Günther Schwarz (theologian)

Günther Schwarz (born February 12, 1928 in Hamburg , † July 9, 2009 in Wagenfeld ) was a German Protestant theologian , pastor and philologist of Aramaic Studies . He published eight books on variants of the translations of the words of Jesus and worked out a "back translation" from Greek into Aramaic , the Gospel of Jesus , which was not received by experts .

Schwarz published a large number of articles in theological journals (especially the " Biblical Notes ") over the course of decades .

Life

After attending school in Berlin and Hamburg, Schwarz completed an apprenticeship as a machine fitter at AEG in Berlin. He was then a naval helper in Gotenhafen (Gdynia) until the end of the war and was briefly a prisoner of war. From 1945 to 1964 he worked in various jobs in Berlin, the GDR and finally in West Germany. 1964–1968 he studied Protestant theology at the Theological Academy in Hermannsburg and Celle . In addition to the New Testament Greek , he placed a focus on the study of Aramaic , the mother tongue of Jesus . He became pastor in Elze-Bennemühlen , in Estebrugge and in Sankt Hülfe - Wetschen . In 1988 he retired.

In 1986, Schwarz received his doctorate from the University of Osnabrück with the thesis Jesus, the Son of Man .

He was married and had a son and two daughters.

Investigations into the "language of Jesus"

method

The colloquial language of Jesus and his disciples was the Galilean Western Aramaic; Since the return of the people of Israel from exile in Babylon, Hebrew was no longer a colloquial language, but only a cult language at church services. The texts handed down in the four Gospels were therefore originally intended to be Aramaic and, according to Schwarz, were also written down in Aramaic. In the course of the spread of the teaching of Jesus , they were translated into the world and commercial language of the time, Greek , more precisely Koine .

Schwarz 'method of processing the words of Jesus consists in translating them back from Greek into Aramaic and then reworking and translating them. The background for this are Aramaic Bible passages in the New and Old Testament , translations of Old Testament scriptures into Aramaic, Aramaic pieces in rabbinical literature, and Aramaic inscriptions of that time and Qumran finds and the Syrian Peshitta Bible, which is closely related to Aramaic .

Results of the investigation

His method of reverse and new translation led Günther Schwarz to the following conclusions:

1. Jesus formed all of his words, slogans, didactic poems and parables poetically, taking up poetic forms known from the Old Testament and developing them further, such as rhyme , wordplay , rhythm and various types of correspondence between clauses.
2. The original translation from Aramaic into Greek is wrong in many places. It was arbitrarily left out and added, which can still be seen today by comparing the Gospel texts. This is how, according to Schwarz's thesis, the Christian “threatening message” with eternal damnation, hell, the forgiveness of sins by priests or celibacy as well as a multitude of do's and don'ts came about. According to his thesis, the original teaching of Jesus was more and more buried and distorted.

He documented the results of his research in his new translation of New Testament texts from 1993, Das Jesus-Evangelium . Examples:

• The Holy Spirit , who comes down on Jesus “like a dove”, is based on a specific vocalization of Aramaic. An alternative vocalization results, now understandable, that the Holy Spirit comes "straight down" on the Lord.
• The Lord's Supper is based on a mistranslation: instead of the present "This is my body", translate it into a futuristic way:

“But it is precisely this' is' that offered the possibility of sacramentally interpreting the pair of words flesh and blood ('This is my flesh / my blood'), instead of, as Jesus meant, the breaking of bread and the shedding of wine (' This will happen to my flesh / blood '). "

- Günther Schwarz

View on Christology

Jesus is not God:

“The word was divine, never God. Yet it was easy to change the word divinely in God. It was sufficient to delete only one letter from both the Aramaic and the Greek word. (Note: This change was a result of the deification of Jesus. It was brought about by the teaching of the Trinity - a teaching that is incompatible with the teaching of Jesus.) "

- Günther Schwarz

Works

Books

• Jesus the Son of Man. Aramaistic investigations into the synoptic words of the Son of Man Jesus. Stuttgart 1986, ISBN 3-17-009268-5 .
• And Jesus spoke. Investigations into the Aramaic original form of the words of Jesus. Stuttgart 1987, ISBN 3-17-009713-X .
• Jesus and Judas. Aramaistic investigations into the Jesus-Judas tradition of the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-17-009663-X .
• The poetry of the early Christians, the knowledge and confessions of their faith. Taken and translated from the Syrian New Testament. Munich 1990, ISBN 3-927950-02-5 .
• When the words are wrong. Thirty distorted Gospel texts restored. Munich 1990, ISBN 3-927950-01-7 .
• Errors in the Bible. How to recognize them and how to correct them. Ukkam-Verlag, Munich 1990, ISBN 3-927950-00-9 .
• The Sermon on the Mount, a forgery? The words of the mountain doctrine in the original language of Jesus. Munich 1991, ISBN 3-927950-03-3 .
• The gospel of Jesus. Composed and translated from Greek and Old Syrian templates and from extra-biblical sources. Ukkam-Verlag, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-927950-04-1 .
• Words of Rabbi Yeshu. A recovery. Styria, Graz 2003, ISBN 3-222-13132-5 .
• Credo ?: Questions about the Book of Credo of Benedict XVI. and to the Church's Creed. Münster 2006, ISBN 3-8258-9427-4 .
• The sign of Konnersreuth. ISBN 978-3-9803993-0-2 .
• Visions of Therese Neumann. ISBN 978-3-8107-0107-7 .
• The message of the original gospel. Texts based on the “standard translation” and based on a back translation into Aramaic. November 2005 [1]
• together with Jörn Schwarz: Jesus the Poet. - "No one has ever talked the way they do ." Ukkam, Rühlow 2019, ISBN 978-3-927950-06-1 ,

Article in the " Biblical Notes " ("BN")

• ΚΑΛΟΝ ΤΟ ΑΛΑΣ , BN 7 (1978); (in lower case: "καλὸν το ἅλας"; German: "The salt is good"; Mk 9.50; par. Mt 5:13; par. Lk 14.34f.).
• ΚΥΡΙΕ ΙΔΟΥ ΜΑΧΑΙΡΑ ΩΔΕ ΔΥΟ , BN 8 (1979); (in lower case: "κυριε, ỉδοὺ μάχαιραι ὧδε δύο"; German: "Lord, see, here are two swords!"; Lk 22: 35-38).
• ΟΤΙ ΤΗ ΗΛΙΚΙΑ ΜΙΚΡΟΣ ΗΝ , BN 8 (1979); (in lower case: "ὅτι τη̃ ἡλικία μικρòς ἦν"; German: "Because the body size was small"; Lk 19.3).
• ΟΤΙ ΕΚΡΥΨΑΣ ΤΑΥΤΑ ΑΠΟ ... ΣΥΝΕΤΩΝ , BN 9 (1979); (in lower case: "ὅτι ̉εκρυψας ταυ̃τα ἀπο… συνετω̃ν"; German: "that you have hidden this from ... those who understand"; Mt 11.25).
• Hebrews 9.27.28 and Belief in Reincarnation , BN 10 (1979).
• ΑΝΙΣΤΗΜΙ - ΑΝΑΣΤΑΣΙΣ , BN 10 (1979); (in lower case: "̉ανίστημι - ̉ανατασις"; German: "Stand up", "Rise" - "Resurrection").
• ΑΛΗΤΩΣ ΙΣΡΑΗΛΙΤΗΣ , BN 10 (1979); (in lower case: "̉αληθω̃ς ̉Ισραηλίτης" German: "A true Israelite!"; Jn 1.47).
• ΜΗΠΟΤΕ ΒΑΡΗΔΩΣΙΝ ΥΜΩΝ ΑΙ ΚΑΡΔΙΑΙ , BN 10 (1979); (in lower case: "μήποτε βαρηδω̃σιν ὑμω̃ν αί καρδίαι"; German: "that your hearts are not weighed down"; Lk 21:34).
• ΚΑΙ ΒΙΑΣΤΑΙ ΑΡΠΑΖΟΥΣΙΝ ΑΥΤΗΝ , BN 11 (1980); (in lower case: "καὶ βιασταὶ ἁρπάζουσιν αὐτήν"; German: "And the violent rob them"; Mt 11:12).
• ΠΑΣ ΠΥΡΙ ΑΛΙΤΗΣΕΤΑΙ , BN 11 (1980); (in lower case: "πα̃ς πυρὶ ἁλισθήσεται"; German: "Everyone will be salted with fire"; Mk 9.49).
• ΑΓΑΠΑΤΕ ΤΟΥΣ ΕΧΤΡΟΥΣ ΥΜΩΝ , BN 12 (1980); (in lower case: "ảγαπα̃τε τους ἐχθροὺς ὑμω̃ν"; German: "Love your enemies!"; Mt 5:44).
• ΓΑΛΙΛΑΙΑ ΤΩΝ ΕΤΝΩΝ , BN 13 (1980); (in lower case: "Γαλιλαία τω̃ν ̉εθνω̃ν"; German: "Galilee of the peoples"; Mt 4,15).
• ΤΗ ΗΜΕΡΑ ΤΗ ΤΡΙΤΗ , BN 13 (1980); (in lower case: "τη̃ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ τρίτῃ"; German: "On the third day"; Joh 2,1).
• ΗΜΕΙΣ ΕΚ ΠΟΡΝΕΙΑΣ ΟΥ ΓΕΓΕΝΝΗΜΕΤΑ , BN 14 (1981); (in lower case: "ἡμει̃ς ἐκ πορνείας οὐ γεγεννήμεθα"; German: "We were not born through fornication"; Joh 8,41).
• On the vocabulary of Matthew 6: 19f. , BN 14 (1981).
• ΤΟΝ ΚΟΣΜΟΝ ΧΩΡΗΣΑΙ , BN 15 (1981); (in lower case: "τόν κόσμον χω̃ρη̃σαι"; German: "The world will grasp"; Joh 21,25).
• ΛΥΤΗΝΑΙ ΑΡΟ ΤΟΥ ΔΕΣΜΟΥ ΤΟΥΤΟΥ , BN 15 (1981); (in lower case: "λυθη̃ναι ̉από του̃ δεσμου̃ τούτου"; German: "To be released from this fetter"; Lk 13:16).
• ΑΡΟ ΜΑΚΡΟΤΕΝ / ΕΠΙ ΤΗΝ ΟΔΟΥ , BN 20 (1983); (in lower case: "̉από μακρόθεν / ̉επι τήν ´οδου̃"; German: "From far away / on the way"; Mk 11:13; Mt 21:19).
• ΚΑΙ ΗΝ ΣΥΓΚΥΡΤΟΥΣΑ , BN 20 (1983); (in lower case: "καί ̉η̃ν συγκύπτουσα"; German: "And she was very crooked"; Lk 13:11).
• ΡΙΣΤΙΝ ΩΣ ΚΟΚΚΟΝ ΣΙΝΑΠΕΩΣ… , BN 25 (1984); (in lower case: "πίστιν ΄ως κόκκον σινάπεως"; German: "Faith like a mustard seed"; Mt 17.20; Lk 17.6).
• ΤΑΥΤΗ ΤΗ ΝΥΚΤΙ ΤΗΝ ΨΥΧΗΝ ΣΟΥ ΑΠΑΙΤΟΥΣΙΝ ΑΠΟ ΣΟΥ , BN 25 (1984); (in lower case: "ταύτˌη τη̃ νυκτι͛ τη͛ν ψυχήν σου ̛ απαιτου̃σιν ̉απὸ σου̃"; German: "This night one will ask your soul back from you"; Lk 12.20).
• ΚΑΙ ΕΥΘΥΣ ΕΚΑΛΕΣΕΝ ΑΥΤΟΥΣ? , BN 48 (1989); (in lower case: “καὶ ευ͗θὺς ε͗κάλεσεν αυ͗τούς”; German: “And immediately he called them”; Mk 1.20).
• ΕΞ ΕΦΗΜΕΡΙΑΣ ΑΒΙΑ? , BN 53 (1990); (in lower case: "ε͗ξ ε͗φημερίας ͗Αβιά"; German: "From the Abia service department"; Lk 1.5).
• Attempt to restore the intellectual property of Jesus , BN 53 (1990) (Lk 4,25-27).
• Ο ΒΛΕΠΩΝ ΕΝ ΤΩ ΚΡΥΠΤΩ (ΚΡΥΦΑΙΩ)? , BN 54 (1990); (in lower case: "ο͑ βλέπων ε͗ν τω̃ κρυπτω̃ (κρυφαιω̃)"; German: "He who looks into the hidden (the hidden)"; Mt 6: 4, 6, 18).
• ΑΠΕΣΤΕΓ ΑΣΑΝ ΤΗΝ ΣΤΕΓΗΝ? , BN 54 (1990); (in lower case: "͗ ̉απεστέγασαν τὴν στέγην"; German: "They covered the roof."; Mk 2,4).
• ΒΛΕΠΟΥΣΙΝ ΑΝΘΡΑΚΙΑΝ ΚΕΙΜΕΝΗΝ? , BN 55 (1990); (in lower case: "͗βλέπουσιν ̉ανθρακιὰν κειμένην"; German: "You see a coal fire lying."; Joh 21,9).
• ΟΙ ΔΕ ΟΦΘΑΛΜΟΙ ΑΥΤΩΝ ΕΚΡΑΤΟΥΝΤΟ? , BN 55 (1990); (in lower case: "οι͑ δὲ ο͗φθαλμοὶ αυ̉τω̃ν ε̉̉κρατου̃ντο"; German: "But your eyes were held"; Lk 24:16).
• ΤΗΣ ΤΡΟΦΗΣ ΑΥΤΟΥ - ΤΟΥ ΜΙΣΤΟΥ ΑΥΤΟΥ? , BN 56 (1991); (in lower case: "τη̃ϛ τροφη̃ϛ αυ̉του̃ - του̃ μιστου̃ αυ̉του̃"; German: "His food - His wages"; Mt 10.10; Lk 10.7).
• ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΝ ΚΑΙ ΒΑΡΘΟΛΟΜΑΙΟΝ? , BN 56 (1991); (in lower case: "Φίλιππον καὶ Βαρθολομαι̃ον?"; German: "Philip and Bartholomew"; Mt 10.10; Lk 10.7).
• ΑΡΚΕΤΟΝ ΤΩ ΜΑΘΗΤΗ ΙΝΑ ΓΕΝΗΤΑΙ ΩΣ Ο ΔΙΔΑΣΚΑΛΟΣ ΑΥΤΟΥ? , BN 58 (1991); (in lower case: "̉Αρκετὸν τω̃ μαθητη̃ ̔ίνα γένηται ̔ως ̔ο διδάσκαλος αυ̉του̃"; German: "It is enough for the student that he becomes like his teacher."; Mt 10.25).
• ΤΗΝ ΤΡΟΦΗΝ ([ΤΟ] ΣΙΤΟΜΕΤΡΙΟΝ) ΕΝ ΚΑΙΡΩ? , BN 59 (1991); (in lower case: "̉τὴν τροφὴν (τὸ σιτομέτριον) ̉εν καιρω̃"; German: "The food (the provisions) at the time."; Mt 24.45; Lk 12.42).
• ΟΥΚ… ΜΕΤΑ ΠΑΡΑ ΤΗΡΗΣΕΩΣ? , BN 59 (1991); (in lower case: "̉ουκ ... μετὰ παρατηρήσεως?"; German: "Not ... after observation."; Lk 17:20, 21).
• Jesus and the fig tree on the way , BN 61 (1992).
• ΤΟ ΠΤΕΡΥΓΙΟΝ ΤΟΥ ΙΕΡΟ , BN 61 (1992); (in lower case: "τὸ πτερύγιον του̃ ˊιερου̃"; German: "The top of the temple."; Mt 4,5).
• ΑΝΑ ΜΕΤΡΗΤΑΣΔΥΟ Η ΤΡΕΙΣ? , BN 62 (1992); (in lower case: "͗ανα μετρητὰς δύο"; German: "2 dimensions each"; Joh 2,6).
• The wind blows where it wants? , BN 63 (1992).
• Are you scared in the world? , BN 63 (1992).
• ΚΑΘΕΛΕΙΝ - ΣΩΣΩΝ? , BN 64 (1992).
• "His food" or "his wages"? , BN 65 (1992)
• He "will be like a clever ..."? , BN 68 (1993)
• He touched her hand? , BN ?? (199?)
• And did he start crying? , BN ?? (199?)
• You "bought ... herbal oils" ?, BN ?? (199?)
• He clung to a citizen? , BN ?? (199?)
• "Hid it in three sea flour"? , BN ?? (199?)
• "Consume the widows' houses"? , BN ?? (199?)
• "There were five thousand men"? , BN ?? (199?)
• "Like a dove"? , BN 89 (1997)
• "There was a great quake on the sea"? , BN ?? (199?)
• "Give ... the contents as alms"? , BN ?? (199?)
• "Clean the inside of the mug"? , BN ?? (199?)

Web links

• Literature by and about Günther Schwarz in the catalog of the German National Library
• Günther Schwarz's website
• Syriac-Aramaic Peshitta Bible (English)
• Photography by Gunther Schwarz [2]

Individual evidence

1. ^ Günther Schwarz: The Jesus Gospel. Munich 1993.
2. ↑ Like a dove . In: Biblical Notes 89 (1997).
3. ^ Günther Schwarz: The Jesus Gospel . Munich 1993, p. 384.
4. ^ Günther Schwarz: The Jesus Gospel . Munich 1993, p. 349.