Rudolf Bultmann | |
|---|---|
 Rudolf Bultmann in bust by Michael Mohns (2022) | |
| Born | Rudolf Karl Bultmann 20 August 1884 |
| Died | 30 July 1976 (aged 91) Marburg, Hesse, West Germany |
| Spouse |
Helene Feldmann
(m. 1917; died 1973) |
| Academic background | |
| Education | University of Marburg |
| Thesis | Der Stil der paulinischen Predigt und die kynisch-stoische Diatribe[1] (1910) |
| Doctoral advisor | Johannes Weiss |
| Influences | |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | |
| School or tradition | Dialectical theology |
| Institutions | University of Marburg |
| Doctoral students | |
| Influenced | |
| Signature | |
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Rudolf Karl Bultmann (/ˈbʊltmɑːn/;[11] German: [ˈbʊltman]; 20 August 1884 – 30 July 1976) was a German Lutheran theologian and professor of the New Testament at the University of Marburg. He was one of the major figures of early 20th-century biblical studies. A prominent critic of liberal theology, Bultmann instead argued for an existentialist interpretation of the New Testament. His hermeneutical approach to the New Testament led him to be a proponent of dialectical theology.
Bultmann is known for his belief that the historical analysis of the New Testament is both futile and unnecessary, given that the earliest Christian literature showed little interest in specific locations.[12] Bultmann argued that all that matters is the "thatness," not the "whatness" of Jesus,[a] i.e. only that Jesus existed, preached, and died by crucifixion matters, not what happened throughout his life.[13]
Bultmann relied on demythologization, an approach interpreting the mythological elements in the New Testament existentially. 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.[14]
- ^ Bultmann 1910; Porter 2015, p. 58.
- ^ Congdon 2015b, p. 315; Wildman 2018.
- ^ a b c d Hobbs 1985, p. 63.
- ^ a b Wildman 2018.
- ^ Congdon 2015a, p. 89; Dorrien 2003, p. 49; McKnight 2005, p. 271.
- ^ Jensen 2014, pp. 136–138.
- ^ Hobbs 1985, p. 63; Wildman 2018.
- ^ a b c Pagliarino 2018.
- ^ Geering, Lloyd (2013). "Theology before and after Bishop Robinson's Honest to God" (PDF). Sea of Faith Network. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
- ^ Monk 2011.
- ^ "Bultmann". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.
- ^ Broadhead 2011, pp. 1170–1172.
- ^ Borg 1994, p. 187; Broadhead 2011, pp. 1170–1172.
- ^ Bultmann 1991, pp. 94–95; Cross & Livingstone 2005, p. 252.
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