Historical Criticism

The name “Jesus Christ” links the historical person of Jesus of Nazareth with the religious expectation of the Messiah sent by God and lies at the heart of Christian faith. Since the Enlightenment, the search for the “real” or “historical” Jesus has led to diverse, often contradictory reconstructions, since historical sources provide only probabilities, not certainties. Theologically speaking, however, what is decisive is not historical factuality, but rather the confession of faith in Jesus Christ as the living Son of god who acts within history, as attested by the New Testament. The Gospels recount the humanity of Jesus in the light of the Easter faith, whereby the true significance of Jesus for faith lies in his presence and efficacy as Christ, not in historical reconstruction.

• Christology
• Doctrine of God

Reference to the Bible as Holy Scripture is constitutive for Christianity in both praxis and theory and it plays a particularly important role in shaping identity within Protestantism. This is evident in its prominent status as canon. Since the Reformation, Protestant churches have regarded the Bible as the “rule and norm” (Formula of Concord, Art. I) of faith, towards which ecclesial life and theological teaching must be oriented. However, the manner in which this orientation towards the Bible is to be understood in the life of the churches and in the context of theological reflection remains controversial – both within Protestantism and among other denominations. In this respect, in contemporary Protestant dogmatics, Scripture is primarily viewed in terms of crisis. The debate surrounding the so-called “crisis of the Scripture principle” is a fundamental aspect of contemporary theological reflection on Scripture. To whom does Scripture apply, how, and in what respects? How do texts that must be interpreted historically relate to contemporary challenges? How should we deal with the plurality of Scripture and its interpretation?

• Ecclesiology
• Prolegomena