Kaja Wieczorek

Geb. 1987 Heidelberg

1994-1998   Brüder-Grimm-Grundschule in Mannheim

1998-2007   Johann-Sebastian-Bach-Gymnasium in Mannheim

2007-2015    Studium der Ev. Theologie (kirchliches Examen) in Heidelberg, Buenos Aires und Berlin

2009-2012 wissenschaftliche Hilfskraft am Lehrstuhl von Prof. Dr. Peter Lampe im Seminar für Neues Testament an der Ruprecht- Karls-Universität Heidelberg, 2010-2011 Auslandsstudium am ISEDET (Instituto Superior Evangélico de Estudios Teológicos) in Buenos Aires, 2013-2015 wissenschaftliche Hilfskraft am Lehrstuhl von Prof. Dr. Bernd U. Schipper im Seminar für Altes Testament an der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

2015   Erstes Theologisches Examen (badische Landeskirche)

seit 2015/2016   Doktorandin am Lehrstuhl von Prof. Dr. Peter Lampe im Seminar für Neues Testament an der Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; seit 2016 Ekiba-Promotionsstipendium der badischen Landeskirche

2016   Lehrauftrag für das fächerübergreifende Studieneingangsprojekt (SEP) zur Einführung in die Ev. Theologie als Wissenschaft an der Theologischen Fakultät der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

seit 2018   Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin am Institut für Neues/Altes Testament an der Universität Hamburg

Mitgliedschaften in Fachgesellschaften:

Society of Biblical Literature (SBL); 

European Society of Women in Theological Research (ESWTR)

Project description

Kaja Wieczorek

 “Kingdom of God” and the shaping of the world: Luke between utopia and criticism of ideology

The dream of a better world is one of the most existential desires of humankind. Utopias of an ideal state, universal freedom and justice have always been a part of societal development. The current challenges of the refugee influx, the fear of terror and suicide attacks, and the expansion of fundamentalist religious movements raise the question: how can we still believe in a new vision of society when reality has made us sceptical of utopias in general?

Luke is aware of such disillusionment. He also knows the danger of blinding ideologies that deify profane structures and secular authorities. In this work, I will look behind the scenes of Luke 1-2. Beneath the harmless façade of the Christmas story there is a greater awareness of reality than the contemporary reader can see. Luke imitates a particular mode of expression that was used in bucolic texts about the Roman ideology of the “Golden Age,” serving as an instrument of propaganda for the Roman Imperator. In a form-critical analysis, I will show that a central motif in these texts was to honour the imperator as the saviour of the world and to describe his reign as an idyll of nature, with agricultural fertility bringing economic welfare and universal freedom. Luke 1-2 not only puts Jesus in the imperator’s place, but also lacks the motif of agricultural fertility. I propose that, rather than promising a carefree country life, Luke-Acts confronts the reader with heavy socio-economic critique, which should be interpreted as a radical rejection of the Roman ideology of the Golden Age. Although Luke maintains a utopia of a better world, he never promises a paradise on earth and questions the Roman notion of salvation. With this interpretation, I argue against the traditional scholarly opinion that Luke is an apologetic writer who describes Christians as harmless and loyal in matters of the Roman state. I suggest a new reading that views Luke as a critical mind who seeks to change economic and social structures from within.