Udo Schaefer

Udo Schaefer ( * October 19, 1926 in Heidelberg) is a lawyer and one of the most important contemporary Baha'i theologians.

Life

Schaefer comes from a family of musicians. In 1948, he converted to Bahaitum. Schaefer studied musicology, philology and law at the Ruprecht -Karls- University of Heidelberg. In 1957 the Promotion of the basics of the Municipal Code of the Baha'is. 1958-1988 Schaefer was in Baden- Württemberg judicial service, initially as a judge, later as chief prosecutor. Between 1957 and 1995 he was a total of fifteen years on the board of the German Baha'i community.

Services

Udo Schaefer has contributed significantly to the theological and religious studies exploring the Bahaitums. His work focuses on the central themes of Baha'i theology, especially the understanding of religion (1997, 2002a ) and of man ( 2000a, 2006). A key aim is to him the process of creating a foundation on which a serious inter-religious dialogue - one of his main concerns in recent years - can take place. The also serve the writings on Islam (1968, 1977, 2002b ), as well as superficially apologetic work (1995). Another central question of Schaefer is the tension between morality and legality. This reflected his work on the right ( 2000b, 2001, 2004 ) and ethics (2007). In this context are also his critical works on church theology and understanding of the Bahai community (1995, 2002c ). His work on Baha'i law were an essential basis for the Bahai decision of the Federal Constitutional Court.

Since 1970, Schaefer was also heavily involved in nearly all German translations of the writings of Baha'u'llah, Gleanings about (1980, 1999), messages from Akka (1982 ), Hidden Words (1983, 1997, 2001 ), Prayers and Meditations (1992 ), Kitab -i - Iqan (2000), Kitab -i -Aqdas (2000), claim and Annunciation ( 2007), gems of Divine mysteries (2007).

Publications (selection)

Book publications

  • The misunderstood religion. The Occident and the post-biblical religions. Bahá'í -Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1968.
  • The Baha'is in the modern world. Structures of a new faith. Bahá'í -Verlag, Hofheim 1981, ISBN 3-87037-098- X.
  • Ethical aspects of smoking. A Contribution to Bahá'í ethics. Bahá'í -Verlag, Hofheim 1992, ISBN 3-87037-263- X.
  • The freedom and its limits. The concept of freedom in Bahá'u'lláh's Kitáb -i -Aqdas. Bahá'í -Verlag, Hofheim 1994, ISBN 3-87037-305-9.
  • Together with Nicola Towfigh and Ulrich Gollmer: disinformation as a method. The Bahá'ísmus monograph of F. Ficicchia. In: Religion Scientific Texts and Studies. 6, Georg Olms Verlag, Hildesheim, Zurich, New York 1995, ISBN 3- 487-10041 -X.
  • The mystical unity of religions. For interreligious dialogue on a global ethic. Bahá'í -Verlag, Hofheim 1997.
  • World of faith Islam. An Introduction. In: Religion Scientific Texts and Studies. 7, Georg Olms Verlag, Hildesheim, Zurich, New York 2002, ISBN 3-487-10159-9.
  • Salvation history and paradigm shift. Two contributions to the Bahá'í theology. In: Studies on the Bahá'ítum. 1, Bahá'í Publishing, Hofheim 2002, ISBN 3-87037-389- X.
  • What is man? Man and humanity in the literature of Bahá'u'lláh. In: Studies on the Bahá'ítum. 2, Bahá'í Publishing, Hofheim 2003, ISBN 3-87037-395-4.
  • Basics of the Municipal Code of the Baha'i. In: Studies on the Bahá'ítum. 3, Bahá'í Publishing, Hofheim 2003, ISBN 3-87037-404-7.
  • The Light in Darkness Shineth. George Ronald Publisher, Oxford 1977, ISBN 978-0-85398-072-8.
  • Doctrinal Fundamentals. In: Baha'i Ethics in Light of Scripture. 1, George Ronald Publisher, Oxford 2007, ISBN 978-0-85398-505-1.
  • Virtues and Divine Commandments. In: Baha'i Ethics in Light of Scripture. 2, George Ronald Publisher, Oxford 2009, ISBN 978-0-85398-518-1.
  • The Constitution of the Baha'i community. The Articles of the selected institutions. Bahá'í -Verlag, Hofheim 2000, ISBN 3-87037-358- X.

Papers

  • Bahá'u'lláh 's Unity Paradigm: A Contribution to Interfaith Dialogue on a Global Ethic; in Dialogue and Universalism, Warsaw band 6.11-12/1996, pp. 23-41
  • Universal peace? - Perspectives from the message of Bahá'u'lláh; in: Detlef Kröger (ed.): Religious Peace as a prerequisite for world peace; Osnabrück, 2000b
  • The right of the religious community of the Bahá'í: fundamentals, principles, structures; in: Church and law; Neuwied: Luchterhand publishing house, 4/2001
  • Infallible Institutions? ; in: Seena Fazel, John Danesh: Reason & Revelation, New Directions in Bahá'í Thought; Los Angeles: Kalimat Press 2002c, pp. 3-37
  • An Introduction to the Baha'i Law: Doctrinal Foundations, Principles and Structures; in: Journal of Law and Religion 18/2 (2002-2003 ); Saint Paul, Minnesota: Hamline University School of Law
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