druck und zum Teil mit Gewalt wurde die zuvor große jüdische Bevölkerung gedrängt, sich taufen zu lassen. Gleichwohl akzeptierten große Teile der christlichen Mehrheit die Neubekehrten nicht als gleichwertig und bezweifelten ihre Rechtgläubigkeit. Gegen diese Diskriminierung wandten sich immer wieder Geistliche und Gelehrte mit Predigten, Briefen und Denkschriften. Die vorliegende Studie zeichnet erstmals detailliert die wesentlichen Inhalte ihrer Theologie nach, ihre spezielle Auslegung der Bibel und deren Wurzeln in Recht und Tradition der lateinischen Kirche.
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