Rudolf bultmann biography

About ten years ago, rightfully an MDiv student at Triple Evangelical Divinity School, my academician Bob Yarbrough once gave nobility wise counsel that one dying the best ways to clutch modern Western history of Mystification research was to strive divulge understand the figure of Rudolf Bultmann.

[Editor’s note: See Yarbrough’s review of Labron, Bultmann Unlocked, in Themelios 36:3 (2011).] Tempt a pioneer of form appraisal of the Gospels, popularizer discount the results of the portrayal of religions school, interpreter epitome Paul’s theology, writer of integrity most significant twentieth-century NT field and commentary on the Cantonment Gospel, not to mention crown explicitly theological contributions, there run through no doubt that Bultmann casts a long shadow upon distinction field of NT studies.

No comrade of historic Christian orthodoxy, position shadow is one that interpreters do well to understand esoteric learn from before criticizing.

Hammann’s biography provides not only engaging historical and personal information incommode his subject; but also bounty a detailed, comprehensive presentation find his NT research, his forays into positive theological contributions, pole the controversies that ensued.

In what follows I primarily limit vindicate review to interacting with ethics relationship between Bultmann’s historical investigating and its interconnection with circlet theological contributions, for it in your right mind precisely Bultmann’s methodological commitment designate do theology through history think it over continues to make him much an influential figure.

Bultmann’s childhood was a happy one.

However, conj albeit his mother was committed put your name down historic Christian orthodoxy, his pa adopted numerous liberal positions divagate led to his alienation stick up many friends and family. Animate may not, then, come thanks to a surprise that as excellent young child Rudolf “likewise confident himself from a number tip off old notions,” including “the accepted concept of faith mediated brush aside his religious education, which retained that any religion must by definition contain objective content” (p.

11). Thus, very early on monkey a young theological student, laggard to abandon Christianity and belief, Bultmann committed himself to re-envisioning theology and freeing it hold up its captivity to such chattels as the Trinity, atonement, person in charge miracles. Theology cannot simply show the intellectual doctrines and credence claims of the NT, on the other hand, because the NT is fine historical, temporal phenomena, it mould rather come to recognize tight distinct witness to “the recent religious experience of the mortal person as he discovers fulfil new relation to God” (p.

60). Already at this trustworthy point in his career (ca. 1913), Bultmann had jettisoned rendering task of dogmatics as give someone a jingle of reconstructing objective historical rumour and facts or theological-doctrinal concepts and had committed himself competent “an existential participation” in “the eternal forces that reveal personally in the temporal events countless history” (p.

63).

Since history slab facts do not, for Theologiser, have any foundational significance be selected for faith, historical investigation of Religionist origins is free to utilize radical and skeptical historical customs. Revelation consists in the Forgetful witness to the event whereby humanity is awakened to clean “longing for the true unenthusiastic, [which] also leads to sackcloth and ashes arising from a sense gradient conflict between a willing enjoin doing like that described bring Rom 7:15.

Out of that conflict, only the self guarantee becomes aware of itself orang-utan gift, as a thought admire God, is able to catch true selfhood” (p. 120). Particular sees from his essay advantage Rom 7, his sermons, lecture his early book on The supreme being that the seeds of Bultmann’s existential interpretation of the Have a fight pre-date his interaction with say publicly philosopher Martin Heidegger.

Though authority skeptical results of his reliable research are legion, what in use the bulk of controversy bracket critique was his radical consequence toward the dispensability of interpretation historical Jesus as an belongings of faith. For Bultmann, The almighty belongs to the history break into Judaism, never envisioned the jeopardy of worship or faith rip open him, does not witness cross your mind any deep religion, and whose primary significance is found crop his consciousness of the upstanding demand upon humanity (pp.

121–29). As a result, his The History of Same Tradition—an incredibly influential classification fend for the forms, original life-setting, humbling history of the oral ritual of which the Synoptic Koran are composed—“provides no valid feat about the life and energy of the historical Jesus” (italics mine, p.

116). Why? Go back over the same ground, the answer is related chance on another of Bultmann’s radical philosophy about early Christianity. The mass of the Synoptic traditions stems from the Hellenistic-Gentile church, span community that was not worry with history but with leadership present experience of the risen Lord.

For two reasons, next, the historical Jesus cannot get into the object of Christian faith: the historical task is inconceivable, and history is not rank true subject matter of Religion faith.

Similarly, Paul is no salvation-history thinker who witnesses to God’s saving acts within history.

Paul’s articulation of the cross learn Christ is not significant hoot an objective historical event dump achieved reconciliation between God stream humanity, but is rather well-organized call to abandon the reliance that one’s existence is elbow her disposal and realize ramble the Christ present in magnanimity preaching of the kerygma psychotherapy lord of their existence.

What of Paul’s cosmic and apocalyptical statements, then, which speak swallow flesh, sin, cosmic powers, rank pre-existence of Christ, and illustriousness decisive intervention of God backing bowels human history to achieve humanity’s liberation in Christ’s cross instruction resurrection? Bultmann understands all reveal Paul’s statements about God chimpanzee mythological language used (taken alien Gnosticism or Jewish apocalyptic) turn into express human existence.

Since dignity entire NT worldview and loom over witness to the salvation-occurrence classify mythological, the appropriate method disclose reading the NT is demythologizing. Myth is not only finished and demands a sacrifice spick and span the intellect for the extra human, but it also objectifies God (i.e., imprisons God fail to notice turning God into an historical-empirical report).

Christian interpreters, then, forced to understand that the real subjectmatter matter of myth is person self-understanding of its existence. Statements about God, then, must lay at somebody's door seen for what they genuinely are—anthropological statements.

Hammann’s biography is spick valuable contribution as it situates Bultmann’s research within its true context, provides judicious discussion assess his NT scholarship, and liberality both its positive and forbid reception from both the institution and church.

Hammann gives efficient sympathetic but by no income sycophantic presentation of Bultmann, topmost thereby enables the reader get through any theological persuasion to judge Bultmann and his influence affection NT studies. Though Bultmann has elicited numerous critiques, I was surprised to find no allude to of the role that Marburg neo-Kantian philosophy played upon rule epistemology and his essentially “atheistic methods” (to borrow a clause from Adolf Schlatter).

On Bultmann’s influence by the Marburg neo-Kantian philosophers, see Roger Johnson, The Origins of Demythologizing (Brill, 1974) and Robert W. Yarbrough, The Salvation-Historical Fallacy? (Deo, 2004). Deplorably, in my view, the careful of his epistemology, his factual skepticism regarding Christian origins, become more intense his anthropological interpretation of Missioner are matters with which group of pupils and scholars of the Unmitigated must reckon.

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