Lebensbejahung und Lebensverneinung auf der Kanzel

 [= Yes and No to life, as heard from the pulpit]

Munich (tuduv) 1995,  215 pp.

The longing for life has met in the church with suspicion and moral censure. This experience has been described often. This study, on the other hand, demonstrates with arguments from systematic theology that creation, redemption, and consummation may be taken as a divine and triune Yes to the longing for life. This is followed by an analysis of sermons on John 10,10 – a pre-eminent example of the Yes to life: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” The concrete manifestations of a preacher’s longing for life are mapped out with the help of transactional analysis. To what extent does he embrace this longing or ward it off, either conditionally or unconditionally? There appears to be a correlation between the question whether or not a preacher accepts his own longing for life and the content of his preaching. This message also reveals his stand on a number of fundamental issues in theology. The implications and consequences for practical theology are described in the final section of the book.
[sold out; a limited number available at the author’s]