Ruben Zimmermann (born May 10, 1968) is a German Theologian, New Testament Scholar and Ethicist, currently professor at the University of Mainz, Germany.
Biography and education Zimmermann received his PhD at Heidelberg University in 1999, and his Habilitation at LMU Munich in 2003. From 2005 to 2009, he was Professor for Biblical Studies at Bielefeld University; since then he is Professor at the Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz with research fields in New Testament Studies, Ethics and Hermeneutics.
He is Co-leader of the Mainz Research Center for Ethics in Antiquity and Christianity (e/ac), and he has been elected as one of 15 advanced career scholars in the Templeton "Enhancing Life Project".
Zimmermann is member of the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation and was awarded with the Feodor-Lynen-Fellowship and with fundings as visiting scholar in Pretoria (University of Pretoria, 2008), Nijmegen (Radboud University, 2010), Melbourne (Australian Catholic University, 2016), New Haven (Yale University, Divinity School, 2024).
Work – Research fields His areas of research are in ethics (ethical theory, ethics of the Bible, applied ethics, e.g. bioethics and climate/earth ethics, see his activities on climate ethicsClimate change ethics|climate ethics ) the Gospel of John, the parables of Jesus, and miracle stories. Challenging scholarly consensus Zimmermann identifies also parables in the Gospel of John, such as the parable of the good shepherd (John 10:1-5) or the dying grain (John 12:24). In the Stone-Chaple-Podcast he talks about his approach on the parables of Jesus. See Stone-Chaple-Podcast Episode 190 and 191
Books
As author
English translation: Logic of Love: Discovering Paul's "implicit Ethics" Through 1 Corinthians, Lexington/Fortress Academic, 2018, see the review
Zimmermann, Ruben (2023) Parabeln in der Bibel. Die Sinnwelten der Gleichnisse Jesu entdecken. Penguin, Random House, Gütersloher Verlagshaus, Gütersloh 2023, ISBN 978-3-579-08542-5. Zimmermann, Ruben (2025), Breaking New Ground in John. Imagery – Parables – Characters – Christology – Ethics, ed. by Dieter T. Roth, WUNT 531, Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, ISBN. Zimmermann, Ruben (2025), Warum weniger gut sein kann. Eine Ethik des Verzichts, Was bedeutet das alles? RUB Nr. 14661, Stuttgart: Reclam 2025, 4th ed. 2025. Zimmermann, Ruben (2025), Wäre Jesus Klimaaktivist? Biblische Inspirationen für eine zeitgemäße Schöpfungsethik, Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 2025, 2nd ed. 2025. Zimmermann, Ruben, Susanne Luther, and Dieter T. Roth, Die Kunst der Auslegung. Ein kompetenzorientiertes Methodenbuch für die hermeneutische Exegese des Neuen Testaments, Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2026.
As editor
Faszination der Wunder Jesu und der Apostel. Die Debatte um die frühchristlichen Wundererzählungen geht weiter (BThS 184), Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 2020. siehe Verlagsseite Zimmermann, Ruben, and Dogara I. Manomi (eds. 2022), “Ready for Every Good Work” (Titus 3:1): Implicit Ethics in the Letter to Titus, Contexts and Norms of New Testament Ethics Volume XIII, WUNT 484, Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck . Zimmermann, Ruben et al. (eds., 2024), Ethik der Zeit - Zeiten der Ethik. Ethische Temporalität in Antike und Christentum. WUNT 510, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2024, ISBN 978-3-16-160721-9, see Ruben Zimmermann: Knappe Zeit zum Handeln. Das μικρὸν χρόνον-Motiv im Johannesevangelium in schöpfungsethischer Perspektive, pages 229–246. Shoukry, Zacharias, Mirjam Jekel, and Ruben Zimmermann (eds., 2025), Creation Concepts and Creation Care in Early Judaism, Early Christianity, and Beyond. Contexts and Norms of New Testament Ethics Vol. XVII, WUNT 537, Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck. Strong, Justin D. and Ruben Zimmermann (eds., 2025), The Animal in the New Testament. Perspectives from Animal Studies and Ancient Discourse, LNTS 701, London: Bloomsbury/T&T Clark.
Notes
References
External links Full chronological list of publications Mainz Research Center for Ethics in Antiquity and Christianity Prof. Dr. Ruben Zimmermann | Evangelisch-Theologische Fakultät YouTube (introductory paper to the longevity conference Mainz, 20 July 2016)