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Dorothee Steffensky-Sölle (born Nipperdey; September 30, 1929 – April 27, 2003) was a German liberation theologian and writer who coined the term “Christofascism.” She was born in Cologne and died at a congress in Göppingen.

Biography

Sölle studied theology, philosophy and literature at the University of Cologne, earning a doctorate with a thesis on the connections between theology and poetry. She taught briefly in Aachen before returning to Cologne as a university lecturer. She became active in politics, speaking out against the Vietnam War, the arms race of the Cold War and injustices in the developing world. Notably, from 1968 to 1972 she organized Cologne’s Politisches Nachtgebet (political night-prayers). Between 1975 and 1987, she spent six months a year at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where she was a professor of systematic theology. Although she never held a professorship in Germany, she received an honorary professorship from the University of Hamburg in 1994. She wrote a large number of books, including Theology for Skeptics: Reflections on God, The Silent Cry: Mysticism and Resistance (2001) 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 “theological sadism.” Solle’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, sexism, anti-Semitism, and other forms of authoritarianism. Sölle was married twice and had four children. First, in 1954 she married the artist Dietrich Sölle, whom she divorced in 1964. In 1969, she married former Benedictine monk Fullbert Steffensky, with whom she organized the Politisches Nachtgebet.

Dorothee Sölle’s theological thinking

“I believe in God who created the world has not done such a thing that always must remain, not the ruled by eternal laws, which are immutable, not by natural systems of rich and poor, experts and uninformed, rulers and extradited. I believe in God, who wants the appeal of living and the change in all states through our work, our policy”. The idea of a God who was “in heaven in all its glory” while Auschwitz was organized was “unbearable” for Dorothee Sölle. God has to be protected against such simplifications. For some people Dorothee 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, whose theories couldn’t be united with the traditional understanding of God, and her ideas were therefore banned as a theological cynicism. Some of Sölle’s provocative statements:

• “Vietnam is Golgatha.”
• “The Third World is a permanent Auschwitz.”
• “Every theological statement must be a political statement as well.”
• “God has no hands except from our hands.”
• “We should eat more at the Eucharist and we should pray more when eating.”

Publications by Dorothee Sölle

• Sölle, Dorothee (1967) Christ the Representative: An Essay in Theology After the ‘Death of God’, London, SCM Press
• Sölle, Dorothee (1970) Beyond Mere Obedience: Reflections on a Christian Ethic for the Future, Minneapolis, Augsburg
• Sölle, Dorothee (1974) Political Theology, Philadelphia, Fortress Press ISBN 0-8006-1065-2
• Sölle, Dorothee (1975) Suffering, Philadelphia, Fortress Press, ISBN 0-8006-0419-9
• Sölle, Dorothee (1978) Death by Bread Alone: Texts and Reflections on Religious Experience, Philadelphia, Fortress Press, ISBN 0-8006-0514-4
• Sölle, Dorothee (1981) Choosing Life, Philadelphia, Fortress Press ISBN 0-8006-0667-1
• Sölle, Dorothee (1983 ) Of war and Love, Maryknoll, N.Y., Orbis Books, ISBN 0-88344-350-3
• Sölle, Dorothee (1983) The Arms Race Kills Even Without War, Philadelphia, Fortress Press, ISBN 0-8006-1701-0
• Sölle, Dorothee (1984) The Strength of the Weak: Toward a Christian Feminist Identity, Philadelphia, Westminster Press, ISBN 0-664-24623-0
• Sölle, Dorothee and Cloyes, Shirley A. (1984) To Work and to Love: A Theology of Creation, Philadelphia, Fortress Press ISBN 0-8006-1782-7
• Beyers Naudé, C.F. and Sölle, Dorothee (1986) Hope for Faith: A Conversation Geneva, WCC Publications ISBN 2-8254-0860-3
• Sölle, Dorothee (1990) The Window of Vulnerability: A Political Spirituality, Minneapolis, Fortress Press, ISBN 0-8006-2432-7
• Sölle, Dorothee (1990) Thinking About God: An Introduction to Theology, London, SCM Press ISBN 0-334-02476-5
• Sölle, Dorothee (1993) On Earth as in Heaven: A Liberation Spirituality of Sharing, Louisville, Ky., Westminster/John Knox Press, ISBN 0-664-25494-2
• Sölle, Dorothee (1993) Stations of the Cross: A Latin American Pilgrimage, Minneapolis, Fortress Press ISBN 0-8006-2688-5
• Sölle, Dorothee (1995) Theology for Skeptics: Reflections on God, Minneapolis, Fortress Press, ISBN 0-8006-2788-1
• Sölle, Dorothee (1999) Against the Wind: Memoir of a Radical Christian, Minneapolis, Fortress Press, ISBN 0-8006-3079-3
• Sölle, Dorothee (2001) The Silent Cry: Mysticism and Resistance, Minneapolis, Fortress Press, ISBN 0-8006-3266-4
• Sölle, Dorothee (2007) The Mystery of Death Transl. Nancy Lukens-Rumscheidt and Martin Lukens-Rumscheidt. Minneapolis, Fortress Press.

For publications in German language see https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothee_S%C3%B6lle#Literatur

Publications about Dorothee Sölle’s life and work

• Dorothee Soelle: Life and Work by Andrew Francis
  
  An introduction to Dorothee Soelle, an internationally recognised theologian and political activist, whose political and theological ideals were grounded in the lived experience of following after Jesus. The author introduces Dorothee Soelle and her many books in the context of her life in Germany after the Second World War, which inspired her towards her lifelong international political activism, and her global conscience for the task of spiritual and political liberation.
  
  ‘Reading this book is like being propelled into a room to meet someone, and finding that you just don’t want to leave. I was absolutely drawn in by this account of an aweinspiring person, her life and her writings. Francis’ candid and personal style is just right for a book about Soelle.’ – Dr. Susan Durber, Theology Co-ordinator, Christian Aid UK
  
  Link to purchase from UK publisher :: Link to purchase from Amazon USA

 

References