Eduard Schütz (theologian)

Eduard Schütz

Eduard Schütz (born October 15, 1928 in Elberfeld , today Wuppertal ; † January 24, 2001 in Hamburg ) was a Baptist theologian, lecturer in systematic theology and director of the theological seminar of the Federation of Evangelical Free Churches in Hamburg-Horn.

Life

Schütz was born as the son of the carpenter Eduard Schütz and his wife Johanne, b. Hillerkus, born. After attending elementary school (1935–1942), he switched to the modern-language-humanistic grammar school on Siegestraße in Wuppertal- Barmen , which he graduated from in 1950 with the final exam.

In 1947, the Evangelical Free Churches in Wuppertal organized youth evangelistic evenings, which Eduard Schütz also attended. The proclamation of the evangelist Erich Wingenroth spoke to him and challenged the student to make a decision. According to his own statements, Schütz found faith in Jesus Christ on one of these evenings . He was baptized on the personal confession of his faith and became a member of the Evangelical Free Church Community (Baptists) Wuppertal-Elberfeld. He was involved in the missionary and diaconal youth work of the congregation and soon felt a call to full-time service as a theologian.

Schütz enrolled at the Wuppertal Church University in 1950 and switched to the theological faculty of the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg in the winter semester of 1951 . From 1953 to 1955 he studied in Bonn . In 1958 he received his doctorate from the Bonn Old Testament scholar Martin Noth on the history of forms of the pre-classical prophetic saying . Schütz then completed a candidate year at the Baptist Theological Seminary in Hamburg-Horn. In 1959 he began his vicariate in the Evangelical Free Church in Lübeck . In 1962 he was recognized as a pastor of the Federation of Evangelical Free Churches.

In 1963, Schütz went to the training facility for Protestant-free church pastors in Hamburg-Horn as a lecturer in systematic theology. In 1978 he took over the management of the seminar in succession to Rudolf Thaut and became its director. As a theologian he played a key role in the creation of the account of faith , the creed of the German-speaking Baptists. He paid particular attention to the interdenominational baptism discussion . He was involved in the theological talks between the Federation of Evangelical Free Churches and the VELKD , which took place from April 1980 to March 1981 and ended with an official final report. Theologically oriented towards Karl Barth and Emil Brunner , he sought to find a way between liberal and evangelical-biblical theology. In 1985 there was an open conflict with the leadership of the Free Church Association. The biblical doctrine of the virgin birth became a particular point of contention . Schütz was removed from his position as director of the theological seminary. The Evangelical Free Church Community Hamburg-Hamm, whose community leader Schütz had been for more than 20 years at this point in time, then appointed him to be their pastor. He performed this service until his retirement in 1992.

Eduard Schütz died in 2001 after a serious illness.

Publications (selection)

• Form history of the pre-classical prophetic saying . Inaugural dissertation to obtain the title of Doctor of Theology, Bonn 1958
• God's word and man's answer by faith. On the theological problem of experience , in: Wort und Tat 1967, No. 9, pp. 299–309
• Future Church in the New Testament. An introduction to pastoral letters , Kassel 1969
• God's salvation in the secular world , Wuppertal 1973
• Evangelical criticism of religion using the example of Karl Barth , in: Theological Conversation No. 1–2 / 1979, pp. 64–71 (Festgabe for Rudolf Thaut)
• The free churches before the ecumenical discussion about the church office , in: Una Sancta 37/1982, pp. 133–141
• Our witness to Christ on the basis of Scripture , in: Theological Conversation No. 3–6 / 1983, pp. 14–19
• Baptists , in: Evangelisches Kirchenlexikon. International Theological Encyclopedia , Vol. 1, Göttingen 1986, Sp. 355-360
• The tiresome conversation with the Baptists about baptism , in: Ökumenische Rundschau 44/1995, pp. 194–207
• The two kingdoms doctrine of the Barmer Theological Declaration 1934 , in: Free Church Research 8/1998, pp. 72–85
• Reconciliation including justification. To the Roman Catholic / luth. Conversation about the doctrine of justification , in: ZThG 4/1999, pp. 121–137
• The word of reconciliation , in: But we preach Christ as crucified. The Account of Faith Explained in Sermons (Baptism Studies 2), ed. by E. Schaefer, Kassel 2000, pp. 73–81 (first: Theol. Conversation No. 2/1985)

literature

• Harald Becker, Erich Geldbach , Kurt Jägemann, Gerhard Neumann, Erhard Rockel (eds.): What do you have that you have not received? Dr. Eduard Schütz on his seventieth birthday , Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-932356-01-2 . The appendix to this book offers a selected bibliography by Eduard Schütz, compiled by K. Jägemann: 180-184
• Additions to the Eduard Schütz bibliography by R. Fleischer, 3 p., 2001/2007, Elstal Library
• F.Fornacon / G.Balders: Eduard Schütz zum Gedächtnis , in: Festschrift 125 Years Theological Seminar (Theological Conversation 2005, Supplement 6), pp. 58–61.

Web links

Commons : Eduard Schütz  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Eduard Schütz in the catalog of the German National Library
• Eduard Schütz in the BEFG's historical lexicon