Rudolf bultmanns existentialist interpretation of the new testament. The same year his lecture new testament and mythology. Bultmanns famous essay, new testament and mythology, is contained here in which the. Jesus and the word return to religiononline jesus and the word by rudolf bultmann rudolf bultmann was an outstanding scholar in the field of new testament study. Bultmann contended that only faith in the kerygma, or proclamation, of the new testament was necessary for christian faith, not any particular facts regarding the historical jesus. Thus bultmann insists on the christevent as a reality indispensable for that genuine freedom from the world which the philosopher postulates. Newtonsmith,the rationality of science, routledge and kegan paul, london, 1981.
Bultmann s new testament and mythology rudolf bultmann the german theologian rudolf bultmann argues in his 1941 new testament and mythology that it is no longer plausible to demand that christians accept the mythical world picture of the new testament. Rudolf bultmann on myth, history, and the resurrection digital. Regarding this, he insists that the new testament proclaimed a message more radical than any modern existentialism. He was born in germany in 1884 and studied at tubingen, berlin and marburg. Here he recognizes that a residue of mythology appears to be necessary in restating the gospel. Rudolf bultmann project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Science and philosophy, for bultmann, have demonstrated the impossibility of accepting myth as a primitive but nevertheless objectively truthful account of the world.
New testament and mythology and other basic writings. Five critics give there rejoinders along with bultmanns response. He is well known for his demythologizing of the new testament, and was influenced by the existentialism of martin heidegger. A reprinting of bultmanns 1941 essay, the new testament and mythology, including five responses to it and two responses by bultmann to his critics essays, kerygma and myth is a gold mine of challenging ideas and most excellent quotations on the merits and demerits of biblical christianity. But it is not only science that challenges the mythology of the new testament. Rudolf bultmann who died on july 30, 1976 at the advanced age of 91was the last of the theological giants who grew up in the universities of the kaisers germany he began to study theology in 1903 at 19, and the last of the prophets who struggled to hear the word of the christians lord after what had happened in 1914. During the nazi domination, he took an active part in the strong opposition which the churches built up.
He is not, says bultmann, as the new testament regards him, the victim ofa strange dichotomy. Bultmann relied on demythologization, an approach interpreting the mythological elements in the new testament existentially. The problem of demythologizing the new testament message called on interpreters to replace traditional supernaturalism demythologize with the temporal and existential categories of bultmann s colleague, martin heidegger, rejecting doctrines such as the preexistence of christ. Before the new testament kerygma can be demythologized, it is first necessary to define myth. In analyzing bultmann s thinking as a reaction to the enlightenment and its ideal of science and power, i. He studied theology for three semesters in tubingen, two in berlin, two more in marburg. Bultmanns existentialist theology was founded on the cross of christ. Bultmann first proposed the concept of demythologizing the new testament in a 1941 lecture, published as the essay new testament and mythology johnson 1991, 39. Read the fulltext online edition of new testament and mythology and other basic writings 1984. For bultmann the worldpicture of the new testament is fundamen tally a. The classical inheritance was an antecedent for the theological curric ulum upon which bultmann entered after finishindas abiturg exami nation in 1903. Theology of the new testament, like other works of bultmann, calls for demythologizing the supernaturalism of the new testament and reinterpreting it existentially according to the kerygma that was timeless to christian faith. Faith is the decision to choose the new life in christ.
Jesus christ and mythology, a lecture series delivered across north america in. For an account of the realist position in the philosophy of science cf. The new testament and mythology and other basic writings. Home browse books book details, new testament and mythology and other basic. Includes bibliographies and index new testament and mythology theology as science the problem of hermeneutics on the problem of demythologizing science and existence is exegesis without presuppositions possible. His history of the synoptic tradition, theology of the new testament, and his commentaries on the gospel of john and the johannine epistles hermeneia are lasting testimonies to his achievement. Bruce, myth and the new testament, tsf bulletin 44 spring 1966. Next to new testament and mythology itself, none of bultmann s writings is more important for clarifying what he does and does not mean by myth and demythologizing or for establishing existential interpretation as the appropriate hermeneutical principal for christian theology. Bultmann should be approached slowly without preconceptions and this is a great book to start that journey. Bruce rylands professor of biblical criticism and exegesis in the university of manchester p. New testament and myth, which he delivered in 1941 at alpirsbach to the gesellschaft. New testament and mythology and other basic writings by.
Bultmann is one of the handful of great theologians of the century. Modern man has a different way of understanding himself. A prominent critic of liberal theology, bultmann instead argued for an existentialist. The mythological element in the message of the new. Rudolf bultmann, new testament and mythology, ker ygma and myth a theological debate english trans.
New testament mythology and other basic writings fortress press. This new life is described by bultmann in terms of the philosophy of existentialism. Rudolf karl bultmann 1884 1976 was a german lutheran theologian. Bultmann on the new testament and mythology springerlink. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Bultmann situates the theology of the new testament in the hellenistic thought. New testament mythology and other basic writings rudolf. Bhaskar,a realist theory of science harvester press, sussex, 1978 and w. He saw this event not as a primarily historical event, but rather as an existential event. New testament and mythology and other basic writings 9780800624422 by rudolf bultmann. Rudolf bultmann has claimed that an outstanding task of the contemporary christian theologian is to demythologize the new. The essay provoked a heated controversy in germany, but the project of demythologization was not generally recognized in the rest of the world until the 1948 publication of kerygma. Two essays on hermeneutics, the problem of hermeneutics and is exegesis without presuppositions possible. A reprinting of bultmann s 1941 essay, the new testament and mythology, including five responses to it and two responses by bultmann to his critics essays, kerygma and myth is a gold mine of challenging ideas and most excellent quotations on the merits and demerits of biblical christianity.
Bultmann s theology of the new testament changed the course of new testament interpretation and has continued to influence the field until today. Entire book bultmanns famous essay, new testament and mythology, is contained here in which the whole controversy over demythologizing is brought out in miniature. More than seventy years after rudolf bultmann delivered his famous lecture on the topic of new testament and mythology in 1941initially on april 21 in frankfurt am main and again on june 4 in alpirsbachthe program of demythologizing is still widely misunderstood, perhaps more so now than ever. It is difficult to overestimate the singularity of rudolf bultmann. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. An excellent example of the direction of bultmann s thought in this new departure would be his interpretation of the concept of the kingdom of god. As ambitious in scope as it is consistent in method, bultmann s volume asks and provides answers to the big questions. A prominent critic of liberal theology, bultmann instead argued for an existentialist interpretation of the new testament. Bultmann s aim is certainly not to make christianity palatable to modern man or to reduce it to as much as jones will swallow. Bultmann came to see that in the new testament gospel, god and man are not partners in the building of a christian culture. The greek tradition searched for anarche, a beginning point, a principle by which all else became intelligible, a principle which was ultimately god.
Rudolf bultmann, new testament and mythology and other basic writings, schubert m. The new testament and mythology and other basic writings by. He was one of the major figures of early20thcentury biblical studies. Rudolf bultmann, new testament and mythology, kerygma and myth, ed. In short, bultmann s form criticism forced him to give up the idea that the new testament was a historical story, and all of his work thereafter appears to have been an effort to salvage a reason to believe out of the ruins. Harre, the principles of scientific thinking, macmillan, london, 1970. Rudolf bultmann, leading 20thcentury new testament scholar known for his program to demythologize the new testamenti.
Rudolf bultmann 18841976 was perhaps the most influential new testament scholar of the twentieth century. Rudolf bultmann became the most influential new testament critic of his generation, perhaps of the twentieth century. Bultmanns legacy in the study of the new testament as well as his hermeneutical contributions to the interpretation of scripture have been studied and debated at great length, see, for example, many of the essays in beyond bultmann. Bill needed to read bultmann as one of the leading 20th century scholars in new testament studies. Theology of the new testament by rudolf karl bultmann. Erroneous views have gradually accreted around bultmanns original hermeneutic, so that now what is. It was published by fortress press and has a total of 180 pages in the book. Selfsufficiency must be seen as ingratitude to be guilty. Educated at the universities of tubingen, berlin, and marburg, bultmann taught at the universities of breslau and giessen and.
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