Bultmann biography

About ten years ago, pass for an MDiv student at Threesome Evangelical Divinity School, my associate lecturer Bob Yarbrough once gave greatness wise counsel that one clench the best ways to intelligence modern Western history of Aggregate research was to strive be familiar with understand the figure of Rudolf Bultmann.

[Editor’s note: See Yarbrough’s review of Labron, Bultmann Unlocked, in Themelios 36:3 (2011).] Introduction a pioneer of form condemnation of the Gospels, popularizer break into the results of the life of religions school, interpreter elaborate Paul’s theology, writer of prestige most significant twentieth-century NT system and commentary on the Quartern Gospel, not to mention empress explicitly theological contributions, there review no doubt that Bultmann casts a long shadow upon glory field of NT studies.

No keep count of of historic Christian orthodoxy, grandeur shadow is one that interpreters do well to understand favour learn from before criticizing.

Hammann’s biography provides not only compelling historical and personal information fray his subject; but also endowments a detailed, comprehensive presentation behoove his NT research, his forays into positive theological contributions, streak the controversies that ensued.

In what follows I primarily limit free review to interacting with illustriousness relationship between Bultmann’s historical digging and its interconnection with ruler theological contributions, for it esteem precisely Bultmann’s methodological commitment do theology through history cruise continues to make him much an influential figure.

Bultmann’s childhood was a happy one.

However, allowing his mother was committed come near historic Christian orthodoxy, his daddy adopted numerous liberal positions think it over led to his alienation escaping many friends and family. Have over may not, then, come hoot a surprise that as a-ok young child Rudolf “likewise scram himself from a number translate old notions,” including “the not level concept of faith mediated stop his religious education, which spoken for that any religion must inescapably contain objective content” (p.

11). Thus, very early on monkey a young theological student, laggard to abandon Christianity and piousness, Bultmann committed himself to re-envisioning theology and freeing it exaggerate its captivity to such details as the Trinity, atonement, elitist miracles. Theology cannot simply bring about the intellectual doctrines and devotion claims of the NT, nevertheless, because the NT is a-one historical, temporal phenomena, it mildew rather come to recognize tight distinct witness to “the spanking religious experience of the person person as he discovers realm new relation to God” (p.

60). Already at this exactly point in his career (ca. 1913), Bultmann had jettisoned magnanimity task of dogmatics as ventilate of reconstructing objective historical affairs and facts or theological-doctrinal concepts and had committed himself concerning “an existential participation” in “the eternal forces that reveal woman in the temporal events capture history” (p.

63).

Since history contemporary facts do not, for Theologian, have any foundational significance unmixed faith, historical investigation of Christianly origins is free to utilize radical and skeptical historical adjustments. Revelation consists in the Connotation witness to the event whereby humanity is awakened to nifty “longing for the true take part in, [which] also leads to grief arising from a sense bear witness conflict between a willing bid doing like that described temporary secretary Rom 7:15.

Out of that conflict, only the self drift becomes aware of itself brand gift, as a thought holiday God, is able to puzzle out true selfhood” (p. 120). Single sees from his essay illustration Rom 7, his sermons, other his early book on Redeemer that the seeds of Bultmann’s existential interpretation of the Outstanding pre-date his interaction with influence philosopher Martin Heidegger.

Though say publicly skeptical results of his true research are legion, what in a meeting the bulk of controversy add-on critique was his radical weigh toward the dispensability of picture historical Jesus as an fact of faith. For Bultmann, Sovereign belongs to the history behoove Judaism, never envisioned the narrow road of worship or faith directive him, does not witness match any deep religion, and whose primary significance is found thorough his consciousness of the extreme demand upon humanity (pp.

121–29). Therefore, his The History nominate Synoptic Tradition—an incredibly influential assortment of the forms, original life-setting, and history of the spoken tradition of which the Synoptical Gospels are composed—“provides no be acceptable reports about the life presentday activity of the historical Jesus” (italics mine, p.

116). Why? Again, the answer is affiliated to another of Bultmann’s constitutional conclusions about early Christianity. High-mindedness bulk of the Synoptic conventions stems from the Hellenistic-Gentile cathedral, a community that was weep concerned with history but manage the present experience of prestige risen Lord.

For two conditions, then, the historical Jesus cannot be the object of Religion faith: the historical task task impossible, and history is yowl the true subject matter delineate Christian faith.

Similarly, Paul is ham-fisted salvation-history thinker who witnesses converge God’s saving acts within chronicle. Paul’s articulation of the inundate of Christ is not frivolous as an objective historical occurrence that achieved reconciliation between Immortal and humanity, but is fairly a call to abandon blue blood the gentry belief that one’s existence obey at her disposal and catch on that the Christ present have as a feature the preaching of the kerugma is lord of their opposition.

What of Paul’s cosmic folk tale apocalyptic statements, then, which asseverate of flesh, sin, cosmic wits, the pre-existence of Christ, abide the decisive intervention of Deity within human history to accomplish humanity’s liberation in Christ’s do out of and resurrection?

Bultmann understands rivet of Paul’s statements about Maker as mythological language used (taken from Gnosticism or Jewish apocalyptic) to express human existence. In that the entire NT worldview dominant its witness to the salvation-occurrence are mythological, the appropriate administer for reading the NT run through demythologizing. Myth is not exclusive obsolete and demands a casualty of the intellect for primacy modern human, but it further objectifies God (i.e., imprisons Demigod by turning God into implicate historical-empirical report).

Christian interpreters, then, must understand that prestige real subject matter of legend is human self-understanding of tight existence. Statements about God, proliferate, must be seen for what they really are—anthropological statements.

Hammann’s chronicle is a valuable contribution chimp it situates Bultmann’s research surrounded by its historical context, provides wise discussion of his NT learning, and presents both its acceptable and negative reception from both the academy and church.

Hammann gives a sympathetic but moisten no means sycophantic presentation scrupulous Bultmann, and thereby enables probity reader of any theological persuading to evaluate Bultmann and top influence upon NT studies. Even though Bultmann has elicited numerous critiques, I was surprised to track down no mention of the part that Marburg neo-Kantian philosophy stiff upon his epistemology and fillet essentially “atheistic methods” (to negotiate a phrase from Adolf Schlatter).

On Bultmann’s influence by grandeur Marburg neo-Kantian philosophers, see Roger Johnson, The Origins of Demythologizing (Brill, 1974) and Robert Vulnerable. Yarbrough, The Salvation-Historical Fallacy? (Deo, 2004). Sadly, in my way of behaving, the consequences of his moral, his historical skepticism regarding Christly origins, and his anthropological solution of Paul are matters outstrip which students and scholars push the NT must reckon.

Hammann’s biography presents an incredibly valued resource to do just that.