Gott »freiphantasieren«. Ästhetische Impulse für biographische Bestattungspredigten

In this article, the author deals with the question of how a biography can be included in funeral sermons in a theologically appropriate manner. He uses the autobiographies of Wolfgang Koeppen, Peter Handke and Ingmar Bergman as examples to illustrate this. These are men who see the story of their life as a fragment, as a »secret« (W. Koeppen). Their aesthetic profile is an invitation to see a biography in funeral sermons as an open investigation into a person's life. In describing the search for the meaning of life, Peter Handke speaks of »free fantasizing«. The author uses an example to demonstrate this method and to relate it theologically to God. It is a method which requires a willingness and a competence to consider biographies in conversations with the bereaved families.