[1886-1965]
ACADEMIC LECTURES*
Delivered at:
Union Theological Seminary &
Columbia University
1951-1954
and
Harvard University
1955-1962
LIST Of COURSE TITLES**
I. EXISTENCE and the CHRIST.***
(1951, Spring Semester, UTS )
''Man and existence. Sin, guilt, and the quest for the
Christ. Jesus as the Christ, and the historical Jesus. The
Christological dogma. The New Being in Christ.''
--Four lectures each week. (S) --NOTE
entries, when enclosed in quotation marks, are re-
produced from the respective institutional catalogs.
*Recorded by
corpus of recorded material represents about 85% of the lectures and
courses taught during the years, 1951-1962.
**Abbreviations:
(S) = Stenographic recording, verbatim.
Union = (UTS)
(T) = Tape recording.
Columbia = (CU)
(ST) = Mixed, or both S and T.
Harvard = (HU)
***Lectures on ''Existence and the Christ,'' ''Life and the Spirit,''
and ''The Interpretation of History'' were ultimately incorporated into
Volumes II (1957) and III (1963) of Systematic Theology (Univ. of Chicago
Press). There is a remarkable diversity between the styles of the oral
delivery and the published versions. The latter are much more condensed
and stripped of most of the concrete illustrative material. Also, through
the years' commentaries on the basic ''Propositions'' (which formed the
student's pre-published text, distributed at the beginning of each course),
one can trace the continuing development and expansion of Prof.
thought. The content of repeated courses always changed in emphasis and
treatment.
Included in the recordings are the discussion periods which were
an integral part of almost all of the lectures.
The manuscripts which formed the basis of many of these lectures
exist primarily in outline or propositional (thesis) form. Only two of
the following 39 courses have been transcribed from the recordings, and
privately printed in small student editions, now out of print (see Entries
III and IX).
In addition to the multi-lecture courses, there is included a list
of 63 individual lectures and discussions.
[2]
II. FORMATIVE MOTIFS in PROTESTANT THOUGHT. ( 1951, Fall, CU)
''Analysis and evaluation of major aspects of Protestant
thought. The sources and development of principle motifs in
Protestantism, and the relationship to secular and cultural
forces of the modern world. The rise of divergent trends,
with consideration of the relationship to various ecumenical
movements.''
--Two lectures each week. Cf. XIV and XV, below. (S)
III. EXISTENCE and the CHRIST. (1952, Spring, UTS)
''Man and existence. Sin, guilt, and the quest for the Christ.
Jesus as the Christ, and the historical Jesus. The Christolog-
ical dogma. The New Being in Christ.''
LIFE and the SPIRIT.
''Man and life. The ambiguities of life, and the quest for
the divine Spirit. God and the Spirit of God. Faith and love.
The New Being as community: the Church. The New Being as
personality: the Christian.''
--Four lectures each week. Edited & privately published
for course members, by Peter H. John, 1952. Pp. 313; index. (S)
--47 Lectures.
IV. The THEOLOGY Of CHRISTIAN MYSTICS. (1952, Spring, UTS)
''The nature of Christian mysticism, its difference from
pagan mysticism and its significance for Christian theology,
past and present. Classical representatives of Eastern,
mediaeval and Protestant mysticism...; the most important
critics of mysticism.''
--Two lectures each week. (S) (See Entry XXIII, below.)
V. ART and RELIGION. ( 1952, Fall, UTS)
--Two evenings each month, with illustrated slides and
commentaries. (S)
VI. LUTHER'S THEOLOGY. ( 1952, Fall, UTS)
--Two lectures each week. (S)
VII. CALVIN'S THEOLOGY. ( 1953, Spring, UTS)
--Two lectures each week. (S)
[3]
VIII. SURVEY of SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, Vol. I (1952-53, Fall & Spring, UTS)
''The nature of theology; reason and revelation; Being and
God.''
(Brief student reports on sections of the published text,
with ensuing lecture & discussion. See Entry XXIV, below.)
EXISTENCE and the CHRIST.
(See description for Entry III; also
footnote, p. 1.)
LIFE and the SPIRIT.
--Four lectures each week. (S)
IX. INTRODUCTION to the HISTORY of CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY. (1953, Spring, UTS)
''The rise and development of a Christian theology, its main
ideas, tensions and representatives in the Eastern and Western
churches, its growth and disintegration in the Middle Ages;
the main ideas of the Reformers and their Orthodox and Spiritual
successors; the roots of modern theology and the present theol-
ogical situation in Europe and America.''
--Four lectures each week.--Edited & privately published
by Peter H. John, 1953, as A HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN THOUGHT;
2nd edition, Cambridge, 1956, with extensive bibliogra-
phies of and about Tillich's writings. Pp. 309; index.
Out of print. (A few lectures from this course were
also recorded in 1951 and 1952, though not used in the
above editions.) (ST)
--37 Lectures.
X. The CHRISTIAN INTERPRETATION of HISTORY. (1954, Spring, UTS)
''History and the Kingdom of God. Man and history. The
interpretation of history. The enigma of history and the quest
for the Kingdom of God. The center of history and the Kairos.
The end of history and the eschatological symbols.''
--Two lectures each week. (Seminar) -- (S)
XI. The COGNITIVE and RELIGIOUS USE of MYTH and SYMBOL. (1954, Spring, CU)
--One evening each month. Seminar with Prof. John Hermann
XII. EXISTENCE and the CHRIST. (1954, Spring, UTS)
LIFE and the SPIRIT. (See Entry III and note, p. 1.]
--Four lectures each week. (ST)
Randall, John Herman jr. (14.2.1899 Grand Rapids – 1.12.1980 New York) war ein US-amerikanischer Historiker und Philosoph. Er lehrte sein Leben lang an der Columbia University, geprägt von Dewey und Woodbridge, und verstand sich als Pragmatiker und Naturalist. 1933/34 forschte er mit einem Guggenheim-Stipendium in Padua über die Averroisten, deren Bedeutung für die Entwicklung wissenschaftlicher Methoden er hervorhob. Sein Hauptwerk ist The Career of Philosophy (1962/65). Er deutete Metaphysik und Religion als symbolische Orientierung, vertrat eine pluralistische Aristoteles-Interpretation und forderte, Philosophiegeschichte kulturgeschichtlich zu verstehen.
Johannes Calvin (1509 – 1564), ursprünglich Jurist und Humanist aus Noyon, schloss sich der Reformation an, verließ das katholische Frankreich nach der „Plakat-Affäre“ von 1534 und veröffentlichte in Basel sein Hauptwerk „Institutio Christianae Religionis“. 1536–38 sowie endgültig ab 1541 prägte er in Genf die Organisation einer reformierten Kirche, predigte systematisch über die Bibel und gründete eine Akademie, von der aus ausgebildete Pastoren das reformierte Gedankengut nach ganz Europa trugen. Unter seiner Führung wurde Genf zum Modell und Zentrum des Calvinismus, dessen Einfluss bis weit über sein Todesjahr 1564 hinaus wirkte.
Paul Tillich (20. August 1886 – 22. Oktober 1965) war ein deutscher evangelischer Theologe und Religionsphilosoph. Nach seiner Tätigkeit als Feldprediger im Ersten Weltkrieg lehrte er an verschiedenen Universitäten in Deutschland, bis er 1933 emigrieren musste und in den USA wirkte, unter anderem in New York, Harvard und Chicago. Tillich entwickelte eine Theologie der Kultur und verstand Religion als das „was uns unbedingt angeht“. In seiner „Systematic Theology“ formulierte er die Methode der Korrelation und deutete Gott als „Macht des Seins“. Seine Arbeiten verbinden Theologie, Philosophie und Existenzdenken und hatten großen Einfluss auf das religiöse Denken der Moderne.
Martin Luther (10. November 1483 – 18. Februar 1546) war ein deutscher Reformator und Theologe. Nach seinem Studium in Erfurt trat er 1505 in ein Kloster ein, wurde 1512 promoviert und wirkte als Professor in Wittenberg. 1517 löste er mit seinen Thesen gegen den Ablass den Bruch mit der Papstkirche aus, der 1521 zur Exkommunikation führte. In der Folge entwickelte er seine reformatorische Theologie und übersetzte die Bibel ins Deutsche. Seine Lehre betonte die Gnade Gottes und die Autorität der Schrift und prägte Kirche und Kultur nachhaltig.