The secret question about God
The secret question about God (in the subtitle: Background of our spiritual situation ) is a theological - popular scientific work of Helmut Thielicke .
background
The book is a collection of various essays and lectures, initially held individually, which were later linked and networked with one another under the problem of the title, and was published in 1972 in the midst of the student unrest that had also affected the University of Hamburg and the theological faculty there, of which Thielicke was dean Board.
content
The thrust of Thielicke's thoughts is the concern that the evangelical church will succumb to one of the two extremisms: pious esoteric self-encapsulation on the one hand and insubstantial outside activism on the other. In relation to the structural issues, which were also centrally discussed within the church at that time , Thielicke warns of the "primacy of the person" with reference to the space for people to meet Jesus . This also leads Thielicke to contradict the blanket demonization of power by placing the person "of the mighty" at the center, who has been given power with the possibility of use and abuse.
Is fundamental for Thielicke the relational constitution of man, the coram Deo stands before God and receives from there life and also referenced in all actions and omissions on the others. This forbids speaking absolutely of “I”, since the I can only be stated in relationships, so it has to be put into perspective. As a consequence, Thielicke is skeptical of all buzzwords such as B. “ Democratization of the Church” and against demands for rights such as B. the "right to suicide ".
Individual evidence
output
- Helmut Thielicke, The Secret Question About God. Background to our intellectual situation, Freiburg im Breisgau 1972, ISBN 3-451-01929-9