Thomas Laubach (after marriage Thomas Weißer) (born 1964) is a German

Catholic theologian Catholic theology is the understanding of Catholic doctrine or teachings, and results from the studies of theologians. It is based on canonical scripture, and sacred tradition, as interpreted authoritatively by the magisterium of the Catholic ...

. He wrote the texts for numerous hymns of the genre

Neues Geistliches Lied ''Neues Geistliches Lied'' (, ''new spiritual song''), abbreviated NGL, is a music genre of songs in German intended for church usage, and based on contemporary lyrics and with music by contemporary composers. History The idea to reach youn ...

(NGL). He has used his birth name in publications. Under his family name Weißer, he worked in education and journalism, specifically as representative of the Catholic Church at the broadcaster SWR. He has been professor of ethics at the

University of Bamberg The University of Bamberg (german: Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg) in Bamberg, Germany, specializes in the humanities, cultural studies, social sciences, economics, and applied computer science. Campus The university is mainly housed in ...

from 2003.

Career

Born in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

, Laubach attended the Johann-Gottfried-Herder-Gymnasium there, completing with the

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

in 1983. He studied Catholic theology and

German studies German studies is the field of humanities that researches, documents and disseminates German language and literature in both its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies often include classes on German culture, German hi ...

at the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine U ...

and the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Wü ...

, graduating in 1991. From 1985, he studied on a scholarship from the Albertus-Magnus-Verein of the

Diocese of Cologne The Archdiocese of Cologne ( la, Archidioecesis Coloniensis; german: Erzbistum Köln) is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and northern Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. History The Electorate of Colo ...

. Between 1992 and 2006, he worked as a

research assistant A research assistant (RA) is a researcher employed, often on a temporary contract, by a university, a research institute or a privately held organization, for the purpose of assisting in academic or private research. Research assistants are not in ...

at the Catholic faculty of the University of Tübingen, in the Department of Theological Ethics. He was promoted to Ph.D. in 1999, with a dissertation "Lebensführung. Annäherungen an einen ethischen Grundbegriff" (Approaches to a basic ethical concept). He was habilitated in 2003, with a work "Warum sollen wir erinnern? Möglichkeiten und Grenzen einer anamnetischen Ethik" (Why should we remember? Possibilities and limits of anamnetic ethics). Parallel to his academic career, Laubach has worked as a pedagogical assistant and

lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...

in youth and adult education from 1984, and since 1987, also in the field of journalism. From 2006 to 2012, he was a broadcasting representative of the Catholic Church at

Südwestrundfunk Südwestrundfunk (SWR; ''Southwest Broadcasting'') is a regional public broadcasting corporation serving the southwest of Germany , specifically the federal states of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. The corporation has main offices ...

(SWR) in

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

, where he was responsible for the radio and television programm of the Catholic Church. Since 1 April 2012, Weißer has been Professor of

Christian ethics Christian ethics, also known as moral theology, is a multi-faceted ethical system: it is a virtue ethic which focuses on building moral character, and a deontological ethic which emphasizes duty. It also incorporates natural law ethics, whic ...

at the

. He is a lyricist for more than 250 Christian pop songs (NGL) such as " Da berühren sich Himmel und Erde", "Du sei bei uns" and "Gott sei über dir". For many years he was a member of the nationally known band RUHAMA.

Private life

Laubach married in 1993 and legally took his wife's surname, Weißer, but uses his birth name for publications. The couple have four children and live near Mainz.

Work

* ''Das kleine Buch zum Leben. Gedanken zur Auferstehung'', with pictures by

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a ...

, tvd-Verlag, Düsseldorf 2009, . *''Mit Gott und der Welt reden: Warum beten (nicht nur) Kindern guttut''. Schwabenverlag, Ostfildern 2010, . *''Von hier bis Betlehem. Fünf Krippenspiele mit Musik'' (with CD). tvd-Verlag, Düsseldorf 2013, . * with : ''Gender – Herausforderung für die christliche Ethik''. Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder, 2017, . * ''Das kleine Buch vom Stern'', with pictures by

Wassily Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj; – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...

. tvd-Verlag, Düsseldorf 2019, .

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Laubach, Thomas German theologians Neues Geistliches Lied German writers German Christian hymnwriters 1964 births Living people category:Writers from Cologne University of Bonn alumni University of Tübingen alumni Südwestrundfunk people Academic staff of the University of Bamberg