Karl-Heinz Ohlig

Karl -Heinz Ohlig ( born September 15, 1938 in Koblenz ) was from 1970 to 1978 professor of Catholic theology and religious education at the Pedagogical University of the Saarland. Since 1978 he was Professor of Religious Studies and History of Christianity at the University of Saarland. Since October 2006 he is professor emeritus.

Positions

As a theologian Ohlig repeatedly drew on hot iron when he asked the question with a work as early as 1973: "Does the Church a pope? "

In his book "The world is God's creation " (Mainz, 1984) he wants faith in the creation and the theory of evolution be reconciled by ordering of creation and development in a temporal sequence. It assumes that God " has all the laws put into it with the constitution of the cosmic energy that has discharged in the Big Bang in it, which led to the development of the universe " (p. 109). God's work is seen in this way in the time before the Big Bang, which later intervention of the Creator is untenable in the course of development.

In his book "One God in three persons? From the Father of Jesus to, mystery ' of the Trinity "(1999) he asked " historical- critical " according to how the Trinity doctrine originated and what external conditions and philosophical presuppositions led to its formulation. After a detailed analysis of the history of dogma development of the first centuries Ohlig comes to the conclusion that the doctrine of the Trinity of God are as a culture- historical figure of the Christian faith among others and should not be longer normative.

Friedmann Voigt writes about Karl -Heinz Ohligsberg religion historical approach: " Ohlig can agree that the cultural relativity of religion, in all its manifestations clearly ' is Marx. But he refers to Marx rightly points out that the time of the cultural importance of religion is not long gone. The historical way of thinking has as - supporter of religious opponents a disturbing Pointe: The history of religion has always been a narcissistic injury of the claim to absoluteness of religions, but also the radical critique of religion: The demonstration of the becoming, transformation and passing away of religious ideas is a throw of the right to everlasting ultimate truth dar. "

Theses on early Islam

In the last years before his retirement has Ohlig - is willing to say "neither Orientalist nor specialized Islam scientist but a theologian and scholar of religion " to be what a " non-negligible drawback " is - deals with new, very controversial theories on the early history of Islam. In 2005, he was with Gerd R. Puin the anthology " The dark beginnings. Recent research on the origin of the Early History of Islam " out. Here he argues that Islam originated as a Christian, Arab anti-Trinitarian movement, " Muhammadun " (about " the praised one, the chosen one " ) was originally a title for Jesus Christ was, and call this in the Koran. The ( re-) interpretation of the name of an Arab prophet was not until about the year 800, ie 150 or 200 years after the traditionally assumed life time of Muhammad, is carried out. The Prophet Mohammed, it was therefore never given as a historical person, but he is a fictional character, one based on a misunderstanding invention of later time when Islam is becoming its own religion and you had subsequently devised a prophetic founding figure.

In cooperation with the Syrologen Christoph Luxenberg Ohlig represents also the view that the Koran entstamme not only a Syro -Aramaic language environment, but at least in large part is based on a Syrian Christian base font, which was only translated into Arabic, in which the translator, however, several paraphrased errors and misunderstandings are demonstrated. Thus, for example, Sura 97 refers in truth not the revelation of Quran to a Prophet Mohammed, but was originally simply a description of the birth of Jesus.

In addition Ohlig represents the logical thesis that already in the later 7th century undoubtedly occupied Islamic calendar is not based on the Hijra, because a prophet Mohammed 've never been, and thus no extract it from Mecca; Rather, it refers to the start of the Persian campaign of the Eastern Roman emperor Heraclius against the Sassanid Empire in 622 In this battle Christian Arab auxiliaries had played an important role on the side of Heraclius and to start his own empire as foederati as thanks this year. The Islamic calendar thus refers in fact to start their own empire by Christian Arabs, who would soon achieve complete independence.

These radical theses led Ohlig with Volker Popp and Christoph Luxenberg in Early Islam (2007) further out. They will be discussed in the professional world, but not accepted by most Islamic scholars in general and partly rejected as unscientific or methodologically inadmissible (especially Tilman Nagel Ohlig has sharply criticized ). Until further provide Ohligsberg views in its radicality an extreme outsider dar. Due to the poor source material for the 7th century, however, they are also difficult to refute; because that the Arab-Islamic reports about Muhammad and the Islamic expansion arose long after the events, is undisputed. Most researchers take today but that it had actually been around 630 a prophet among the Arabs (which also does not exclude Ohlig ), although his original name was probably not been Mohammed.

Works

• The theological foundation of the New Testament canon in the old church. ( Comments and contributions to the Old and New Testament) Patmos, Dusseldorf 1972, 336 pp.
• Does the Church a pope? Scope and limits of papal primacy. ( Topos Handbooks Vol 10, ed. Matthias Grünewald from u Patmos -Verlag), Patmos, Dusseldorf 1973, 160 pp. Characters. Übers: Why We Need the Pope. The Necessity and Limits of Papal Primacy. with a " Postscript for the American Edition: The Lutheran - Catholic Dialogue in the United States ," ( 138-143 ), trans. by Robert C. Ware, Abbey Press: St. Meinrad, Indiana ( USA), 1975, 152 pp.

Article

• One or three? From the " Father of Jesus " to the Trinity imprimatur 2/1998
• Is there a " final justification " of the (Christian) faith in God? A new trend in the German Catholic fundamental theology imprimatur 2/2001
• Resurrection, what does this mean? (I) Imprimatur 1/2005 (II ) imprimatur 2/2005 (III ) imprimatur 3/2005
• The anthropological foundations of Christology (I) imprimatur 4/2005 (II ) imprimatur 5 6 / 2005
• The beginnings of Islam - New theories and findings imprimatur 5 6 / 2005
• On the origin and early history of Islam, " Politics and History ", Issue No. 26-27/2007 Islam, June 25, 2007 (PDF, 3.4 MB)