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German Lutheran preacher and theologian; a professor at Heidelberg, Tubingen and, from 1954, Hamburg. His powerful preaching was temporarily silenced by the Nazis from 1940, but his emphasis on the preached word as a necessary accompaniment to theological enquiry was influential in postwar Germany. Concerned to contextualize the message of the gospel in the modern world, he attempted to steer a course between accommodation with secularism, and traditionalist caution which would ‘repeat Luther's sayings about government unaltered in a democratic age instead of adjusting them to the new situation’. He responded to modern nihilism and secular determinism by emphasizing the sovereignty of God in Christ in history, and highlighting the dual themes of judgement and grace. Much of his study centred on evolving a practical theological approach to the ethical dilemmas of the modern world; by rooting his discussion in orthodox dogma he appealed, if controversially, to evangelicals, whilst understanding and appealing to liberals. His published works, many translated into English, include collections of sermons and systematic theological series, notably Theological Ethics (1958–64, trans. 1966), and his work of dogmatics, The Evangelical Faith (1968 on, trans. 1974–7). 1984 : Helmut Thielicke . In A Handbook of Christian Theologians , . Nashville , Tn . 1976 : Thielicke: Preacher ... log in or subscribe to read full text