Rainer Stuhlmann

Rainer Stuhlmann (* 1945 in Wuppertal ) is a German Protestant theologian , former director of studies in Nes Ammim and, since 2019, provisional Protestant provost of Jerusalem .

Life

Stuhlmann studied Protestant theology in Wuppertal, Göttingen, Tübingen and Bonn, was a research assistant in Wuppertal and Bonn and did his doctorate with Wolfgang Schrage on a New Testament work suggested by Joachim Jeremias . Stuhlmann was first parish pastor in Wuppertal and then for many years pastor in Sankt Augustin , ten of which as superintendent . For a time he was a member of the church leadership of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland . Until his official retirement he worked as a school clerk in Cologne . Stuhlmann held teaching positions for the New Testament in Bochum and Cologne. He has published numerous sermon meditations , essays and articles on biblical and practical theology.

As a retiree, Stuhlmann worked as a study director in the interreligious village of Nes Ammim in northern Israel from 2011 to 2016 . Here he specified his political position:

“Right from the start, I felt 'caught between my stools' in Israel and Palestine. That doesn't mean that I keep the same distance on both sides. I am not neutral. I can't be because, as a European, as a German and as a Christian, I have long been part of the conflict. I am a friend of the Jews and of the Palestinians, a friend of Israel and Palestine. I strive for a ' double solidarity '. And that's why in certain situations of conflict I stand on the side of Palestinians to the annoyance of the immobile 'friends of Israel'. And in other situations, I side with Jews, to the annoyance of the immobile 'friends of Palestine'. I'm torn and try not to let friendship with one become enmity against the other. That is quite inconvenient, but for me the only possible attitude to live in this country as a Christian and German. "

Stuhlmann got into a public controversy in 2018 when his regional church issued a “Divine Service Help” on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel. In it, Stuhlmann praised the Jewish state as something special:

“It's unique - in more ways than one. It is the only state on earth in which the majority is Jewish and therefore can live Jewish unhindered. Israel is the only state on earth that was established from the beginning as a refuge for people from around the world who have been persecuted simply because they are Jewish. Israel is the only state whose right to exist has been contested from the beginning [...] We see 'the establishment of the state of Israel as a sign of God's faithfulness to his people'. No more than a sign, as we also understand individual preservation as a sign of God's faithfulness "

However, only Stuhlmann's statements, in which he responded to the Palestinians, caused criticism: “What is a reason for Jews to celebrate is a reason for others to mourn. The founding of the state brought protection, security, justice and freedom to some, and to expulsion, destruction, coercion and injustice to others. "The journalist Ulrich W. Sahm judged this article:" Stuhlmann's arguments come from the classic repertoire of Palestinian propaganda for the delegitimization of Israel and the Jews. ”The Rhenish“ Divine Service Help ”with Stuhlmann's text as interpreted by Ulrich Sahms had far-reaching consequences. The State Association of Jewish Congregations of North Rhine then canceled the planned trip with the Rhenish church leadership in April 2018. The reason given by the chairman of the regional association, Oded Horowitz, was the text by Stuhlmann: “The denigration of the State of Israel as a brutal occupying power and the misappropriation of historical facts are unacceptable to us. At the 70th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel, referring to the situation of the Palestinian population as a direct result of the founding of the State of Israel calls Israel's right to exist into question and leaves a bland aftertaste of anti-Zionist stereotypes. ”The editor-in-chief of the Westdeutsche Zeitung , Uli Tückmantel, even spoke of "unilateral finger-pointing against Israel in the propaganda style of Fatah and Hamas".

Manfred Rekowski , the President of the Rhenish Regional Church, defended Stuhlmann and told the Rheinische Post : “It is important for us to also look at the side of the Palestinians. We're standing there between two stools, and that's difficult, but at this point we can't make it easy for ourselves. "

When the previous evangelical provost of Jerusalem, Wolfgang Schmidt , was appointed to the senior church council for "Education and Upbringing in Schools and Congregations" in the Baden regional church in summer 2019 , Stuhlmann was appointed provisional provost due to his extensive experience. He will hold this office until a new provost will take up the post after the usual application and appointment procedure has been completed in summer 2020. Ulrich Sahm criticized the appointment of Stuhlmann very clearly, since in his eyes he had a one-sided Israel-critical, pro-Palestinian standpoint.

Publications

• The eschatological measure in the New Testament (= research on the religion and literature of the Old and New Testament 132). Göttingen 1983. (Dissertation Bonn)
• Child baptism instead of infant baptism. A plea for baptism to be respected. In: Praktische Theologie 80 (1991), pp. 184-204.
• Between the chairs. Everyday Notes by a Christian in Israel and Palestine. Neukirchen-Vluyn 2015. ISBN 978-3761561799
• 70 years of the State of Israel - a date in the Christian calendar? In: Section Christians and Jews of the Ev. Church in the Rhineland (Ed.): 70 years of the State of Israel. Worship work aid. Düsseldorf (2018), pp. 4–7.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Biogram on the website "Rundfunk Evangelisch". URL: https://rundfunk.evangelisch.de/haben/rainer-stuhlmann (accessed August 6, 2019).
2. ↑ Between the chairs. Everyday Notes by a Christian in Israel and Palestine. Neukirchen-Vluyn 2015, p. 12.
3. ^ Rainer Stuhlmann: 70 years of the State of Israel - a date in the Christian calendar? In: Section Christians and Jews of the Ev. Church in the Rhineland (Ed.): 70 years of the State of Israel. Worship work aid. Düsseldorf (2018), pp. 4–7, here p. 4 f.
4. ^ Rainer Stuhlmann: 70 years of the State of Israel - a date in the Christian calendar? in: Section Christians and Jews of the Ev. Church in the Rhineland (Ed.): 70 years of the State of Israel. Worship work aid. Düsseldorf (2018), pp. 4–7, here p. 5
5. ↑ Ulrich Sahm: The founding of the state of Israel “a date in the Christian calendar of martyrs”. In: Israelnetz from April 23, 2018. URL: https://www.israelnetz.com/kommentar-analyse/2018/04/23/staatsgruendung-israels-ein-atum-im-christlichen-maertyrerkalender/ (accessed on 6 August 2019)
6. ↑ Quoted from ibid. See Hannes Leitlein: Luthers Erben. In: Die Zeit vom May 4, 2018.
7. ↑ Quoted in: Simon Berninger: Scandal about theologian paper in the "style of Fatah and Hamas". In: Frankfurter Rundschau of April 27, 2018.
8. ↑ Quoted in: Simon Berninger: Scandal about theologian paper in the "style of Fatah and Hamas". In: Frankfurter Rundschau of April 27, 2018.
9. ↑ Ulrich Sahm: Interim provost Stuhlmann is not a good choice, in: Israelnetz from June 28, 2019. URL: https://www.israelnetz.com/kommentar-analyse/2019/06/28/interimspropst-stuhlmann-ist-keine- Gute-Wahl / (accessed August 6, 2019).

predecessor	Office	successor
Wolfgang Schmidt	Evangelical Provost of Jerusalem 2019-2020 (provisional)	Joachim Lenz