Hubertus half fiber

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Hubertus Halbfas (2007)

Hubertus Halbfas (born July 12, 1932 in Drolshagen ) is a German Roman Catholic theologian and was professor for Catholic theology and religious education at the Reutlingen University of Education from 1967 to 1987 . He gave impulses to Catholic and Protestant religious education for decades and became known as a theologian beyond the German-speaking world.

life and work

Halbfas, based in the Sauerland , graduated from high school in Olpe in 1952 , studied philosophy and Catholic theology in Paderborn and Munich . In 1957 he was ordained a priest. From 1957 to 1960 he was vicar in Brakel ( Höxter district ), then until 1967 lecturer at the Pedagogical University in Paderborn . In 1964 he did his doctorate at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich with Theoderich Kampmann on the relationship between youth and church. With his book “Religious Instruction” he drew attention to the discrepancy between dogmatic theology and a not equally mediated historical-critical knowledge of the Bible. With his book “Fundamentalkatechetik. Language and experience in religious education ”, he initiated the so-called“ hermeneutic turn ” in religious education in 1968 . An intense debate ensued.

Cardinal Frings from Cologne disagreed with his call from Reutlingen to Bonn because of a teaching protocol for Mt 14:22 ff. "Walking over water", in which Halbfas clarified his understanding of biblical symbolism . At the same time, Halbfas published his book “Fundamentalkatechetik. Language and Experience in Religious Education ”, which put an end to traditional catechism teaching and called for a basic hermeneutic reflection. As a result, the German Bishops 'Conference withdrew Halbfas' church license to teach in order to “define boundaries that have been exceeded in this book”. As a result of this dispute, Halbfas submitted a request for laization , which was immediately accepted by the Pope .

In the 1980s, Halbfas initiated another didactic reorientation (alongside Peter Biehl and others on the Protestant side), which under the heading of “symbol didactics” had a significant impact on religious instruction in both denominations. His aim was to make the language of the religions aware of their metaphorical and symbolic character and at the same time to teach the specific truth of linguistic forms such as myth, fairy tale, saga, legend, parable. He implemented his concept in a textbook that sees itself as a religious language teaching and also includes school life, literature and art. Traditionalist circles accuse him of weakening his faith. His  Biblical Commentary (2001) is a sum of historical-critical research carried out to date, understood as information for laypeople; his book “Christianity” leads in longitudinal sections through epochs, developments and directions in Christian history. With the third volume, "Der Glaube" (2010), he develops a multi-layered picture of the Christian faith in the face of a comprehensive break with tradition. Semifas "Religious Linguistics. Theory and Practice ”(2012) opens up and condenses the earnings of the previous decades. The books “Loss of Faith” (2011) and “Religious Education after Loss of Faith. Eine Fundamentalkritik ”(2012) take stock of the Christian present, which describes the crisis of the churches as a fundamental crisis of faith for both denominations.

Halbfas is married and has three children. His son Bernward Halbfas is the singer of the rock band "Casino".

Quote

The “fundamental catechetics” by Hubertus Halbfas is of great importance in Catholic religious education, because with it a hermeneutical foundation of religious didactics was established beyond the narrower understanding of “hermeneutic religious education”, which became groundbreaking for the entire field of religious education. What Halbfas noticed early on became more and more manifest in the period that followed: the failure of the church's language of preaching. A new approach had to be sought if it was to continue to be possible to anchor religion as an integral part beyond the church area in school and other educational processes and to reveal its importance to contemporary contemporaries.
From today's perspective, one can only be grateful to Halbfas for his reception, for his courage and foresight. As far as the position of half-facets in the history of religious education is concerned, doubts must be raised about being satisfied with the categorization as symbolic didactics. One does not do justice to semifinals and the genesis of his religious educational insights if one does not appreciate his reception of Tillich's concept of religion and the opening of religious education that it initiated in the 1970s much more decisively than has been the case up to now ... But it is opposite To work out certain previous representations to a greater extent that the lessons that are actually found today and that are recommended in didactic literature were historically made possible by semifas and its reception by Tillich. Because the opening of religious education to new topics that are taken for granted today, as well as the adoption of the conception of the proclamation, associated with the reception of Tillich's concept of religion, have become an integral part of today's religious education ... Lessons like the one that Halbfas fought back then would be difficult to imagine today. Most students would probably opt out of it.

criticism

The exegete Klaus Berger , who oscillates between Protestantism and Catholicism, characterizes the work Christianity as follows: With Halbfas this belief in the new (and yet again completely outdated) infallibility of exegesis has advanced so far that he can explain succinctly towards the end of his book: " Jesus saw himself neither as the 'Messiah' nor as the 'Son of God'. ”So far it has come with the authority that the deified exegesis and half-bones have that one no longer has to justify such sentences. Several expressions of opinion deal particularly critically with Halbfas' religious books.

In his presentation The current belief fading and the future of Christianity on November 28, 2013 known Halbfas that he at the resurrection doctrine doubt. In particular, he explained his view to the numerous listeners that the forgiveness of sins through the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross was an invention of Pauline origin. Rather, Jesus should be understood more as a prophet, somewhat like Martin Luther King . It is a desirable development to use the fighting spirit of young people who are committed to Greenpeace , for example , in the church to make the world a better place. In order to create a better world for all people, there is no need for a common belief in a punishing God. After all, Jesus himself never represented this teaching.

He is also one of the founding members of the “Society for a Faith Reform”, which aims to change the Christian faith in favor of opening up and mixing it with non-Christian and non-Abrahamic religions and at the same time takes action against biblical and fundamentalist currents within the churches. Halbfas therefore explicitly counts evangelicals and conservative Christians among the groups that need to be fought.

Honors

Fonts

  • Handbook of youth pastoral care and youth leadership. Düsseldorf 1960.
  • Youth and church. A diagnosis. Patmas, Düsseldorf 1960 DNB 482396512 (Dissertation University of Munich, Theological Faculty February 22, 1964, 395 pages, 8; under the title: The psychological-sociological situation of today's young people and the problems of the spiritual professions ).
  • Religious instruction. Psychological and didactic contours. Düsseldorf 1965.
  • Fundamental Catechetics. Language and experience in religious education. Düsseldorf 1968. Translations into English, Spanish, Italian, Dutch.
  • Enlightenment and resistance. Contributions to reform of religious education and the church. Düsseldorf 1971. ISBN 3-491-00298-2 .
  • The human house. A reading book for religious education. Düsseldorf 1972.
  • Teachers Manual Religion. Information and materials for class preparation. Düsseldorf 1974; 8/1996. ISBN 3-491-78359-3 .
  • Religion. Stuttgart 1976.
  • The third eye. Religious didactic impulses . Düsseldorf 1982.
  • Root system. Historical dimensions of religious didactics. Düsseldorf 1989; 2/1997.
  • The jump in the well. A prayer school . Düsseldorf 1987, ISBN 3-491-72108-3 .
  • Fundamental Catechetics. Language and experience in religious education , Düsseldorf 1968.
  • Enlightenment and resistance. Contributions to the reform of religious education and the church , Düsseldorf 1971. ISBN 3-491-00298-2 .
  • The Bible. Developed and commented on by Hubertus Halbfas . Düsseldorf 2001, ISBN 3-491-70334-4 .
  • Christianity. Developed and commented on by Hubertus Halbfas . Düsseldorf 2004, ISBN 3-491-70377-8 .
  • Back to the origin, Jesus taught how to live humanly - but the Christians developed a teaching about Jesus. It won't stay that way . Publik-Forum, No. 6, 2010, p. 42.
  • The belief. Developed and commented on by Hubertus Halbfas . Düsseldorf 2010, ISBN 978-3-491-72563-8 .
  • Loss of faith. Why Christianity has to reinvent itself. . Patmos, Ostfildern 2011, ISBN 978-3-8436-0100-9 .
  • Religious instruction after the loss of faith. A fundamental criticism . Patmos, Ostfildern 2012, ISBN 978-3-8436-0200-6 .
  • The Lord is not in heaven. Language disorders in the speech of God (= writings on the reform of the faith , volume 2). Gütersloh Verlagshaus, Gütersloh 2013, ISBN 978-3-579-08162-5 .
  • The Bible for bright children and their parents . Patmos, Ostfildern 2013, ISBN 978-3-8436-0439-0 .
  • So don't stop there. My life with theology . Patmos, Ostfildern 2015, ISBN 978-3-8436-0665-3 .
  • Course correction. How Christianity must change in order to last . Patmos, Ostfildern 2018, ISBN 978-3-8436-1084-1 .

literature

  • YES. von Allmen: Symbol theory and symbol didactics with Hubertus Halbfas and Peter Biehl . Zurich 1992.
  • Henk Kuindersma: Godsdienstige communicatie met kinderen door symbooltaal. In esprek met de Duitse symbooldidactici Halbfas, Baudler en Biehl . Kampen 1998.
  • Matthias Mittelbach: Understanding religion. The theological and religious pedagogical path of Hubertus Halbfas TVZ, Theological Verlag Zurich, 2002, ISBN 3-290-17237-6 (dissertation University of Basel 2001, 243 pages, 23 cm).
  • Günter Stachel (Ed.): Existential Hermeneutics. For the discussion of the fundamental theological and religious pedagogical approach of Hubertus Halbfas . Zurich 1969.

See also

List of Catholic theologians who have had their teaching license revoked

Web links

Commons : Hubertus Halbfas  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Norbert Mette in: Religionspädagogischeteile , 51/2003
  2. Johannes Kubik: Paul Tillich and religious education. Religion, Correlation, Symbol and Protestant Principle. V&R unipress, Göttingen 2011, ISBN 978-3-89971-901-7 , p. 95 f .
  3. Theology and Church Working Group on the understanding of the Bible by H. Halbfas (PDF; 205 kB)
  4. ^ Founding members . Glaubensreform.de, accessed on January 1, 2018
  5. Federal Cross of Merit . Culture and home are particularly important to Hubertus Halbfas. In: "WAZ.de". December 13, 2012, accessed January 8, 2013 .