In his first academic publication, Falk Wagner examines Dorothee Sölle's theses on the death of God. In doing so, Wagner focuses primarily on a critical analysis of Sölle's distinction between historical and speculative Good Friday. In Hegel's speculative theology, the death of God represents an immanent moment of the absolute Spirit and thus introduces a post-transcendent understanding of Christianity. For the transition from historical to speculative Good Friday to be completed—that is, for human freedom to become a reality—the almighty God of substance must die and not merely, as in Sölle's view, be 'deposed'. The shared starting point of a Hegelian version of 'God is dead' theology also determines their socio-ethical and political implications. Sölle observes that there is a distinction between political theology and theologically grounded politics. She understands political theology as 'theological hermeneutics', as a framework for understanding the political implementation of Christian truth and practice. At this point, parallels emerge with Falk Wagner's cultural-Protestant understanding of the state and ethics. In his view, political theology is defined by its form, not its content: either current events are reflected upon within the framework of traditional concepts, or an attempt is made to explore the religiously shaped world using renewed concepts. Understood in this way, theology is always political, without being activist. Another point of agreement is their positive assessment of liberation theology, which moves beyond a purely political interpretation of theology in the sense of a theologia viatorum or praxis pietatis by offering a theological reflection on political and economic oppression. Neither Wagner nor Sölle place their primary focus on an existential or liberal understanding of the subject, but instead employ methods critical of ideology to develop their political understanding of a 'theology for all' in precarious social situations.