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{{short description|New Testament scholar and historian of early Christianity (1946–2021)}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2019}}
{{use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
'''Gerd Lüdemann''' (born 5 July 1946 in [[Visselhövede]], [[Lower Saxony]] died 23 May 2021<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gedenkseiten.de/gerd-luedemann/kondolenzbuch/ |access-date=2 June 2021}}</ref> in [[Göttingen]]), is a German [[New Testament]] scholar and historian. He taught this subject from 1983 to 1999 at the Faculty of Theology of the [[University of Göttingen]]. Since 1999 he has taught there with a special status as Chair of History and Literature of Early Christianity. He is married with four children and seven grandchildren. After periods of teaching and research at [[McMaster University]] (1977–79) and [[Vanderbilt University]] (1979–82), he was appointed in 1983 to the Chair in New Testament Studies in the Theological Faculty of the University of Göttingen.
{{Infobox scholar
| name = Gerd Lüdemann
| image = GerdLudemann.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Lüdemann in San Diego, November 2007
| birth_date = {{birth date|1946|7|5}}
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{death date and age|2021|5|23|1946|7|5|}}
| death_place =
| education =
| workplaces = [[University of Göttingen]], [[McMaster University]], [[Vanderbilt University]]
| occupation = [[New Testament]] scholar and historian}}


'''Gerd Lüdemann''' (July 5, 1946 – May 23, 2021)<ref name=Nach>{{Cite web|url=https://www.uni-goettingen.de/de/65035.html|publisher=Faculty of Theology, University of Göttingen|title=Nachruf auf Professor Dr. Gerd Lüdemann|accessdate=2021-10-03}}</ref> was a German [[biblical scholar]] and [[historian]]. He taught first [[Jewish Christianity]] and [[Gnosticism]] at [[McMaster University]], Canada (1977–1979) and then [[New Testament]] at [[Vanderbilt Divinity School]], U.S.A. (1979–1982).<ref name=Ad>{{ Cite web|url= https://wwwuser.gwdg.de/~gluedem/eng/index.htm|title=Gerd Lüdemann Homepage|accessdate=2021-10-03}}</ref>{{rp|(Ad Personam)}}
⚫
In 1999, Lüdemann published ''Der große Betrug: Und was Jesus wirklich sagte und tat'' (The Great Deception: And What Jesus Really Said and Did), in which he claimed that only about five per cent of the sayings attributed to Jesus are genuine and the historical evidence does not support the arguments of traditional Christianity. Even though Lüdemann explicitly rejected the mission of the school which was the "preparation of the students seeking to become ministers of the Church", Lüdemann refused to step down even though he did not acknowledge or support the departments mission. As Lüdemann put it, 'the person of Jesus himself becomes insufficient as a foundation of faith once most of the New Testament statements about him have proved to be later interpretations by the community'.<ref name = decline>Gerd Lüdemann, 'The Decline of Academic Theology at Göttingen', ''Religion'' (2002) 32, 87–94 {{doi|10.1006/reli.2002.0411}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=|first=|title=Appendix|journal=Religion|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1006/reli.2002.0424|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|year=2002|volume=32|issue=2|pages=141–142|doi=10.1006/reli.2002.0424|s2cid=219594838}}</ref>


In 1983, Lüdemann was appointed to the chair in New Testament Studies in the Evangelical Theological Faculty at the [[University of Göttingen]] (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen), Germany, and taught New Testament until 1999. In the same year, his chair in "New Testament" was renamed "History and Literature of [[Early Christianity]]" in the Institute for Special Research (Institut für Spezialforschungen) at the university. Thus, he was removed from the professorship to train future Protestant pastors and stayed in the new department until his retirement in 2011.<ref name="Nach" /><ref>Lüdemann, Gerd. 2014. “Theologie zwischen freier Wissenschaft und religiöser Vorgabe. Ein Erfahrungsbericht,” ''in'' Stefana Sabin and Helmut Ortner (ed.), ''Politik ohne Gott: Wie viel Religion verträgt unsere Demokratie?'' p. 62–69. Springe, Hannover: Dietrich zu Klampen. {{ISBN|3866744056}}</ref><ref name="Deception">Lüdemann, Gerd. 1999/G1998. ''The Great Deception: And What Jesus Really Said and Did.'' Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books, 1999. {{ISBN|1-57392-688-4}} p. xiii–xiv</ref>
⚫
The Confederation of Protestant Churches in Lower Saxony called for his dismissal from the Chair of New Testament Studies, not because of any "critical statements or claims of research", but rather because, by his own admission, he did not agree with their mission. His dismissal was rejected by the state government of [[Lower Saxony]] and as a result, a search for a new Chair of New Testament Studies was instituted, and Lüdemann was retained and reassigned to a new position in New Testament studies. <ref name = statement>'Statement of the Dean in regard to the Academic position to be Held by Professor Dr Gerd Lüdemann', ''Religion'' (2002) 32, 141-142 {{doi|10.1006/reli.2002.0424}}</ref> All his courses were thereafter "explicitly identified as 'outside of the programs of study required for the training of future ministers of the Church'." <ref name = statement/> Lüdemann complained and wrote "The Decline of Academic Theology at Göttingen" where he put the school on blast, complaining that 'most of my colleagues have long since left the principles of the Church behind them yet still seek to attach themselves to this tradition by symbolic interpretation and by other interpretative skills'.<ref name = decline/>


== Early life and education ==
In 1997 and in 2002, he debated [[William Lane Craig]] over Jesus' resurrection.<ref>{{YouTube|5qCdv7VCunE}}</ref>
Gerd Lüdemann was born on July 5, 1946, in [[Visselhövede]], a town in the district of [[Rotenburg an der Wümme]] in [[Lower Saxony]], Germany. His parents were not poor but they lived modestly; his mother was religious and a devout churchgoer. Lüdemann was a born again Christian by conversion at a “tent mission” of his home town, Visselhövede, in May 1963, but eventually he lost his faith.<ref name=Ad />{{rp|(Interview ''Frankfurter Rundschau'' 2016)}}

After high school, he enrolled in the University of Göttingen (1966–1971) and passed the first exam of theology. In the graduate study of the University (1971–1974), he completed his doctoral (D. theol.) dissertation, ''Untersuchungen zur simonianischen Gnosis / Investigations into Simonian Gnosis'' (Göttingen 1974).
He spent the academic year 1974–1975 in the United States as a post-doctoral fellow at [[Duke University]], U.S.A., under Professor [[W.D. Davies]]. After returning to the University of Göttingen in 1975, while he served as academic assistant of New Testament to {{ill|Georg Strecker|de}} (1975–1977), his [[Habilitation]] thesis, ''Paulus, der Heidenapostel Band I. Studien zur Chronologie,'' was accepted (D. habil.) by the University of Göttingen in 1977.<ref name=Ad />{{rp|(Ad Personam)}}

== Career ==
Academic assistant of New Testament to Georg Strecker (1975–1977) was the first academic career of Lüdemann. He concurrently (1976–1977) taught, as lecturer, at the ''Volkshochschule'' (adult public school), Göttingen, which sponsors public seminars held by university professors.
After the habilitation work (1977), he went to North America again: At first he taught Jewish Christianity and Gnosticism at McMaster University Department of Religion, Canada, as visiting assistant professor (1977–1979), and then he moved to Vanderbilt Divinity School, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A., to teach New Testament as assistant professor (1979) and then as associate professor (1980).<ref name=Ad />{{rp|(Ad Personam)}}

Lüdemann was awarded Heisenberg-Scholarship of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (1980–1983), and the scholarship enabled him free intensive research without teaching obligation. In 1983, as the successor to [[Ulrich Luz]], Lüdemann was appointed to the head of New Testament in the Evangelical Theological Faculty at the University of Göttingen. In 1999, he was reassigned to the Early Christian Studies Department of the Institute for Special Research (Institut für Spezialforschungen) at the University and taught “History and Literature of Early Christianity” until his retirement in 2011.<ref name=Nach />

== Theological and historical views ==

⚫
In 1999, Lüdemann published ''Der große Betrug: Und was Jesus wirklich sagte und tat'' (''The Great Deception: And What Jesus Really Said and Did''), in which he claimed that only about five per cent of the sayings attributed to Jesus are genuine and the historical evidence does not support the arguments of traditional Christianity. Even though Lüdemann explicitly rejected the mission of the school which was the "preparation of the students seeking to become ministers of the Church", Lüdemann refused to step down even though he did not acknowledge or support the department's mission. As Lüdemann put it, "the person of Jesus himself becomes insufficient as a foundation of faith once most of the New Testament statements about him have proved to be later interpretations by the community".<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Lüdemann |first=Gerd |date=2002-04-01 |title=The Decline of Academic Theology at Göttingen |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048721X02904112 |journal=[[Religion (journal)|Religion]] |language=en |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=87–94 |doi=10.1006/reli.2002.0411 |s2cid=144085582 |issn=0048-721X}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |date=2002-04-01 |title=Statement of the Dean in regard to the Academic position to be Held by Professor Dr Gerd Lüdemann |url=https://doi.org/10.1006/reli.2002.0424 |journal=[[Religion (journal)|Religion]] |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=141–142 |doi=10.1006/reli.2002.0424 |s2cid=219594838 |issn=0048-721X}}</ref>

⚫
The [[Confederation of Protestant Churches in Lower Saxony]] called for his dismissal from the Chair of New Testament Studies, because he did not agree with their mission. His dismissal was rejected by the state government of [[Lower Saxony]] and as a result a search for a new Chair of New Testament Studies was instituted, and Lüdemann was retained and appointed Chair of History and Literature of [[Early Christianity]].<ref name=":1" /> All his courses were thereafter "explicitly identified as 'outside of the programs of study required for the training of future ministers of the Church'."<ref name=":1" /> Lüdemann complained and wrote the article "The Decline of Academic Theology at Göttingen" where he put the school on blast, complaining that "most of my colleagues have long since left the principles of the Church behind them yet still seek to attach themselves to this tradition by symbolic interpretation and by other interpretative skills".<ref name=":0"/>

== Later life ==
Being a member of the [[Jesus Seminar]],<ref>{{cite book|author1-last=Bartholomä|author1-first=Philipp F.|title=The Johannine Discourses and the Teaching of Jesus in the Synoptics: A Contribution to the Discussion Concerning the Authenticity of Jesus' Words in the Fourth Gospel
|location=Tübingen|publisher=Francke Verlag|date=2012|isbn=978-3-7720-8457-7|page=32|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XPl4DwAAQBAJ}}</ref> he debated [[William Lane Craig]] in 1997 and in 2002 over Jesus' resurrection.<ref>{{YouTube|5qCdv7VCunE}}</ref> Since 2011, after his retirement from the University of Göttingen, Lüdemann was visiting scholar at [[Vanderbilt University Divinity School]], [[Nashville, Tennessee]], as a resident alien of the United States.<ref name=Ad /> He died on May 23, 2021, after five years of serious illness.<ref name="Nach" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Gedenkseite für Gerd Lüdemann|url=https://www.gedenkseiten.de/gerd-luedemann/|access-date=2021-08-10|website=www.gedenkseiten.de}}</ref>

== Selected works in English ==
''For German versions and other publications, see the external link below to Library of Congress''.

*{{cite book |author1-last=Lüdemann |author1-first=Gerd |title=The Resurrection of Jesus: History, Experience, Theology |location=Minneapolis |publisher=[[Fortress Press]] |date=1994 |isbn=0-8006-2792-X}}
*{{cite book |author1-last=Lüdemann |author1-first=Gerd |author1-mask=7 |title=What Really Happened to Jesus: A Historical Approach to the Resurrection |location=Louisville, Kentucky |publisher=[[Westminster John Knox Press]] |date=1995 |isbn=0-664-25647-3}}
*{{cite book |author1-last=Lüdemann |author1-first=Gerd |author1-mask=7 |title=The Unholy in Holy Scripture: The Dark Side of the Bible |location=Louisville, Kentucky |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |date=1997 |isbn=0-664-25739-9}} (German original published in 1996)
*{{cite book |author1-last=Lüdemann |author1-first=Gerd |author1-mask=7 |title=The Great Deception: And What Jesus Really Said and Did |location=Amherst, New York |publisher=[[Prometheus Books]] |date=1999 |isbn=1-57392-688-4}} (German original published in 1998)
*{{cite book|author1-last=Lüdemann|author1-first=Gerd|author1-mask=7|title=Paul: The Founder of Christianity|location=Amherst, New York|publisher=Prometheus Books|date=2002|isbn=1-59102-021-2}}


==References==
==References==
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{{wikiquote}}
{{refbegin}}
{{refbegin}}
*[http://wwwuser.gwdg.de/~gluedem/eng/ Professor Lüdemann's website]
*[http://wwwuser.gwdg.de/~gluedem/ Gerd Lüdemann Homepage (German/English)]
*[https://catalog.loc.gov/vwebv/search?searchArg1=gerd+l%C3%BCdemann&argType1=all&searchCode1=KTIL&searchType=2&combine2=and&searchArg2=&argType2=all&searchCode2=GKEY&combine3=and&searchArg3=&argType3=all&searchCode3=GKEY&year=1521-2021&fromYear=&toYear=&location=all&place=all&type=all&language=all&recCount=25 Gerd Lüdemann's books in Library of Congress]


{{refend}}
{{refend}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ludemann, Gerd}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ludemann, Gerd}}
[[Category:1946 births]]
[[Category:1946 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:2021 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Visselhövede]]
[[Category:People from Rotenburg (district)]]
[[Category:German biblical scholars]]
[[Category:German biblical scholars]]
[[Category:German agnostics]]
[[Category:German agnostics]]
[[Category:Former Protestants]]
[[Category:Former Protestants]]
[[Category:Members of the Jesus Seminar]]

Latest revision as of 13:52, 30 October 2024

Gerd Lüdemann
Lüdemann in San Diego, November 2007
Born(1946-07-05)July 5, 1946
DiedMay 23, 2021(2021-05-23) (aged 74)
Occupation(s)New Testament scholar and historian
Academic work
InstitutionsUniversity of Göttingen, McMaster University, Vanderbilt University

Gerd Lüdemann (July 5, 1946 – May 23, 2021)[1] was a German biblical scholar and historian. He taught first Jewish Christianity and Gnosticism at McMaster University, Canada (1977–1979) and then New Testament at Vanderbilt Divinity School, U.S.A. (1979–1982).[2]: (Ad Personam) 

In 1983, Lüdemann was appointed to the chair in New Testament Studies in the Evangelical Theological Faculty at the University of Göttingen (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen), Germany, and taught New Testament until 1999. In the same year, his chair in "New Testament" was renamed "History and Literature of Early Christianity" in the Institute for Special Research (Institut für Spezialforschungen) at the university. Thus, he was removed from the professorship to train future Protestant pastors and stayed in the new department until his retirement in 2011.[1][3][4]

Early life and education

[edit]

Gerd Lüdemann was born on July 5, 1946, in Visselhövede, a town in the district of Rotenburg an der Wümme in Lower Saxony, Germany. His parents were not poor but they lived modestly; his mother was religious and a devout churchgoer. Lüdemann was a born again Christian by conversion at a “tent mission” of his home town, Visselhövede, in May 1963, but eventually he lost his faith.[2]: (Interview Frankfurter Rundschau 2016) 

After high school, he enrolled in the University of Göttingen (1966–1971) and passed the first exam of theology. In the graduate study of the University (1971–1974), he completed his doctoral (D. theol.) dissertation, Untersuchungen zur simonianischen Gnosis / Investigations into Simonian Gnosis (Göttingen 1974). He spent the academic year 1974–1975 in the United States as a post-doctoral fellow at Duke University, U.S.A., under Professor W.D. Davies. After returning to the University of Göttingen in 1975, while he served as academic assistant of New Testament to Georg Strecker [de] (1975–1977), his Habilitation thesis, Paulus, der Heidenapostel Band I. Studien zur Chronologie, was accepted (D. habil.) by the University of Göttingen in 1977.[2]: (Ad Personam) 

Career

[edit]

Academic assistant of New Testament to Georg Strecker (1975–1977) was the first academic career of Lüdemann. He concurrently (1976–1977) taught, as lecturer, at the Volkshochschule (adult public school), Göttingen, which sponsors public seminars held by university professors. After the habilitation work (1977), he went to North America again: At first he taught Jewish Christianity and Gnosticism at McMaster University Department of Religion, Canada, as visiting assistant professor (1977–1979), and then he moved to Vanderbilt Divinity School, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A., to teach New Testament as assistant professor (1979) and then as associate professor (1980).[2]: (Ad Personam) 

Lüdemann was awarded Heisenberg-Scholarship of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (1980–1983), and the scholarship enabled him free intensive research without teaching obligation. In 1983, as the successor to Ulrich Luz, Lüdemann was appointed to the head of New Testament in the Evangelical Theological Faculty at the University of Göttingen. In 1999, he was reassigned to the Early Christian Studies Department of the Institute for Special Research (Institut für Spezialforschungen) at the University and taught “History and Literature of Early Christianity” until his retirement in 2011.[1]

Theological and historical views

[edit]

In 1999, Lüdemann published Der große Betrug: Und was Jesus wirklich sagte und tat (The Great Deception: And What Jesus Really Said and Did), in which he claimed that only about five per cent of the sayings attributed to Jesus are genuine and the historical evidence does not support the arguments of traditional Christianity. Even though Lüdemann explicitly rejected the mission of the school which was the "preparation of the students seeking to become ministers of the Church", Lüdemann refused to step down even though he did not acknowledge or support the department's mission. As Lüdemann put it, "the person of Jesus himself becomes insufficient as a foundation of faith once most of the New Testament statements about him have proved to be later interpretations by the community".[5][6]

The Confederation of Protestant Churches in Lower Saxony called for his dismissal from the Chair of New Testament Studies, because he did not agree with their mission. His dismissal was rejected by the state government of Lower Saxony and as a result a search for a new Chair of New Testament Studies was instituted, and Lüdemann was retained and appointed Chair of History and Literature of Early Christianity.[6] All his courses were thereafter "explicitly identified as 'outside of the programs of study required for the training of future ministers of the Church'."[6] Lüdemann complained and wrote the article "The Decline of Academic Theology at Göttingen" where he put the school on blast, complaining that "most of my colleagues have long since left the principles of the Church behind them yet still seek to attach themselves to this tradition by symbolic interpretation and by other interpretative skills".[5]

Later life

[edit]

Being a member of the Jesus Seminar,[7] he debated William Lane Craig in 1997 and in 2002 over Jesus' resurrection.[8] Since 2011, after his retirement from the University of Göttingen, Lüdemann was visiting scholar at Vanderbilt University Divinity School, Nashville, Tennessee, as a resident alien of the United States.[2] He died on May 23, 2021, after five years of serious illness.[1][9]

Selected works in English

[edit]

For German versions and other publications, see the external link below to Library of Congress.

  • Lüdemann, Gerd (1994). The Resurrection of Jesus: History, Experience, Theology. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. ISBN 0-8006-2792-X.
  • ——————— (1995). What Really Happened to Jesus: A Historical Approach to the Resurrection. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 0-664-25647-3.
  • ——————— (1997). The Unholy in Holy Scripture: The Dark Side of the Bible. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 0-664-25739-9. (German original published in 1996)
  • ——————— (1999). The Great Deception: And What Jesus Really Said and Did. Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books. ISBN 1-57392-688-4. (German original published in 1998)
  • ——————— (2002). Paul: The Founder of Christianity. Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books. ISBN 1-59102-021-2.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d "Nachruf auf Professor Dr. Gerd Lüdemann". Faculty of Theology, University of Göttingen. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Gerd Lüdemann Homepage". Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  3. ^ Lüdemann, Gerd. 2014. “Theologie zwischen freier Wissenschaft und religiöser Vorgabe. Ein Erfahrungsbericht,” in Stefana Sabin and Helmut Ortner (ed.), Politik ohne Gott: Wie viel Religion verträgt unsere Demokratie? p. 62–69. Springe, Hannover: Dietrich zu Klampen. ISBN 3866744056
  4. ^ Lüdemann, Gerd. 1999/G1998. The Great Deception: And What Jesus Really Said and Did. Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books, 1999. ISBN 1-57392-688-4 p. xiii–xiv
  5. ^ a b Lüdemann, Gerd (April 1, 2002). "The Decline of Academic Theology at Göttingen". Religion. 32 (2): 87–94. doi:10.1006/reli.2002.0411. ISSN 0048-721X. S2CID 144085582.
  6. ^ a b c "Statement of the Dean in regard to the Academic position to be Held by Professor Dr Gerd Lüdemann". Religion. 32 (2): 141–142. April 1, 2002. doi:10.1006/reli.2002.0424. ISSN 0048-721X. S2CID 219594838.
  7. ^ Bartholomä, Philipp F. (2012). The Johannine Discourses and the Teaching of Jesus in the Synoptics: A Contribution to the Discussion Concerning the Authenticity of Jesus' Words in the Fourth Gospel. Tübingen: Francke Verlag. p. 32. ISBN 978-3-7720-8457-7.
  8. ^ Video on YouTube
  9. ^ "Gedenkseite für Gerd Lüdemann". www.gedenkseiten.de. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
[edit]
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