Uwe Birnstein

Uwe Birnstein (born February 9, 1962 in Bremen ) is a German theologian and publicist .

Uwe Birnstein 2018

Life

After studying Protestant theology in Hamburg, he has been working as a freelance journalist for public broadcasters (television, radio), newspapers and magazines since 1989 . He has authored and edited several books and audio books. His lecturing activities lead him through Germany and to Austria, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. Since 2017 he has successfully presented the program "Luther & Lindenberg - Two Germans for a Hallelujah" with guitarist Werner Hucks .

His main focus is the popular science presentation of biblical, theological and historical topics. He wrote numerous biographies of Christian personalities, u. a. Michael Servet , Martin Luther , Philipp Melanchthon , Argula von Grumbach , Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen and Johannes Rau . From 2007 to 2015 he published the book series “wichern portraits” at Wichern Verlag (Berlin). Biblical people and topics are also among his focal points. He is convinced that the people of the Bible are "not saints, but plagued by the same basic questions that concern us today: How can I be a good person, how can I be happy, how do I deal with guilt?" He also deals with fundamentalist currents of the Christian faith in a journalistic way: "The attitude of mind, I have the true faith and the world must also accept it, this virus is also in Christianity."

From 2011 to 2018, Birnstein also ran the “BirnsteinsBüro” agency. During this time he worked u. a. as media advisor for theologian Margot Käßmann , about whom he also wrote a comprehensive biography that rose to the SPIEGEL bestseller list. He also worked for Samuel Koch , Stephan Krawczyk and Hans-Jürgen Hufeisen .

Birnstein lives in Munich and works as a publicist and editor. In his blog "birnstein reads" he regularly presents new publications.

controversy

In 2006, Birnstein sparked controversy with an article he had written for the Sunday newspaper , the Evangelical weekly newspaper for Bavaria . In a fictional dialogue between an interviewer and the biblical Joshua , Birnstein described what, in his eyes, was the background to the Middle East conflict . Criticism was above all triggered by the passage in which he stated that “the origin of the violence” between Israelis and Palestinians did not lie in the 20th century, but “over 3000 years ago.” Birnstein left Joshua, who in his opinion for “The subjugation of the population of Palestine” was responsible for saying: “Because the way we Jews took the land from us did not always take place in a peaceful way.” The Jewish journalist Henryk M. Broder responded with biting irony:

“Until now the Jews had to live with the fact that they have the Savior on their conscience - if they have a conscience at all. But now it turns out that the Middle East conflict did not start with the founding of Israel, as has been assumed up to now, but much earlier, over 3000 years ago with the first conquest ... What are the consequences of this realization? God was wrong, Israel must go, otherwise there will be no peace in the Middle East. "

The theologian Gerhard Gronauer commented on the incident from the area of ​​the Evangelical Church. He criticized Birnstein's text because its “choice of words ... in the context of the text” allows the conclusion: “'The Jews' are to blame for the violence that has occurred in the Holy Land since biblical times.” The crises and wars in the Do not blame the Middle East solely on Jewry and the State of Israel .

Books

• New spirit in the old church? The charismatic movement on the offensive , Kreuz Verlag, Stuttgart 1987
• When God's word becomes a weapon. Fundamentalism in Christian groups , Gütersloher Verlagshaus, Gütersloh 1999, ISBN 3-579-01138-3
• Chronik des Christianentums (co-author), Chronik Verlag, Gütersloh 2001
• “Tell me, Adam”: 52 interviews with biblical personalities , Claudius Verlag, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-532-62294-7
• New Chronicle of World History (co-author), Chronik Verlag, Gütersloh 2005
• "Tell me, Lord Jesus ..." and other interviews with people from the Bible (with Juliane Werding ), Gütersloher Verlagshaus, Gütersloh 2001, ISBN 3-579-02312-8
• Divine poison. Roman , Gütersloher Verlagshaus, Gütersloh 2003, ISBN 3-579-01279-7
• Deadly Supper. Roman , Gütersloher Verlagshaus, Gütersloh 2003, ISBN 3-579-01277-0
• Chronicle of the Crusades (co-author), Chronik Verlag, Gütersloh 2005
• Johannes Rau - the Reconciler , Wichern-Verlag, Berlin 2006
• The educator. How Johann Hinrich Wichern wanted to save children and the church , series “wichern portraits”, Wichern-Verlag, Berlin 2007
• Whores, hypocrites, saints. Interviews with People of the Bible (with Juliane Werding ), Free Spirit Verlag, Cologne 2008, ISBN 978-3-9809836-6-2
• The reformer. How Johannes Calvin taught discipline and freedom , series “wichern portraits”, Wichern-Verlag, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-88981-254-4
• The goal is you. A pilgrimage through life , Pattloch-Verlag, Munich 2009
• The humanist. What Philipp Melanchthon taught Europe , series “wichern portraits”, Wichern-Verlag, Berlin 2010
• The best of the Bible , Echter Verlag, Würzburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-429-03211-1
• Catholic? Never! / Evangelical? Never! (with Georg Schwikart ), Pattloch-Verlag, Munich 2010, ISBN 978-3-629-02234-9
• ... and don't tempt them! The secret manual of the devil , Kösel-Verlag Munich 2010, ISBN 978-3-466-36838-9
• Small encyclopedia of Christian errors. From Last Supper to Celibacy , Gütersloher Verlagshaus, Gütersloh 2011, ISBN 978-3-579-06555-7
• Tolerance and pyre. The life of Michael Servet , Verlag Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2013, ISBN 978-3-525-56012-9
• Argula of Grumbach . The life of the Bavarian reformer , Neufeld-Verlag, Schwarzenfeld 2014, ISBN 978-3-86256-048-6
• Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen and Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch - Cooperative against need (with Georg Schwikart ), Wichern Verlag, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-88981-356-5
• Who is Who of the Reformation , Kreuz-Verlag, Freiburg / Brsg. 2014, ISBN 978-3-451-61252-7
• The incredible life of the flute player Hans-Jürgen Hufeisen , Herder-Verlag, Freiburg / Brsg. 2014, ISBN 978-3-451-31192-5
• 40 days just alive. Lent calendar , Verlag Katholisches Bibelwerk, Stuttgart 2015, ISBN 978-3-460-27164-7
• Young, single, pregnant looking ... Why Christmas goes to our hearts , Camino, Stuttgart 2015, ISBN 978-3-460-50011-2
• The man Martinus - Why we care about Luther , Patmos, Ostfildern 2016, ISBN 978-3-843-60858-9
• Margot Käßmann . Follow what your heart advises you. Biography , bene! -Verlag, Munich 2018, ISBN 978-3-96340-000-1
• Johann Hinrich Wichern . How the pious educator wanted to save children and the church , Wichern-Verlag, Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-88981-437-1

Web links

• Literature by and about Uwe Birnstein in the catalog of the German National Library
• http://www.birnstein.de/ (website Uwe Birnstein)
• http://www.birnsteinsbuero.de/
• http://www.birnstein-liest.de/
• Interview with Alexander Kluge in "Announcement", srf1 November 4, 2018 https://www.srf.ch/play/tv/popupvideoplayer?id=c7df335d-59f1-4171-9882-92d9c07b80c4&startTime=1438

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Verena Fink: Hamburg literary: an address book , p. 45
2. ↑ [1] Concert report Luther & Lindenberg November 5th, 2018 Rheda-Wiedenbrück
3. ↑ Why author Uwe Birnstein writes about the "people of the Bible", video interview December 13, 2018. URL: https://www.sonntagsblatt.de/artikel/menschen/warum-autor-uwe-birnstein-ueber-die- persons-of-the-bible-writes
4. ↑ Uwe Birnstein: “The Church Needs More Charismatic Heads”, in: Neue Westfälische from April 19, 2018. URL: http://www.nw.de/kultur_und_freizeit/magazin/kopf_der_woche/22117405_Uwe-Birnstein-Die-Kirche-bendet -more-charismatic-heads.html
5. ↑ Silke Hellwig: "A theological jack-of-all-trades", Weser Kurier July 11, 2017
6. ↑ Ibid.
7. ^ NDR book presentation on April 3, 2018.
8. ↑ SPIEGEL bestseller archive of the book report.
9. ↑ Birnstein, Uwe: Tell me, Josua ... Interviews with people from the Bible (156), in: Sunday paper. Evangelical weekly newspaper for Bavaria from February 5, 2006. URL: http://www.sonntagsblatt-bayern.de/news/aktuell/2006_06_23_01.htm (accessed February 8, 2006).
10. ↑ Ibid.
11. ↑ Broder, Henryk M .: "I was there!" - God directs, Birnstein thinks, Joshua speaks. URL: http://www.achgut.de/dadgd/view_article.php?aid=1888&ref=0 (accessed December 31, 2006).
12. ↑ Gronauer, Gerhard: "It's about world peace!" The dispute about the annual motto, in: Korrespondenzblatt 121 (4/2006), 49–54, here 52.