Clemens Thoma

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Clemens Thoma (born November 2, 1932 in Kaltbrunn in the canton of St. Gallen ; † December 7, 2011 in Baar ZG ) was a Swiss theologian and Steyler missionary . He was professor of Jewish studies and theology and founder of the Institute for Jewish-Christian Research (IJCF) at the University of Lucerne .

biography

Clemens Thoma grew up as one of eleven children in a farming family in the canton of St. Gallen.

After theological studies in St. Augustin near Bonn and St. Gabriel near Vienna , he was ordained a priest in 1961 . At the University of Vienna he studied Jewish studies under Kurt Schubert . In 1966 he presented his dissertation The Destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in AD 70, Spiritual-Religious Significance for Judaism and Christianity according to the statements of Jewish and Christian primary literature .

From 1967 to 1971 he was assistant professor at the Institute for Jewish Studies at the University of Vienna. During this time he dealt more and more with the question of anti-Judaism in the New Testament and began his involvement in Christian-Jewish dialogue.

In 1971 he was appointed full professor at the chair for Jewish and biblical studies at the Lucerne Theological University. As early as 1972 he organized the first Judeo-Christian symposium in Lucerne and in the following years also organized numerous symposia, conferences and meetings devoted to interreligious dialogue and Judeo-Christian research.

In 1981 he founded the Institute for Jewish-Christian Research (IJCF), which he headed until his retirement in 2000 and which is now an integral part of the University of Lucerne. Thoma pursued two goals in founding the institute:

  1. Scientific elaboration of Jewish primary sources
  2. Constitution of Judaic Studies as a science that is inherently at home in the philosophical-philological-historical field as a subject that also belongs in theology.

As a specialist in interreligious dialogue, he became consultor of the Vatican Commission on Religious Relations with Judaism in 1976 and advised the Swiss Bishops' Conference on Christian-Jewish discussions . Thoma was the initiator of the Theological Real Encyclopedia , which came out from 1977 and distinguished itself through numerous works and editorships. In 1994 he became the chief editor of the Freiburg newsletter New Series, a magazine for Christian-Jewish encounter .

Thoma spent the last three years of his life in the Maria-Hilf mission house in Steinhausen , most recently he was cared for in the care center in Baar. He suffered from Alzheimer's .

Honors

Works

  • Judaism and Christian Faith. On the dialogue between Christians and Jews. Klosterneuburg book and art publisher, Klosterneuburg, Vienna / Munich 1965.
  • Church of Jews and Gentiles. Biblical information about the relationship of the Church to Judaism. Herder, Vienna 1970.
  • Future in the present. Directions in Judaism and Christianity. Lang, Bern 1976, ISBN 3-261-02067-9 .
  • Christian theology of Judaism. Pattloch, Aschaffenburg 1978, ISBN 3-557-94180-9 .
  • Jewish approaches to Jesus. In: Theological Reports VII. Ed. By the Theological University Chur and the Theological Faculty Lucerne (Josef Pfammatter, Franz Furger), Einsiedeln 1978.
  • The theological relations between Christianity and Judaism. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1982, ISBN 3-534-08556-6 .
  • Speaking of one God among Jews and Christians. Lang, Bern 1984, ISBN 3-261-03388-6 .
  • The Messiah Project. Theology of Jewish-Christian Encounters. Pattloch, Augsburg 1994, ISBN 3-629-00626-4 .
  • Adjusting the dislocated person. Farewell lecture as Professor of Biblical Studies and Jewish Studies and as Head of the Institute for Jewish-Christian Research at the University of Lucerne (UHL) on June 18, 1998. UHL, Lucerne 1998.
  • Rabbi Nachman. Master of Spirituality. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2002, ISBN 3-451-05152-4 .
Editorships
  • On the ruins of the temple. The Land and Covenant of Israel in the Dialogue between Christians and Jews. Herder, Vienna 1968.
  • (Co-editor) Freiburg circular (from 1971)
  • (with Simon Lauer) The scientific series Judaica et Christiana ISSN  0171-676X (1976-2009)
  • (with Ernst Ludwig Ehrlich ) Is there a Holocaust theology? European Anti Defamation League Commission des B'nai B'rith, Vienna 1980.
  • (with Leszek Kołakowski et al.) Tolerance and Absolute Claims. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1980, ISBN 3-451-19226-8 .
  • (with Jakob Josef Petuchowski ) Lexicon of Jewish-Christian encounters. Herder, Freiburg Br. 1989, ISBN 3-451-21245-5 .
  • On the ruins of the temple. The Land and Covenant of Israel in the Dialogue between Christians and Jews. Herder, Vienna 1968.
  • Judaism: Outlooks and Insights. Festgabe for Kurt Schubert on his seventieth birthday. Lang, Frankfurt a. M. 1993, ISBN 3-631-45671-9 .
  • (with Simon Lauer and Hanspeter Ernst) The parables of the rabbis. Lang, Bern 1986.
    • 1st part: Clemens Thoma and Simon Lauer (eds.): Pesiqta deRav Kahana (PesK). Introduction, translation, parallels, commentary, texts. The parables of the rabbis 1. Lang, Bern 1986, ISBN 3-261-03596-X .
    • Part 2: Clemens Thoma and Simon Lauer (eds.): From the creation of the world to the death of Abraham: Bereschit rabba 1-63. Introduction, translation with commentary, texts. The parables of the rabbis 2. Lang, Bern 1991, ISBN 3-261-04396-2 .
    • 3rd part: Clemens Thoma and Hanspeter Ernst (eds.): From Isaak to the Red Sea: BerR 63-100; ShemR 1-22. Introduction, translation with commentary, texts. The parables of the rabbis 3. Lang, Bern 1996, ISBN 3-906756-68-8 .
    • 4th part: Clemens Thoma and Hanspeter Ernst (eds.): From the Song of Moses to the Covenant Book: ShemR 23-30. Introduction, translation with commentary, texts. Lang, Bern 2000, ISBN 3-906765-74-1 .
  • (with Paul-Gerhard Müller and Günter Biemer) Conveyance of faith. Theological and anthropological aspects. Benziger, Zurich 1989, ISBN 3-545-22113-X .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Hans Breitenmoser: He removes religious barriers. In: Linth newspaper. No. 2/2002 (January 4, 2002).
  2. ↑ Simon Lauer, Hanspeter Ernst (ed.): Temple cult and temple destruction (70 AD): interpretations. Festschrift for Clemens Thoma for his 60th birthday. Lang, Bern 1995, ISBN 3-906753-46-8 ( publisher's advertising ( memento of February 24, 2016 in the Internet Archive )).
  3. ^ Willehad Paul Eckert (Ed.): Anti-Judaism in the New Testament? Exegetical and systematic contributions. Kaiser, Munich 1967 ( Treatises on Christian-Jewish Dialogue. Vol. 2).
  4. ^ Freiburger Rundbrief XXIV, 1972, No. 89/92 (PDF; 5.9 MB), pp. 3–5.
  5. ^ Clemens Thoma: Judaic Studies at the Lucerne Theological Faculty. 1981; unpublished files, Institute for Jewish-Christian Research, Lucerne.
  6. ↑ Switzerland: The Swiss Judaicist Clemens Thoma is dead Catholic International Press Agency (kipa), December 9, 2011, on kath.ch
  7. ↑ Switzerland: The Swiss Judaicist Clemens Thoma is dead Neue Zuger Zeitung, December 10, 2011, on kath.ch
  8. ↑ Horst Köhler: "Think about the days of the past - learn from the years of history." 40 years of the Buber Rosenzweig Medal. LIT, Berlin / Münster 2009, ISBN 978-3-8258-1717-6 .
personal data
SURNAME Thoma, Clemens
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss Judaist and religious
DATE OF BIRTH November 2, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH Kaltbrunn
DATE OF DEATH December 7, 2011
Place of death Baar ZG