Jürgen Moltmann, who reconciled religion with suffering, has died at the age of 98

Jürgen Moltmann, who reconciled religion with suffering, has died at the age of 98

Dr. Moltmann had a variety of influences, including the Swiss theologian Karl Barth and the Marxist philosopher and avowed atheist Ernst Bloch, whose three-volume work “The Principle of Hope” (1938-47) inspired his first education.

He married Elisabeth Wendel, a fellow student who also became an eminent theologian, in 1952, and the two remained together until her death in 2016. Along with his daughter Anne-Ruth, he leaves three more daughters, Susanne Moltmann-von Braunmühl. , Esther Moltmann and Friederike Moltmann; five grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.

Dr. Moltmann has written more than 40 books, including a series of six on systematic theology, another branch of study that attempts to create a coherent and comprehensive set of doctrines that define the Christian faith.

Yet, throughout his career, he has returned to the point made in his early books: God chooses not to be a judge of humanity, but to be a fellow sufferer, and one day he will put an end to suffering for all, not just for a select few.

“I am convinced that God is with those who suffer violence and injustice and is on their side,” he said in a 2012 interview with British magazine Third Way. “He’s not the general manager of the theater, he’s in the show.”