Description: Christianity - essentially determined since its beginnings by the idea of freedom - has decisively shaped Western societies and can also provide answers to current questions about freedom. In present discourse, however, it is often unclear what is meant by freedom. The term is in need of clarification. This volume combines exegetical, hermeneutical, systematic-theological, empirical and ecumenical perspectives on the topic. Studies on freedom in the New Testament, especially in the theology of Paul and the reception of Paul, in the Gospels and other New Testament and Early Christian writings build the main focus. Together they demonstrate the complexity of biblical-Christian understandings of freedom, which nevertheless show agreement in bringing freedom as a qualified concept to the fore: Freedom is determined by the connection to God and is realized in a new understanding of oneself, the world and God, and in behavioural possibilities arising from this.
