Gerd Theissen
Gerd Theissen is a German Protestant theologian and New Testament scholar. As of 2005, he was a professor of New Testament studies at the University of Heidelberg.
Early life and education
Gerd Theissen was born in Rheydt, Germany, today known as Mönchengladbach, Germany, on 24 April 1943.He obtained his doctorate from the University of Bonn in 1968, in a study of the New Testament Epistle to the Hebrews, study under the auspices of the faculty of Protestant theology. He then moved on to studying Evangelical Theology there, as well, obtaining his habilitation in 1972, on early Christian miracle stories, which he approached through form criticism.
Career
Positions
Thiessen is reported to have been a lecturer at the University of Bonn from 1973 to 1978. As described by a colleague on the occasion of an honorary doctorate, Thiessen worked "as a secondary school teacher, teaching religion and German language" from 1976 to 1978. He then served as a professor of New Testament at the University of Copenhagen, from 1978-1980. Since 1980, he has been a professor of "New Testament studies" at the University of Heidelberg. As of 2005, he remained in that University of Heidelberg professorship.From 2007 to September 2009 Thiessen served as secretary of the Philosophical class of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences.
Work
Theissen is a German Protestant theologian and New Testament scholar. His academic work, as of 2005, was being described as covering "wide fields in New Testament studies" through publication of 15 sole-author books, co-authoring of 3 more, as well as contributing 110 articles, chapters, or essays in lexicons, books, and journals. His works have been translated into more than ten languages, European and Asian.Awards and recognition
In 2002, Thiessen was awarded the Burkitt Medal by the British Academy. It is granted "in recognition of special service to Biblical Studies". The British Academy's citation states that Theissen is:...one of the earliest pioneers in the application of the principles and methods of sociology to the study of the New Testament. otable works in this field are The First Followers of Jesus... and The Social Setting of Primitive Christianity .The citation goes on to state that he "is not simply a sociologist... has never ceased to be a theologian... always emphasis the theological... historical significance of his sociological studies", and that Thiessen had written, specifically, about the "meaning of faith" where it noted his work, On Having a Critical Faith, was "particularly important". It goes on to highlight his most recent publications as of 2002, which included The Religion of the Earliest Churches and Gospel Writing and Church Politics, and makes special reference to The Shadow of the Galilean, which it describes as "a most unusual life of Jesus, accessible to any intelligent reader, but based on the strictest critical discipline".
He has been awarded honorary doctoral degrees, including from The University of Glasgow, University of St. Andrews, Université de Neuchâtel, and Lund and Aarhus Universities. In 2005, Thiessen was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Faculty of Theology of the
Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary, during festivities to celebrate its 150th jubilee.
Professor Theissen was named a member of the Heidelberg [Academy of Sciences and Humanities|Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften].