Dorothee Sölle
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Dorothee Steffensky-Sölle (; 1929–2003), known as Dorothee Sölle, was a German
Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
liberation theologian who coined the term " Christofascism".


Life and career

Sölle was born Dorothee Nipperdey on 30 September 1929 in
Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
, Germany. Her father was Professor of labour law Hans Carl Nipperdey, who would later become the first president of the West-German
Federal Labour Court The Federal Labour Court ( , BAG ) is the court of the last resort for cases of labour law in Germany, both for individual labour law (mostly concerning contracts of employment) and collective labour law (e.g. cases concerning strikes and colle ...
from 1954 to 1963. Sölle studied theology, philosophy, and literature at the
University of Cologne The University of Cologne () is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in 1388. It closed in 1798 before being re-established in 1919. It is now one of the largest universities in Germany with around 45,187 students. The Universit ...
, earning a doctorate with a thesis on the connections between theology and poetry. She taught briefly in
Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...
before returning to Cologne as a university lecturer. She became active in politics, speaking out against the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
, the arms race of the Cold War, and injustices in the
developing world A developing country is a sovereign state with a less-developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to developed countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreeme ...
. Notably, from 1968 to 1972 she organized the (political night-prayers) in the Antoniterkirche (Cologne). Between 1975 and 1987, she spent six months a year at Union Theological Seminary in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, where she was a professor of
systematic theology Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topics ...
. Although she never held a professorship in Germany, she received an honorary professorship from the
University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (, also referred to as UHH) is a public university, public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('':de:Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen, ...
in 1994. She wrote a large number of books, including ''Theology for Skeptics: Reflections on God'' (1968), ''The Silent Cry: Mysticism and Resistance'' (1997), and her autobiography ''Against the Wind: Memoir of a Radical Christian'' (1999). In ''Beyond Mere Obedience: Reflections on a Christian Ethic for the Future'' she coined the term '' Christofascist'' to describe fundamentalists. Perhaps her best-known work in English was ''Suffering'', which offers a critique of "Christian masochism" and "Christian sadism". Sölle's critique is against the assumption that God is all-powerful and the cause of suffering; humans thus suffer for some greater purpose. Instead, God suffers and is powerless alongside us. Humans are to struggle together against
oppression Oppression is malicious or unjust treatment of, or exercise of power over, a group of individuals, often in the form of governmental authority. Oppression may be overt or covert, depending on how it is practiced. No universally accepted model ...
,
sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...
,
antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
, and other forms of
authoritarianism Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...
. Sölle was married twice and had four children. First, in 1954 she married the artist Dietrich Sölle, with whom she had three children before divorcing in 1964. In 1969, she married the former
Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
priest , with whom she had her fourth child and with whom she organized the . The historian Thomas Nipperdey was her brother. Sölle died of a heart attack at a conference in
Göppingen Göppingen (; or ) is a town in southern Germany, part of the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg. It is the capital of the Goeppingen (district), district Göppingen. Göppingen is home to the toy company Märklin, and it is the birthplace ...
on 27 April 2003. She was buried on the Friedhof Nienstedten in Hamburg.


Sölle's theological thinking

"I believe in God/ who created the world not ready made/ like a thing that must forever stay what it is/ who does not govern according to eternal laws/ that have perpetual validity/ nor according to natural orders/ of poor and rich,/ experts and ignoramuses,/ people who dominate and people subjected./ I believe in God/ who desires the counter-argument of the living/ and the alteration of every condition/ through our work/ through our politics." (ET, from Meditationen & Gebrauchstexte. Gedichte. Berlin 1969, ) The idea of a God who was "in heaven in all its glory" while
Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...
was organized was "unbearable" for Sölle. God has to be protected against such simplifications. For some people Sölle was a kind of prophet of Christianity, who abolished the separation of theological science and practice of life, while for others she was a
heretic Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Christianity, Judai ...
, whose theories couldn't be reconciled with the traditional understanding of God, and her ideas were therefore rejected as a theological cynicism. Some of Sölle's provocative statements: * "
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is
Golgotha Calvary ( or ) or Golgotha () was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, Jesus was crucified. Since at least the early medieval period, it has been a destination for pilgrimage. ...
." * "The
Third World The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the Southern Cone, NATO, Western European countries and oth ...
is a permanent
Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...
." * "Every theological statement must be a political statement as well." (''Against the Wind: Memoir of a Radical Christian'' (1999)) * "God has no hands except from our hands." (famous statement attributed to
Teresa of Ávila Teresa of Ávila (born Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda Dávila y Ahumada; 28March 15154or 15October 1582), also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, was a Carmelite nun and prominent Spanish mystic and religious reformer. Active during the Counter-Re ...
which Sölle frequently used) * "We should eat more at the
Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...
and we should pray more when eating."


Publications

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * For publications in German language see :de:Dorothee Sölle#Literatur


Texts in music

* The musician Sergio Pinto converted Sölle's poems ''Credo für die Erde'' and ''Ich dein Baum'', into musical compositions which were published by Verlag in 2008 under the title ''entwurf''. The CD recording was performed by the band Grupo Sal.Dorothee Sölle auf der Website von Grupo Sal
(in German) * The composer Ludger Stühlmeyer converted Sölle's poems ''Kreuzigen'' and ''Atem Gottes hauch mich an'' into musical compositions as well. The vocal and organ arrangements were commissioned by a circle of friends of the
Evangelische Akademie Tutzing The ' (Protestant Academy of Tutzing) is an education and conference center in Tutzing, Bavaria, run by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria. It was founded in 1947. The main building is Schloss Tutzing on Lake Starnberg. The academy awards ...
; the work was first performed in April 2013 and included a reading by Ursula Baltz-Otto during a commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the death of Dorothee Sölle.


See also

* Johann Baptist Metz


Notes


References


Footnotes


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Solle, Dorothee 1929 births 2003 deaths 20th-century German Protestant theologians Women Christian theologians Christian feminist theologians Christian socialist theologians German Christian pacifists German Christian socialists German feminists German Lutheran theologians German tax resisters Liberation theologians Proponents of Christian feminism Lutheran pacifists Lutheran socialists Political theologians Socialist feminists Union Theological Seminary faculty University of Cologne alumni Female Christian socialists