Hans-Joachim Kraus

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Hans-Joachim Kraus (born December 17, 1918 in Essen ; † November 14, 2000 there ) was a German Reformed theologian .

Kraus became known for his historical work on historical-critical biblical studies and his involvement in the Jewish-Christian dialogue.

Life

In food-Schonnebeck born and while in Barmen held commitment synods confirmed , Kraus was early by the theology of the Confessing Church coined. Kraus was active in youth work in the Barmer community under the avowed Nazi opponent Karl Immer and, among other things, looked after the future Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany Johannes Rau in his student Bible group .

He studied Protestant theology at the University of Halle (especially with Julius Schniewind and Ernst Wolf ) and at the University of Jena with Gerhard von Rad . After the vicariate in Lieberhausen and the doctorate to Dr. theol. with Gustav Hölscher and Martin Noth in Heidelberg he worked at the Wuppertal Church University as an assistant to Hans Walter Wolff . As assistant to Martin Noth, he completed his habilitation in 1948 at the University of Bonn , where he was made an extraordinary professorship in 1951. In 1954 Kraus became professor for the Old Testament at the newly established Evangelical Theological Faculty of the University of Hamburg . From there he moved to the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen in 1968 , where he held the chair of Reformed Theology until his retirement in 1984.

Work and effect

In terms of his character and theological profession, Kraus was a border crosser: Old Testament systematist, biblically-systematically oriented Old Testament scholar, historian of Old Testament biblical studies. In his systematic work he combined approaches from Karl Barth's theology with knowledge of Old Testament science.

His theological positioning and his function as moderator of the Reformed Covenant (1982–1990) led to his public commitment: Kraus was committed to reconciliation between Jews and Christians and in 1961 founded the working group Jews and Christians with other Christian theologians and the rabbi Robert Raphael Geis (AGJC) at the German Evangelical Church Congress in Berlin . Kraus was the first chairman of the AGJC.

In the 1980s, Kraus took a stand against retrofitting and the alleged need for a warlike "security system" based on the Christian creed . Under his aegis, the Reformed Covenant published the declaration “The Confession of Jesus Christ and the Church's Responsibility for Peace” in 1982. It says: “Jesus Christ is our peace ... His peace, which the world cannot give, secure or destroy, liberates and obliges us to pray, think and work for peace among people ... The question of peace is a question of confession. ”(From thesis I).

Hans-Joachim Kraus died at the end of 2000. He was buried in the Reformed cemetery in Barmen-Gemarke.

Fonts (selection)

  • History of historical-critical research into the OT. Neukirchen 1956, 4 1988.
  • Psalms (BKAT XV) Volumes 1/2: Commentary on Psalms, Volume 3: Theology of Psalms. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener. 1st edition 1960 (7th edition 2003).
  • Biblical theology. Your story and problem. Neukirchener, Neukirchen-Vluyn 1970.
  • Biblical-theological essays . Neukirchener, Neukirchen-Vluyn 1972, ISBN 3-7887-0348-2 .
  • Kingdom of God: Kingdom of freedom. Outline of systematic theology . Neukirchener, Neukirchen-Vluyn 1975, ISBN 3-7887-0441-1 .
  • Systematic theology in the context of biblical history and eschatology. Neukirchen-Vluyn 1983.
  • Theological criticism of religion . Neukirchener, Neukirchen-Vluyn 1982.
  • Holy Spirit, God's liberating presence . Munich 1986.
  • Return to Israel. Contributions to the Christian-Jewish dialogue . Neukirchener, Neukirchen-Vluyn 1991, ISBN 3-7887-1356-9 .

literature

  • Hans-Georg Geyer (Ed.): “If not now, then when?” Essays for Hans-Joachim Kraus on his 65th birthday . Neukirchener, Neukirchen-Vluyn 1983, ISBN 3-7887-0757-7 .
  • Bertold Klappert: Kingdom of God - Kingdom of Freedom. Hans-Joachim Kraus (1918–2000) and his path to overall biblical theology . In: Theological Contributions 33, 2002, pp. 220-231.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Kraus, Hans-Joachim
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German reformed theologian
DATE OF BIRTH December 17, 1918
PLACE OF BIRTH eat
DATE OF DEATH November 14, 2000
Place of death eat