Dr. Leopold Lucas Preisverleihung 2022

by Birgit Hallmann

Dr. Leopold Lucas Prize 2022 awarded to the Judaist Maren Niehoff on May 10.

This year's Dr. Leopold Lucas Prize of the Faculty of Protestant Theology was awarded to historian, Judaist, scholar of religion and literature Maren R. Niehoff. She is Max Cooper Professor of Jewish Thought at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She was honored for her interdisciplinary approach to questions of the relationship between Judaism, Christianity and Greco-Roman culture. The Dr. Leopold Lucas Prize is endowed with 50,000 euros.

Maren Niehoff has presented extensive research on Philon of Alexandria and Jewish biblical interpretation. She has shown how cultural transfer processes take place and what effects they can have, said the committee awarding the prize.

Institute

The English German Colloquium for NT is enjoying very brisk demand this semester. For the first time in a few years, we have to put off speakers until the winter semester, although the group is meeting weekly again.

Topics in May:

Romans 7 in Context (D.Schumann, Tübingen); Exodus Motifs in the NT Writings (Prof. Kowalski Dortmund); Desacralizing „Acts“. Early Christian Apocrypha „Ascents of James“ (Rec.1.27(33)-71) ( Aleksei Volchkov).

We are also preparing for the visit of the new Institute Director, Dr. Dennis Lindsay, and his wife in July. This will e.g. include preparations for the Lindsay family's move to Tübingen and planning for the resumption of the Theological German and Theological English classes in the Wintersemester.

Orbituary Dr. Beth Langstaff

by Birgit Hallmann

Psalms 36:10
O let there be no end to your loving mercy to those who have knowledge of you, or of your righteousness to the upright in heart.

Orbiturary
Dr. Beth Y. Langstaff – Foell
* 20. June 1961 (Sydney, Australia) † 20.03.2022 (Tübingen, Germany)

„End? No, the journey doesn´t end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take.“
 J. R. R. Tolkien

It was with great sadness that we learned last week that Beth Langstaff lost her battle with cancer and, and trusting in the resurrection, was called away into the hands of the Lord.

We grieve with all who knew her and whose lives she enriched. Especially with her children Jessica and Jonathan and all her family in Minnesota.

For more than 12 years, Beth served as Director of the Institute for the Study of Early Christianity in Tübingen (EES), Germany. She has also taught classes (online) at Bethel College and for TCMI in Heiligenkreuz.

At the funeral at her home in Betzweiler on March 29th, some of her academic colleagues were present (e.g. Prof. Dr. M. Tilly, University of Tübingen and Prof. Loren Stuckenbruck, University of Munich) and paid tribute to her outstanding achievements in the field of Christian research.

In her classes at the University of Tübingen, she not only contributed to supporting a new generation of theology students in their preparation for doctoral studies, but she has given many students from all over the world and from various religious traditions access to the Christian faith with her classes in theological German and English.

In addition to her scholarly contributions, Beth was always volunteering in her home church to help those around her (including her home group and clothing closet).

Many peoples‘ hearts are heavy these days as we must go on without her.  She left us far too soon.

It gives us comfort that she had the opportunity to say goodbye to her children and to prepare them for their further journey, trusting in God's protection.

War in Europe

By Birgit Hallmann

At the end of the current semester and in the midst of preparations for the summer semester, Europe finds itself in what for my generation is an unprecedented crisis situation. Our prayers go out to the people of Urkaine, the surrounding regions and Russia "as we place our trust in the Lord and follow His lead in the coming days" (Dr. Tony Twist).

Tübingen, like other parts of Germany, is preparing for the arrival of larger streams of refugees from Urkaine, while students are demonstrating for an end to Russian attacks.

In this time of uncertainty and fear, I am very grateful for the technical achievements of the Corona Pandemic, which allows me to meet online brothers and sisters of TCM and the EES and join them in prayer (e.g. the All staff prayer meeting each Wednesday afternoon and the monthly meetings with EES board Dr. Dennis Lindsay).

Please join us in prayer.

Greetings from Tübingen - review of 2021

by Birgit Hallmann

Review of the past year:

It is hard to believe that we are already at the end of the second year of the pandemic. The constantly changing conditions and restrictions were a great challenge for the Institute and the University. Currently, the access regulations for (unvaccinated) students had to be relaxed again after court cases, but there are still significantly fewer foreign students coming to study in Tübingen than two years ago....

In addition the director Beth Langstaff has been seriously ill and has been unable to work for some time in the past year.

We are very grateful for all the support we have received both from the University (Prof. Tilly) and the many people who have accompanied us in prayer (EES and TCM).

Thanks to this support, we were able to complete the publication of the Symposium Volume on the Lord's Prayer and resume offering the English-German Colloquium f. NT on a weekly basis.

In the process, some of the meetings in the current winter semester also took place in person again, something that many people had greatly missed. At the same time, the good technical basis also made it possible for many participants from other countries to take part in the meetings online.

Some topics of this Semester:

Prof. H.D. Neef : Kritische Lektüre von Irmtraut Fischer, Liebe, Laster, Lust und Leiden. Sexualität im Alten Testament. Theologische Interpretationen 5, Stuttgart 2021

Tom Blanton (Erfurt) : On the Recently Discovered Apotropaic Amulets from Pompeii: Viewing Ritual Objects from the Perspective of „Lived Ancient Religion“.

Ben Nickodemus (Concordia Seminary in Saint Louis, Missouri): The concept of promise as a central element of Paul’s ethnic argument in Galatians 3-4.

There have also been farewells during 2021 We were very sad to hear the news Vicky Kindt Huxford, wife of Wye Huxford, passing in August 2021. In addition to her other accomplishments, Vicki also served as the EES Director of Operations in the U.S. office for several years.

Visit of EES board member Dr. Dennis Lindsay

by Dennis Lindsay

Dr. Dennis Lindsay at the Institute October 2021

The Institute was very pleased to house EES board member Dennis Lindsay for two weeks in October.

A short report from him:

„For the first time in my role as chair of the EES Board of Directors, I had the pleasure of visiting Tübingen for two weeks at the end of October.  (I had originally planned this visit for the summer of 2020, but we all know what happened to those plans!).  During my visit I was able to spend time in the new Institute facilities (which are VERY nice) and meet with our Institute secretary, Birgit Hallmann, to take care of some pressing business items.  My visit coincided with the start of the Winter Semester at the University so that I was able to attend the first session of our regular English-German New Testament Colloquium which featured an excellent presentation from one of the German theology students here.  I was also able to meet, together with Professor Tilly, the new Dean of the Protestant Faculty, Professor Doctor Weyel.  There were a number of other contacts—both old and new—that I was able to make during my stay in Tübingen, including Professor Hermann Lichtenberger who was so helpful and supportive of our work here in years past.  I am happy to report that our relationship with the University and with the community is as strong as ever.  We owe a great deal of thanks to Institute Director, Beth Langstaff, and to Birgit Hallmann for their diligent service in Tübingen.“