A. James Reimer

Allen James Reimer (born August 10, 1942 , † August 28, 2010 ) was a Canadian Mennonite theologian who, until his retirement in 2008, was a professor at Conrad Grebel College, University of Waterloo and at the Toronto School of Theology at the University of Toronto worked.

Reimer grew up in a small town in southwest Manitoba . He received an undergraduate degree in theology from Canadian Mennonite University and the University of Manitoba . He later studied theology and history at the University of Toronto . In his dissertation , Reimer compared the two German theologians Emanuel Hirsch and Paul Tillich with regard to the political effects of their divergent theological approaches.

In his theology, Reimer took more classical Trinitarian positions and thus deviates from the positions of other Mennonite theologians who, like John Howard Yoder, focus more on aspects of the Sermon on the Mount . Nevertheless, Christian social ethics also occupy a large space in Reimer's theology . Like Yoder, Reimer is a pacifist . In the course of his dissertation he distanced himself strongly from the theological views of Emanuel Hirsch, who as a representative of the German Christians openly supported Hitler before and during the Nazi dictatorship .

Reimer was also politically active and was an active member of the social democratic New Democratic Party for several years . A. James Reimer can be seen as a representative of the Christian Left .

Reimer has written a large number of essays and articles, which have been summarized in the books Mennonites and Classical Theology and Paul Tillich: Theologian of Nature, Culture and Politics , among others . In addition to his work on Paul Tillich and Emanuel Hirsch, Reimer also dealt with Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the role of the churches in the Nazi era, critical theory , the history of the Anabaptist movement and ethical issues.

Reimer was married to Margaret Loewen Reimer, an English specialist. As a couple, they had three children and lived in Waterloo , Ontario .

Works (selection)

• Werner Schüßler , A. James Reimer (Ed.): Prayer as a basic act of faith, philosophical-theological considerations on Paul Tillich's understanding of prayer. Munster 2004.
• A. James Reimer: Emanuel Hirsch and Paul Tillich. Theology and Politics in a Time of Crisis. Berlin 1995.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ theologian who built bridges fondly remembered ( Memento of 4 September 2010 at the Internet Archive )