The Bible and Its Didactics - Gender Studies / Masculinity Studies

My ongoing research and publication activities have been and continue to be supported by the following medium- and long-term research initiatives and externally funded projects, as well as my Old Testament dissertation:

1. DFG project “From the Incarnation of the Logos to the Incorruptibility of His Body: The Interpretation of John in the Aphthartodoketic Controversy and Its Prehistory” (WE 4122/4-1)

The three-year DFG project concluded in 2025 with the international conference “His flesh did not see corruption (Acts 2:31). Patristic conceptions of Jesus’ body and their foundations in the New Testament” in Siegen. The project and the conference were led by Prof. Dr. Hans-Ulrich Weidemann (University of Siegen) in collaboration with Dr. Ute Possekel (Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, MA). A collection of essays and a monograph are currently in preparation. 

2. Sub-program: Gender Studies/Masculinity Studies 

In 2016, Prof. Dr. Hans-Ulrich Weidemann secured funding for a sub-denomination titled “Gender Studies/Masculinity Studies” as part of the state program “Funding for Denominations in Gender Research” administered by the Ministry of Innovation, Science, and Research of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. The Siegen professorship is linked to several international projects. Notable among these is the international and interdisciplinary project, published in multiple languages, “The Bible and Women. An Encyclopedia of Exegesis and Cultural History” (https://www.bibleandwomen.org/) and the “Handbook of Theological Gender Studies” (HThG), edited by Prof. Dr. Marianne Heimbach-Steins and Prof. Dr. Judith Könemann at the University of Münster and scheduled for publication by Springer in 2027 (https://www.uni-muenster.de/FB2/tff/forschen/forschungsprojekte.html). The holder of the Siegen professorship is also a member of the “core team” of the Center for Critical, Interdisciplinary, and Interreligious Masculinity Studies (AKIIM) at the Center for Islamic Theology at the University of Münster (seehttps://www.uni-muenster.de/ZIT/Religionspaedagogik/AKIIM/index.html) and is a member of the Academic Advisory Board for Gender Studies at the University of Siegen (Gestu_S). Together with Prof. Dr. Mathias Winkler (Regensburg), Hans-Ulrich Weidemann is also editing the volume “Masculinity” for the TOBITH series (Topoi Biblischer Theologie / Topics of Biblical Theology), published by Mohr Siebeck.

3. Commentary on the so-called Pastoral Epistles (1 Tim, 2 Tim, Titus)

Prof. Dr. Hans-Ulrich Weidemann is preparing a commentary on the so-called Pastoral Epistles for the series Ökumenischer Taschenbuchkommentar (ÖTK). To foster collaboration with other colleagues working on the Pastoral Epistles at various stages of their careers, he founded the “Colloquium Pastorale” together with Prof. Dr. Stefan Krauter (Zurich), which has been held annually since 2021. 

4. The Commentary on the St. John Passion in the Early Church (NTP)

For the international project on the history of reception, Novum Testamentum Patristicum (NTP)—of which he has been a member of the editorial board for several years—Prof. Dr. Hans-Ulrich Weidemann, in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Andreas Hoffmann (Augustine) and PD Dr. Nestor Kavvadas (Eastern authors), compiled the volume providing a commentary on the St. John Passion (John 18–19) in the Early Church. The focus was not only on the main messages of the text but also on the interpretive techniques and exegetical methods of the ancient authors. The volume was published in late 2024 (https://de.vr-elibrary.de/doi/book/10.13109/9783666500800); subsequent volumes are in the planning stages.

5. Habilitation Project “Rhetoric of War and the Faith in Election: An Exegetical Study of Deut. 7”

Deut. 7, part of the parenetic framework discourses of the Book of Deuteronomy, is known above all for two contrasting statements: on the one hand, a relentless rhetoric of war that commands the merciless extermination of all foreign peoples in the land (vv. 1–5,16–26); on the other hand, a moving assurance that Israel is loved by God and chosen as a holy people (vv. 6–15). But how are these two thematic complexes related? Can one of them be identified as the actual theme of Deut. 7, or do they stand side by side without any connection? What rhetorical function does the juxtaposition or coexistence of war rhetoric and the belief in election serve? How are these statements interconnected within the Book of Deuteronomy, and what connections exist to legal texts from the Book of Exodus as well as to war texts from the Book of Joshua? In what historical context was Deut. 7 composed, what was the text’s original intended effect, and how has it been expanded over the centuries? Dr. Tobias Schmitz’s habilitation project (advisor: Prof. Dr. Christian Frevel, Bochum) addresses these and other questions. It investigates, on the one hand, the functioning of Deut. 7 as a literary and rhetorical unit and, on the other hand, the text’s substantive contributions to the rhetoric of war and the doctrine of election in the Old Testament, against the backdrop of its origins in the respective historical contexts and as part of the so-called Hexateuch (the books of Genesis through Joshua). The study thus explicitly adopts both a synchronic and a diachronic approach.

Scientific Communication 

Scientific communication within society and the church is a key priority for the staff at the Siegen Chair. This includes regular lecturing and continuing education activities in parish settings and adult education. A current example of applying exegetical insights to pastoral ministry is the interpretation of the miracle stories in the Gospel of John for Ecumenical Bible Week 2025. Prof. Dr. Hans-Ulrich Weidemann is also a member of the editorial board of “Bibel und Kirche,” the journal of the Catholic Bible Society (Stuttgart).