The renowned global theologian, Professor Jürgen Moltmann, a German Reformed theologian, passed away in Tübingen on June 3, aged 98. He had a transformative impact on the Christian community’s understanding of Trinitarian theology. Also, he was a theologian who had profoundly influenced China.
Filmed by a Chinese Christian couple named Elizabeth Pan Leilei and Edward Wang Xin, The Way of Life is a documentary honoring the life and works of Jürgen Moltmann. The producers traveled to Germany and Taiwan, where Moltman served in his later years. The documentary, featuring both English and Chinese subtitles, presents his life, moving stories with his wife, as well as his theology, thoughts, and influence on the Chinese church. Elizabeth Pan Leilei said that in October 2019 the release of the document on the internet elicited considerable responses among European and American academic circles.
On June 5 of this year, Elizabeth Pan Leilei wrote to commemorate his passing, “The ‘broken-winged angel’ over Tübingen has been taken back to heaven. He will reunite with the hopeful people of this world in a new form of life in history’s future! With this film, I deeply commemorate one of the greatest Protestant theologians of the 20th century – Moltmann.”
Moltmann was the most influential Christian theologian of his generation, not only due to his prolific theological works (translated into about twenty languages) but also because of his tireless visits and lectures around the world. His theology continues to have an impact worldwide, including in China.
Theologian Miroslav Volf recalled in the documentary The Way of Life that in 2010, he participated in a large forum in Beijing with Moltmann, who was one of the main speakers. Most of the participants were neither theologians nor Christians. Moltmann delivered a speech at the conference, and all the important characteristics of his Christian theology were clearly intelligible. At the end of the speech, everyone stood up and applauded.
Professor Yang Huilin from Renmin University of China also shared in the documentary how and why Moltmann’s theology is so important in China. She said that it is a decentralized and open theology. Moltmann’s ecological theology has an original concept, which is also a political theology about how humans replicate injustice among people in nature. This attitude is valuable for the relationship between humans and nature. Such a great thinker can encourage us to be hopeful about the future. When thinking together, it is best to have a common background and experience. A traumatic event for Moltmann was the Second World War. The trauma, in turn, fosters independent thinking, even forced thinking. Yang Huilin quoted French philosopher Alain Badiou, “We are forced to think.”
Against this backdrop, there has been a long-standing cooperative relationship between Moltmann and the Institute of Sino-Christian Studies (ISCS) in Hong Kong. Such a relationship had long begun, even before the institute’s establishment. His first book, which was translated into Chinese in 1994, is The Crucified God. In the 1980s, the theology of hope was already widely known in Hong Kong. Professor Milton Wan Wai-yiu, a theologian from Hong Kong, recalled in the documentary that he studied German philosophy in the UK, so he was able to introduce Moltmann’s theology through writing and teaching in Hong Kong.
Daniel H. N. Yeung, the director of the Institute of Sino-Christian Studies, spoke in the documentary about his long and fruitful collaborative experience with Moltmann. He mentioned that Moltmann had studied Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching in recent years and tried to apply this resource to his theological thinking. On this topic, Moltmann talked about the proximity between the Tao Te Ching and the Bible: “I gave a lecture in Taiwan. I was guiding a doctoral student to study the understanding of nature in Tao Te Ching and the understanding of creation in the Bible. I saw that rulers must serve the people, and compassion and patience are the main virtues.” Moltmann’s cooperation with the ISCS lasted for more than 20 years. “He has provided us a lot of support.” With his help, a group of young talents emerged in the Chinese theological community.
Professor Zhang Xu from Renmin University of China mentioned in the documentary that in the second half of the 20th century, Moltmann’s theology also inspired liberation theology, popular theology, Korean theology, Southeast Asian theology, and Taiwanese theology.
- Translated by Charlie Li
全球著名神学家、德国改革宗于尔根•莫尔特曼（Jürgen Moltmann）教授于6月3日逝世于图宾根，享年98岁。他对整个基督教界对三一神学的认识产生了变革性的影响，他也是一位对中国产生了深远影响的神学家。
《生命之路》The Way of Life ( a documentary of Jürgen Moltmann)是一部纪念于尔根•莫尔特曼生活和作品的纪录片，该片由中国基督徒潘蕾蕾（Elizabeth Pan Leilei）远赴德国及他晚年事奉过的台湾等地为他拍摄，纪录片配有英语和中文双语字幕。该片展现了他的生平，与妻子之间动人的故事，以及他的神学与思考以及对中国教会的影响力。该纪录片制作者潘蕾蕾介绍说：2019年10月31日，纪录片《生命之路》在外网发布后，引起了欧美学术界小范围内的不小反响。
今年6月5日，潘蕾蕾发文纪念他的去世：“图宾根上空‘折翼的天使’被接回天家了，他将以崭新的生命形式与此世满怀盼望的人在历史的将来再相会！谨以此片，深深纪念二十世纪最伟大的新教神学家之一——莫尔特曼。”
莫尔特曼是他这一代最具影响力的基督教神学家，除了多产的神学书籍（被翻译成二十种语言）之外，也得益于他常年在世界各地孜孜不倦的访问和演讲。莫尔特曼的神学在世界范围内持续产生影响，其中包括中国。
神学家米罗斯拉夫•沃尔夫（Miroslav Volf）在纪录片《生命之路》中回忆：2010年，他曾与莫尔特曼一起参加一个在北京举行的近3000人参加的大型论坛，莫尔特曼是论坛的主要发言人之一。与会者中大部分人既不是神学家，也不是基督徒。莫尔特曼在大会上作了一次演讲，其基督教神学的所有重要特征都清晰可辨。演讲结束时，每个人都站了起来，鼓掌致敬。
中国人民大学的杨慧林教授也在在纪录片《生命之路》中分享了莫尔特曼神学如何以及为什么在中国如此重要。它是一个去中心的、开放的神学。莫尔特曼所发展的生态神学，有一个原创性的观念，即它也是一种政治神学，关于人如何将人与人之间的不公正复制到自然界中。这种态度对于人与自然的关系很有价值。正是这样一位伟大的思想家，可以鼓励我们对未来充满希望。一同思考，最好有一个共同的背景，一个共同的经验。这可能是一个创伤事件。对于莫尔特曼来说，这个经验是二战。这种创伤反过来会催生出独立的思考，甚至是逼出来的思考。杨慧林引用了法国哲学家阿兰•巴迪欧（Alain Badiou）的话：“我们被逼着思考。”
在这一背景下，莫尔特曼与汉语基督教研究所Institute of Sino-Christian Studies (ISCS)之间存在着长期的合作关系，甚至在研究所成立之前，这种合作就已经开始了。第一本翻译过来的书是1994年的《被钉十字架的上帝》The Crucified God。80年代，盼望神学（theology of hope）在香港就已经非常有名。香港的神学家温伟耀教授(Dr. Milton Wan Wai-yiu)在纪录片中回忆到，他在英国学习过德国哲学，因此能够在香港通过写作和教学，介绍莫尔特曼的神学。
汉语基督教研究所所长杨熙楠（Daniel H. N. Yeung）在纪录片《生命之路》中讲述了他们与莫尔特曼长期而富有成果的合作经历。他提到，莫尔特曼近年来研究了老子的《道德经》，并尝试将这一资源运用于他的神学思考中。就这个主题，莫尔特曼谈到了《道德经》与圣经之间的邻近关系：“我在台湾做了一个讲座。我在指导一位博士生研究《道德经》对自然的理解和圣经对创造的理解。我看到，统治者必须为人民服务，怜悯和忍耐是主要的美德。”莫尔特曼与汉语基督教研究所的合作已经持续了20多年。“他为我们提供了很多支持。”在他的帮助下，中国神学界已经出现了一批青年才俊。
中国人民大学的张旭教授在纪录片中提到，在20世纪下半叶，莫尔特曼的神学还启发了解放神学（liberation theology）、民众神学、韩国神学、东南亚和台湾神学。
莫尔特曼对中国的影响
The renowned global theologian, Professor Jürgen Moltmann, a German Reformed theologian, passed away in Tübingen on June 3, aged 98. He had a transformative impact on the Christian community’s understanding of Trinitarian theology. Also, he was a theologian who had profoundly influenced China.
Filmed by a Chinese Christian couple named Elizabeth Pan Leilei and Edward Wang Xin, The Way of Life is a documentary honoring the life and works of Jürgen Moltmann. The producers traveled to Germany and Taiwan, where Moltman served in his later years. The documentary, featuring both English and Chinese subtitles, presents his life, moving stories with his wife, as well as his theology, thoughts, and influence on the Chinese church. Elizabeth Pan Leilei said that in October 2019 the release of the document on the internet elicited considerable responses among European and American academic circles.
On June 5 of this year, Elizabeth Pan Leilei wrote to commemorate his passing, “The ‘broken-winged angel’ over Tübingen has been taken back to heaven. He will reunite with the hopeful people of this world in a new form of life in history’s future! With this film, I deeply commemorate one of the greatest Protestant theologians of the 20th century – Moltmann.”
Moltmann was the most influential Christian theologian of his generation, not only due to his prolific theological works (translated into about twenty languages) but also because of his tireless visits and lectures around the world. His theology continues to have an impact worldwide, including in China.
Theologian Miroslav Volf recalled in the documentary The Way of Life that in 2010, he participated in a large forum in Beijing with Moltmann, who was one of the main speakers. Most of the participants were neither theologians nor Christians. Moltmann delivered a speech at the conference, and all the important characteristics of his Christian theology were clearly intelligible. At the end of the speech, everyone stood up and applauded.
Professor Yang Huilin from Renmin University of China also shared in the documentary how and why Moltmann’s theology is so important in China. She said that it is a decentralized and open theology. Moltmann’s ecological theology has an original concept, which is also a political theology about how humans replicate injustice among people in nature. This attitude is valuable for the relationship between humans and nature. Such a great thinker can encourage us to be hopeful about the future. When thinking together, it is best to have a common background and experience. A traumatic event for Moltmann was the Second World War. The trauma, in turn, fosters independent thinking, even forced thinking. Yang Huilin quoted French philosopher Alain Badiou, “We are forced to think.”
Against this backdrop, there has been a long-standing cooperative relationship between Moltmann and the Institute of Sino-Christian Studies (ISCS) in Hong Kong. Such a relationship had long begun, even before the institute’s establishment. His first book, which was translated into Chinese in 1994, is The Crucified God. In the 1980s, the theology of hope was already widely known in Hong Kong. Professor Milton Wan Wai-yiu, a theologian from Hong Kong, recalled in the documentary that he studied German philosophy in the UK, so he was able to introduce Moltmann’s theology through writing and teaching in Hong Kong.
Daniel H. N. Yeung, the director of the Institute of Sino-Christian Studies, spoke in the documentary about his long and fruitful collaborative experience with Moltmann. He mentioned that Moltmann had studied Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching in recent years and tried to apply this resource to his theological thinking. On this topic, Moltmann talked about the proximity between the Tao Te Ching and the Bible: “I gave a lecture in Taiwan. I was guiding a doctoral student to study the understanding of nature in Tao Te Ching and the understanding of creation in the Bible. I saw that rulers must serve the people, and compassion and patience are the main virtues.” Moltmann’s cooperation with the ISCS lasted for more than 20 years. “He has provided us a lot of support.” With his help, a group of young talents emerged in the Chinese theological community.
Professor Zhang Xu from Renmin University of China mentioned in the documentary that in the second half of the 20th century, Moltmann’s theology also inspired liberation theology, popular theology, Korean theology, Southeast Asian theology, and Taiwanese theology.
- Translated by Charlie Li
Remembering Jürgen Moltmann With His Influence in China
