Hans-Joachim Birkner

Hans-Joachim Birkner

Hans-Joachim Birkner (born May 9, 1931 in Altenburg , Thuringia, † September 21, 1991 in Kiel ) was a German Protestant theologian and university professor .

Live and act

Birkner spent his childhood and youth in Altenburg, Thuringia, where he was born . In the winter semester of 1950/1951 he began studying Protestant theology at the Church University in Berlin-Zehlendorf .

In the winter semester of 1952/53 he switched to the theological faculty of the Georg-August University in Göttingen , where he passed the first theological exam in February 1956. In June 1958, Birkner, who belonged to Emanuel Hirsch's group of students in Göttingen, received his doctorate from Wolfgang Trillhaas with an investigation into Richard Rothe's theological system . He also completed his habilitation in Göttingen with a study on Friedrich Schleiermacher's theological ethics, first presented in February 1962 and published two years later in the Töpelmann theological library .

On April 1, 1969, Birkner was appointed as successor to Martin Redeker to a full professorship for systematic theology at the theological faculty of Christian Albrechts University in Kiel . From 1970 to 1991, one of his tasks here was in particular the management of the Schleiermacher Research Center founded by Redeker in 1967, which also enabled him to continue the Schleiermacher research that had been intensively carried out in Kiel since Wilhelm Dilthey and Hermann Mulert . During the time of his leadership, a comprehensive research library was set up and, in 1972, the research center was incorporated into the theological faculty as an independent sixth institute.

In the summer of 1988 Birkner developed a serious illness that restricted his teaching activities. He took early retirement on April 1, 1991; he retained the management of the Schleiermacher Research Center. Birkner died on September 21, 1991.

Scientific activity

With the major critical edition of the works of Friedrich Schleiermacher , which has been organized since 1975 , the research center received a field of work that will not be completed well into the 21st century. Birkner himself took on the role of managing editor of the edition until his death.

Schleiermacher's research was also primarily devoted to Birkner's own scientific work. In doing so, he repeatedly supported the interpretative appropriation of the text through the editing of the text. Among other things, he re-edited the four-volume collection of Schleiermacher's letters From Schleiermacher's Life, initially published between 1858 and 1863 , as well as selected lecture manuscripts on philosophical ethics and the Brouillon on ethics from 1805/1806 in the Philosophical Library .

Birkner's habilitation thesis can be seen as the founding document of the later so-called “Schleiermacher research carried out in schools”. Its methodological re-use is characterized by the fact that, in contrast to the theological reception of Schleiermacher in the second third of the twentieth century, which largely obscured the impartial view of Schleiermacher's work by dogmatic reservations, it is a historically interpretive and unencumbered religious and dogmatic preliminary decision chooses reconstructive access to Schleiermacher's texts.

In terms of content, this concern for interpretation is characterized by the fact that Schleiermacher's work should first be understood in terms of itself. It follows from the connection between knowledge and the sciences assumed by Schleiermacher that every single interpretation must also take Schleiermacher's view of the whole organism of sciences into account. This methodological requirement also means applying the principle of interpretation that “the individual can only be fully understood through the whole” to the understanding of Schleiermacher's own texts. It is exemplarily redeemed in Birkner's interpretation of Schleiermacher's Christian Morals , which examines this discipline against the background of the philosophical-theological systematics of Schleiermacher's work and thus actually offers an overall interpretation of this work that is focused on the main features. Since then, taking into account the overall context of the sciences assumed by Schleiermacher has been part of the methodological inventory of Schleiermacher research.

Birkner's study of Theology and Philosophy is of great influence on the further research and interpretation of Schleiermacher's work . Introduction to Problems of Schleiermacher's Interpretation (Munich 1974). Its main title takes up a pair of terms with which Schleiermacher's acceptance and rejection within theology can be illustrated in an exemplary manner. For it is not uncommon for Schleiermacher's reception to adopt the striking alternative “theology and / or philosophy” as its own, but in the process distorted rather than traced Schleiermacher's own intentions and provisions. Birkner's writing clarifies the misunderstandings of Schleiermacher's interpretation associated with this pair of terms through a methodological orientation and a detailed analysis of Schleiermacher's main theological works. It not only represents a material contribution to Schleiermacher's interpretation, but also makes it a topic itself by offering additional "key points of view for each individual discussion" of the theological and philosophical work and thus formulating rules of art for understanding Schleiermacher as a whole.

From a theological point of view, Birkner was primarily interested in the theory of religion , the so-called doctrine of the two kingdoms , the determination of the relationship between dogmatics and ethics and theological anthropology . Birkner developed his assessment of the current ecclesiastical and theological constitution of Protestantism in a book based on radio lectures and published in 1971 under the title: Protestantism in Transition. Aspects, interpretations, prospects (Munich 1971).

In addition, numerous smaller works are also important, in which Birkner, often in the form of biographical portraits, took up topics from contemporary philosophical and social-scientific discussions and gave them a hearing and resonance within theology. Finally, a number of subtle contributions to the history of concepts and ideas have led to the elucidation of elementary theological-historical connections within the development of Protestantism since 1700 and in this way at the same time provided important suggestions for numerous further historical studies on the history of neo-Protestant theology.

For example, with an essay on the origin and meaning of the term “ liberal theology ” , Birkner basically opened the door to closer research into this theological movement, which was extremely influential in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In general, as early as the 1960s, Birkner belonged to that small group of theologians who, contrary to the widely prevailing devaluation of liberal theology, saw the liberal theological tradition of cultural Protestantism as an indispensable part of the history of the New Protestant theology. As his studies on Richard Rothe , Richard Adelbert Lipsius or Ernst Troeltsch show, for example , Birkner was of the opinion that the systematic-theological intentions of this tradition were of essential importance for the current theological discussion. Here, too, he anticipated an insight that has only become widespread in recent years.

In this context, finally, Birkner's reconsideration of the concept of experience should be mentioned, which he opposed to the contemporary boom of the religiously outdated and theologically fuzzy expression “ eschatology ” as a basic definition of the theological task. If, on the other hand, the “description and interpretation of the Christian faith understood as historical experience” becomes a basic theological task, this also documents the superiority of a theology committed to modern thinking over anti-modern theological and religious trends of the twentieth century.

Church duties

In addition to his academic work, Birkner took on a variety of church tasks. He was actively involved in the unification of several North German regional churches to form the North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church on January 1, 1977. From 1970 to 1976 he was a member of the constituent synod of the North Elbian Church and from 1972 to 1976 he was a member of the church leadership of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Schleswig-Holstein . From 1977 to 1981 Birkner was chairman of the mixed commission for the reform of theology studies and from 1981 to 1983 chairman of the Evangelical Theological Faculty Conference.

bibliography

• Arnulf von Scheliha : Bibliography of the writings of Hans-Joachim Birkner (1959-1991). in: Hans-Joachim Birkner: Schleiermacher studies. Introduced and edited by Hermann Fischer (Schleiermacher Archive. Volume 16), Berlin, New York 1996, pp. 399-414. This is the first time a complete compilation of Birkner's numerous broadcasts from 1964 to 1980 for Deutschlandfunk, pp. 408-413.

Works (selection)

• Schleiermacher literature. In: Annunciation and Research . Theological Annual Report 1958/1959, Munich 1960/1962, pp. 150–157.
• Speculation and Salvation History. The historical view of Richard Rothes (research on the history and teaching of Protestantism. Tenth series. Volume 17), Munich 1959;
• Natural theology and theology of revelation. An overview of the history of theology. In: New Journal for Systematic Theology and Philosophy of Religion 3 (1961), pp. 279–295.
• Observations on Schleiermacher's program of dogmatics. In: New Journal for Systematic Theology and Philosophy of Religion 5 (1963), pp. 119–131.
• Eschatology and experience. In: Truth and Faith. Festschrift for Emanuel Hirsch on his 75th birthday. Edited by Hayo Gerdes, Itzehoe 1963, pp. 31–41.
• Schleiermacher's Christian Morals in the context of his philosophical-theological system (Theological Library Töpelmann, Volume 8), Berlin 1964;
• The denominational problem in Protestant theology of the 19th century. Three contributions by Hans-Joachim Birkner, Heinz Liebing and Klaus Scholder (collection of generally understandable lectures and writings from the field of theology and religious history. Volume 245 of 246), Tübingen 1966; therein: Interpretation and criticism of Catholicism in Schleiermacher and Hegel . Pp. 7-20.
• Justice. In: Evangelisches Staatslexikon. Published by Hermann Kunst and Siegfried Grundmann, Stuttgart, Berlin 1966, Sp. 620–625;
• Richard Rothe: Unprejudiced Christianity: German representatives and interpreters of Protestantism. A series of the Deutschlandfunk. Edited by Wilhelm Schmidt, Munich 1968, pp. 101–112.
• Contributions to the theory of modern Christianity. Edited by Hans-Joachim Birkner, Dietrich Rößler , Berlin 1968, in it: On the concept of New Protestantism. Pp. 1-15.
• Philosophy et Theologie chez Schleiermacher. In: Archives de Philosophy 32 (1969), pp. 179-205.
• Observations and Considerations on the Concept of Religion in Modern Protestant Theology. In: Fides et Communicatio. Festschrift for Martin Doerne on his 70th birthday. Edited by Dietrich Rößler, Gottfried Voigt , Friedrich Wintzer , Göttingen 1970, pp. 9-20.
• Religious socialism . In: Social Challenge of Christianity: From Cultural Protestantism to the Theology of Revolution. Edited by Wilhelm Schmidt, Munich 1970, pp. 29–38.
• Protestantism in Transition. Aspects, interpretations, prospects. Munich 1971;
• Max Horkheimer : The religion of religious criticism. Edited by Wilhelm Schmidt, Munich 1972, pp. 80–89.
• Abolish theological faculties? For discussion about church, state and science. In: Church of the homeland. North Elbian church newspaper in Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg and North Schleswig 49 (1973). No. 4 of February 2, 1973, 1;
• Theology and philosophy. Introduction to Problems of Schleiermacher's Interpretation (Theological Existence Today. Volume 178), Munich 1974;
• "Liberal Theology". In: Churches and Liberalism in the 19th Century. Edited by Martin Schmidt and Georg Schwaiger (Studies on theology and intellectual history of the nineteenth century. Volume 19), Göttingen 1976, pp. 33–42 [first published in 1974];
• The relationship between dogmatics and ethics. In: Handbook on Christian Ethics. Edited by Anselm Hertz , Wilhelm Korff , Trutz Rendtorff and Hermann Ringeling. Volume I, Freiburg im Breisgau, Basel, Vienna, Gütersloh 1978, pp. 281-296.
• Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768–1834): Protestant theologians in the 19th and 20th centuries. Edited by Martin Greschat . Volume 1 (Urban Pocket Books. Volume 284), Stuttgart, Berlin, Cologne, Mainz 1978, pp. 9-21.
• Cultural Protestantism and doctrine of two kingdoms. In: God's work in his world. To the discussion about the doctrine of two kingdoms. Edited by Niels Hasselmann . Volume 1: Documentation of a consultation (On the subject - Church aspects. Volume 19), Hamburg 1980, pp. 81–92.
• Christian Wolff : Shaping Church History. Edited by Martin Greschat. Volume 8: The Enlightenment, Stuttgart, Berlin, Cologne, Mainz 1983, pp. 187–198.
• Schleiermacher as a philosophical teacher. In: The contribution of East German philosophers to occidental philosophy. Edited by Berthold Kaiser, Bernhard Stasiewski (Studies on Germanism in the East. Volume 16), Cologne, Vienna 1983, pp. 41–54.
• Emanuel Hirsch's contribution to the debate on the Church's creed. In: The Lutheran Churches and the Barmen Confession Synod . Papers at the International Symposium at the Reisenburg in 1984. Edited by Wolf-Dieter Hauschild , Georg Kretschmar and Carsten Nicolaisen , Göttingen 1984, pp. 224–234.
• Review of: Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher: Theologische Schriften. Edited and introduced by Kurt Nowak , Berlin 1983, in: Theologische Literaturzeitung 109 (1984), Sp. 747-748;
• Friedrich Schleiermacher: Shaping Church History. Edited by Martin Greschat. Volume 9.1: The latest time I, Stuttgart, Berlin, Cologne, Mainz 1985, pp. 87-115.
• Richard Adelbert Lipsius: New German Biography . Published by the Historical Commission at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences. Volume 14, Berlin 1985, 676;
• together with Heinz Kimmerle, Giovanni Moretto: Schleiermacher Filosofo. (Memorie dell 'Istituto Italiano per gli studi Filosofici. Volume 14), Naples 1985;
• Schleiermacher's "Brief Presentation" as a theological reform program. In: Schleiermacher in particular with regard to its history of impact in Denmark. Lectures at the colloquium on November 19 and 20, 1984. Edited by Helge Hultberg, Karsten Friis Johansen , Theodor Jörgensen and Friedrich Schmöe (Copenhagen Colloquia on German Literature. Volume 13), Copenhagen, Munich 1986, pp. 59–81.
• Emanuel Hirsch: Theological Real Encyclopedia . Volume XV, Berlin, New York 1986, pp. 390-394.
• Schleiermacher e la Modernità (together with Michel Despland, Roberto Osculati, Sergio Sorrentino, Fulvio Tessitore, Giovanni Moretto) (Collana della Facoltà Valdese di teologia. Volume 15), Turin 1986;
• Review of: Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher: Philosophical writings. Edited and introduced by Jan Rachold, Berlin 1984, in: Theologische Literaturzeitung 111 (1986), Sp. 51–53;
• Doctrine of Faith and Experience of Modernity. Ernst Troeltsch as a dogmatist. In: Controversial Modernity: The Future of Modern Times in the Judgment of the Epoch of Ernst Troeltsch (Troeltsch Studies. Volume 4). Edited by Friedrich Wilhelm Graf and Horst Renz, Gütersloh 1987, pp. 325–337.
• The Schleiermacher Critical Edition presented together with its predecessors. In: New Athenaeum / Neues Athenaeum 1 (1989), pp. 12–49.
• University of Kiel: Theological Real Encyclopedia. Volume XVIII, Berlin, New York 1989, pp. 134-138.
• The Schleiermacher Complete Edition: An edition company of the Schleiermacher Research Centers in Berlin and Kiel. In: Yearbook of historical research 1990, Munich 1991, pp. 21–24.
• Ernst Troeltsch's marginalia for Schleiermacher's "Brief Presentation". In: Mitteilungen der Ernst-Troeltsch-Gesellschaft 6 (1991), pp. 8-12.
• Schleiermacher Studies. Introduced and edited by Hermann Fischer. With a bibliography of the writings of Hans-Joachim Birkner by Arnulf von Scheliha (Schleiermacher Archive. Volume 16), Berlin, New York 1996.

literature

• Hermann Fischer : In memory of Hans-Joachim Birkner (May 9, 1931 - September 21, 1991). In: New Athenaeum / Neues Athenaeum 3 (1992), pp. 221-225.
• Schleiermacher and the Scientific Culture of Christianity. Edited by Günter Meckenstock in conjunction with Joachim Ringleben , Berlin, New York 1991.
• Friedrich Wilhelm Graf : Religious Reason. On the death of the theologian Hans-Joachim Birkner. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , September 26, 1991, p. 36.
• Trutz Rendtorff : When controversies get old, their questions arise anew. In: Liberal Theology. A location determination. Edited by Friedrich Wilhelm Graf (Troeltsch Studies Vol. 7), Gütersloh 1993, pp. 11–15.
• Arnulf von Scheliha : Unprejudiced Christianity. In memory of the Kiel theologian Hans-Joachim Birkner, died September 21, 1991. In: Nordelbische Kirchenzeitung . Evangelical Lutheran Weekly Gazette for Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and North Schleswig, No. 38, Kiel, September 20, 1996, 2.
• Hermann Fischer: Introduction by the editor. In: Hans-Joachim Birkner: Schleiermacher studies. Introduced and edited by Hermann Fischer. With a bibliography of the writings of Hans-Joachim Birkner by Arnulf von Scheliha (Schleiermacher archive. Volume 16), Berlin, New York 1996, VII-XIV.
• Martin Rößler, Matthias Wolfes :  BIRKNER, Hans-Joachim. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 15, Bautz, Herzberg 1999, ISBN 3-88309-077-8 , Sp. 151-159.

Web links

• Literature by and about Hans-Joachim Birkner in the catalog of the German National Library
• Article in the BBKL ( Memento from August 22, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
• History of the Kiel Faculty of Theology

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Speculation and Salvation History. Richard Rothes' view of history, Munich 1959
2. ↑ Schleiermacher's Christian Morals in the context of his philosophical-theological system, Berlin 1964
3. ↑ See: The Schleiermacher Critical Edition presented together with its forerunners, in: New Athenaeum (Neues Athenaeum) 1 (1989), pp. 12–49
4. ^ Wilhelm Gräb: Church as a design task. Friedrich Schleiermacher's understanding of practical theology, in: Günter Meckenstock, Joachim Ringleben (ed.): Schleiermacher and the scientific culture of Christianity, Berlin, New York 1991, pp. 147–172, here: 149, note 6
5. ↑ Cf. Friedrich Schleiermacher: On the concept of hermeneutics, with reference to FA Wolf's allusions and Ast's textbook. Second treatise, in: Ders .: Hermeneutics. Reissued according to the manuscripts and introduced by Heinz Kimmerle. Second edition, Heidelberg 1974, pp. 141–156, here: pp. 143–144
6. ↑ Cf. for example Gunter Scholtz: Ethics and Hermeneutics. Schleiermacher's Foundation of the Humanities, Frankfurt am Main 1995, p. 17
7. ↑ Cf. for example Gunter Scholtz: Ethics and Hermeneutics. Schleiermacher's Foundation of the Humanities, Frankfurt am Main 1995, p. 43
8. ^ "Liberal Theology", in: Churches and Liberalism in the 19th Century. Edited by Martin Schmidt and Georg Schwaiger, Göttingen 1976, pp. 33–42
9. ↑ Eschatology and Experience, in: Truth and Faith. Festschrift for Emanuel Hirsch. Edited by Hayo Gerdes, Itzehoe 1963, pp. 31–41
10. ↑ Eschatology and Experience, in: Truth and Faith. Festschrift for Emanuel Hirsch. Edited by Hayo Gerdes, Itzehoe 1963, p. 38
11. ^ Richard Rothe: Unprejudiced Christianity: German representatives and interpreters of Protestantism. A series of the Deutschlandfunk. Edited by Wilhelm Schmidt, Munich 1968, pp. 101–112.