Modern Theological German: A Reader and Dictionary [Paperback]

Helmut W. Ziefle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1997

Contains selections from the German Bible and theologians such as Luther, Barth, Thielicke, and Riesner. The dictionary defines over 20,000 terms.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, German

About the Author

Helmut W. Ziefle (Ph.D., University of Illinois) is professor of German at Wheaton College, where he has taught since 1967. He has written several books, most of which are in German, his native language.

Product Details

• Paperback: 664 pages
• Publisher: Baker Academic; Revised edition (August 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801021448
• ISBN-13: 978-0801021442
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #169,384 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #49 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > German

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Useful, but get a grammar too, September 8, 2000

By 

David Bennett (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Modern Theological German: A Reader and Dictionary (Paperback)

I need theological German for my future religious education, and I thought I would get a good start by buying this book. Included in the book is a very useful reader that starts off with simple Biblical texts and works up to more difficult German writers like Karl Barth. To the left of each page of German there are English helps. However, I needed more help than that could give me, so I had to search the web for a good German grammar. Also there are questions at the end of each section to help the reader learn the finer points of the translation. This is very helpful.

The second part is a complete dictionary of common German words that appear in Theological writings. There is also a small table of German irregular verbs at the end.

My suggestion is this. This will be helpful to those who know some basic German already, or those who have access to a basic German grammar (Ziefle suggests some good grammars). I still recommend the book though. I have learned quite a bit already. A concentrated book like this will also save you the trouble of learning German in a non-Theological framework, and then finding out you learned all the wrong vocabulary.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful, but in need of revision, June 16, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Modern Theological German: A Reader and Dictionary (Paperback)

Helmut Ziefle's Modern Theological German consists of two parts,
readings, first from the Bible, then from theologians, and of
a dictionary of specialized terms.

The Biblical passages are of value for anyone studying theology. However, I wish Professor Ziefle had included writings from Tillich (whose German is usually straightforward), Bultmann, and Rahner. Professor Ziefle listed the theologians chronologically, but it would have helped students if he had indicated which passages were easiest to read. The final passage by Riesner is easier than the passage by Stuhlmacher and Class. Although the Bonhoeffer passage is useful for understanding Bonhoeffer's theology, other selections from Bonhoeffer would have been easier for beginning students to read.

Although it cannot be used as a general reference because many basic words are omitted ("sein" is defined only as a possessive adjective, and not as the verb "to be"), Ziefle's selection of vocabulary words is fascinating, and he puts them in their biblical context, which might make them easier to memorize.

"Modern Theological German" cannot be used as a reader unless a student has some background in German. Although Ziefle recommends textbooks, he does not mention the three prominent German for Reading textbooks (all reviewed on Amazon): April Wilson's "German Quickly;" "Reading German" by Coles and Dodd; or Jannach and Korb's "German for Reading Knowledge". Moreover, he recommends the Cassell's dictionary, even though it has not been updated since 1979, and the Harper Collins and Oxford Duden
dictionaries are far superior.

Despite my reservations, I consider "Modern Theological German" to be an important reference for anyone wishing to use theological German. It is also quite reasonably priced.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Will not teach you theological German but readings and dictionary are somewhat useful, October 1, 2007

By 

Andrew D. Rowell (Durham, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Modern Theological German: A Reader and Dictionary (Paperback)

The book jacket of this book is patently untrue. It says, "This work provides a useful introduction for seminary and graduate students who desire a reading knowledge of the German theological vocabulary." On the contrary, this book provides theological readings for people who already know German and provides a dictionary of twenty thousand theological terms. If you need to learn theological German, get German Quickly: A Grammar for Reading German. I expand on what I have just said below.

Pay attention to the subtitle of this book. It is indeed "a Reader and Dictionary." It provides selections from German theologians and gives you some hints on how to translate them. It does not provide an answer key so you will not know if you have done them correctly. There are multiple choice questions after each reading which allow you to check your grammatical accuracy on a few points. These questions however will be useless if you don't have a basis in German grammer. Furthermore, the multiple choice questions are of limited use because for your exams and work, you will have translation to do. Multiple choice would be far too easy - someone else has already looked up all the vocabulary words for you! I enjoyed translating Barth and Bonhoeffer but I was unfamiliar with most of the other writers.

The dictionary is on the one hand too large and on the other hand incomplete. It includes 20,000 theological words, far too many to memorize. But it does not include many normal nontheological words so you will need another dictionary in addition to this one (such as Oxford-Duden German Dictionary: German-English / English-German or Collins German Unabridged Dictionary, 7th Edition). The dictionary might of use to you in translating some particularly odd theological terms. I had it on hand for my theological German competency exam.

If you want to learn to read theological German to pass a competency exam, you will need a book that teaches you the basics of reading. The best in my opinion is German Quickly: A Grammar for Reading German. There are 25 reviews posted on Amazon about it including mine. The author, April Wilson, will email you 10 theological reading passages with the full correct translations if you buy her book. Her website is http://german.aprilwilson.com/ and her email address is [e-mail]

Finally, do not be deceived by the fact that the book was apprarently revised in 1997. It is the same book as was originally published in 1986 but just combined with the 1982 dictionary. (I am almost sure this is correct but I am happy to be corrected by another reviewer if I am wrong about this).

If you already have a grasp of German grammer, Modern Theological German will be of some use to you. Get it at the library.