Rudolf Bultmann
Encyclopedia
Rudolf Karl Bultmann was a German
theologian
of Lutheran background, who was for three decades professor of New Testament
studies at the University of Marburg. He defined an almost complete split between history and faith, called demythology
, writing that only the bare fact of Christ crucified was necessary for Christian faith.
, Oldenburg
, the son of Arthur Kennedy Bultmann, a Lutheran minister. He did his Abitur
at the Altes Gymnasium in Oldenburg
, and studied theology
at Tübingen
. After three terms, Bultmann went to the University of Berlin
for two terms, and finally to Marburg for two more terms. He received his degree in 1910 from Marburg with a dissertation on the Epistles of St Paul. After submitting a Habilitation
two years later, he became a lecturer on the New Testament at Marburg. After brief lectureships at Breslau and Giessen, he returned to Marburg in 1921 as a full professor, and stayed there until his retirement in 1951. From autumn 1944 until the end of World War II in 1945 he took into his family Uta Ranke-Heinemann
, who had fled the bombs and destruction in Essen.
Bultmann was a student of Hermann Gunkel
, Johannes Weiss
, and Wilhelm Heitmüller
. Hans Jonas
, Ernst Käsemann
, Günther Bornkamm
, Hannah Arendt
and Helmut Koester
were among his students.
He was a member of the Confessing Church
and critical towards National Socialism. He spoke out against the mistreatment of Jews, against nationalistic excesses and against the dismissal of non-Aryan Christian ministers. He did not, however, speak out against "the antiSemitic[sic] laws which had already been promulgated" and he was philosophically limited in his ability to "repudiate, in a comprehensive manner, the central tenets of Nazi racism and antiSemitism[sic]."
" of which Bultmann has been the most influential exponent:
In 1941 he applied form criticism to the Gospel of John
, in which he distinguished the presence of a lost Signs Gospel
on which John, alone of the evangelists, depended. This monograph, highly controversial at the time, became a milestone in research into the historical Jesus
. The same year his lecture New Testament and Mythology: The Problem of Demythologizing the New Testament Message called on interpreters to replace traditional supernaturalism with the temporal and existential categories of Bultmann's colleague, Martin Heidegger
, rejecting doctrines such as the pre-existence of Christ
. Bultmann believed this endeavor would make accessible to modern audiences - already immersed in science and technology - the reality of Jesus' teachings. Bultmann thus understood the project of "demythologizing the New Testament proclamation" as an evangelical task, clarifying the kerygma
, or gospel proclamation, by stripping it of elements of the first-century "mythical world picture" that had potential to alienate modern people from Christian faith:
While Bultmann reinterpreted theological language in existential terms, he nonetheless maintained that the New Testament proclaimed a message more radical than any modern existentialism. In both the boasting of legalists "who are faithful to the law," and the boasting of the philosophers "who are proud of their wisdom," Bultmann finds a "basic human attitude" of "highhandedness that tries to bring within our own power even the submission that we know to be our authentic being." Standing against all human highhandedness is the New Testament, "which claims that we can in no way free ourselves from our factual fallenness in the world but are freed from it only by an act of God ... the salvation occurrence that is realized in Christ." Bultmann remained convinced the narratives of the life of Jesus were offering theology
in story form. Lessons were taught in the familiar language of myth. They were not to be excluded, but given explanation so they could be understood for today. Bultmann thought faith should become a present day reality. To Bultmann, the people of the world appeared to be always in disappointment and turmoil. Faith must be a determined vital act of will, not a culling and extolling of "ancient proofs."
He carried form-criticism so far as to call the historical value of the gospels into serious question. Some scholars criticized Bultmann and other critics for excessive skepticism regarding the historical reliability of the gospel narratives. The full impact of Bultmann was not felt until the English publication of Kerygma and Mythos (1948). The conservative and confessing Lutheran theologian, Walter Kunneth
provided some interesting insights on Bultmann in his Die Theologie der Auferstehung.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
theologian
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
of Lutheran background, who was for three decades professor of New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
studies at the University of Marburg. He defined an almost complete split between history and faith, called demythology
Demythology
Demythology is an interpretation of the New Testament in which myths are removed in order to find real truth. It was proposed by German theologian Rudolf Bultmann, who believed that the primitive and pre-scientific myths of the Bible were no longer needed to understand the world...
, writing that only the bare fact of Christ crucified was necessary for Christian faith.
Background
Bultmann was born in WiefelstedeWiefelstede
Wiefelstede is a municipality in the Ammerland district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approx. 15 km northwest of Oldenburg.It is home to Brötje Automation GmbH, an automated aircraft assembly manufacturer....
, Oldenburg
Oldenburg (state)
Oldenburg — named after its capital, the town of Oldenburg — was a state in the north of present-day Germany. Oldenburg survived from 1180 until 1918 as a county, duchy and grand duchy, and from 1918 until 1946 as a free state. It was located near the mouth of the River Weser...
, the son of Arthur Kennedy Bultmann, a Lutheran minister. He did his Abitur
Abitur
Abitur is a designation used in Germany, Finland and Estonia for final exams that pupils take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling, see also for Germany Abitur after twelve years.The Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife, often referred to as...
at the Altes Gymnasium in Oldenburg
Oldenburg
Oldenburg is an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the western part of the state between the cities of Bremen and Groningen, Netherlands, at the Hunte river. It has a population of 160,279 which makes it the fourth biggest city in Lower Saxony after Hanover, Braunschweig...
, and studied theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
at Tübingen
Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen
Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen is a public university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of Germany's oldest universities, internationally noted in medicine, natural sciences and the humanities. In the area of German Studies it has been ranked first among...
. After three terms, Bultmann went to the University of Berlin
Humboldt University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...
for two terms, and finally to Marburg for two more terms. He received his degree in 1910 from Marburg with a dissertation on the Epistles of St Paul. After submitting a Habilitation
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...
two years later, he became a lecturer on the New Testament at Marburg. After brief lectureships at Breslau and Giessen, he returned to Marburg in 1921 as a full professor, and stayed there until his retirement in 1951. From autumn 1944 until the end of World War II in 1945 he took into his family Uta Ranke-Heinemann
Uta Ranke-Heinemann
Uta Ranke-Heinemann is a German theologian, academic and author. She holds the chair of History of Religion at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Essen, her birthplace.- Early life :...
, who had fled the bombs and destruction in Essen.
Bultmann was a student of Hermann Gunkel
Hermann Gunkel
Hermann Gunkel was a German Protestant Old Testament scholar. He is noted for his contribution to form criticism and the study of oral tradition in biblical texts. He was an outstanding representative of the "History of Religion School."...
, Johannes Weiss
Johannes Weiss
Johannes Weiss was a German theologian and Biblical exegete.-History:Weiss was born in Kiel, Germany. A perpetual scholar, he studied in the University of Marburg, the University of Berlin, the University of Göttingen, and the University of Breslau...
, and Wilhelm Heitmüller
Wilhelm Heitmüller
Wilhelm Heitmüller was a German Protestant theologian born in Döteberg, presently a division in the town of Seelze....
. Hans Jonas
Hans Jonas
Hans Jonas was a German-born philosopher who was, from 1955 to 1976, Alvin Johnson Professor of Philosophy at the New School for Social Research in New York City.Jonas's writings were very influential in different spheres...
, Ernst Käsemann
Ernst Käsemann
Ernst Käsemann, , was a Lutheran theologian and professor of New Testament in Mainz , Göttingen and Tübingen .-Study and work:...
, Günther Bornkamm
Günther Bornkamm
Günther Bornkamm was a German New Testament scholar and Professor of New Testament at the University of Heidelberg.He was a student of Rudolf Bultmann with Ernst Käsemann , Ernst Fuchs and Hans Conzelmann ....
, Hannah Arendt
Hannah Arendt
Hannah Arendt was a German American political theorist. She has often been described as a philosopher, although she refused that label on the grounds that philosophy is concerned with "man in the singular." She described herself instead as a political theorist because her work centers on the fact...
and Helmut Koester
Helmut Koester
Helmut Koester is a German-born American scholar of the New Testament and currently Morison Research Professor of Divinity and Winn Research Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Harvard Divinity School. He teaches courses at both the Divinity School and at Harvard Extension School, and was the...
were among his students.
He was a member of the Confessing Church
Confessing Church
The Confessing Church was a Protestant schismatic church in Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to nazify the German Protestant church.-Demographics:...
and critical towards National Socialism. He spoke out against the mistreatment of Jews, against nationalistic excesses and against the dismissal of non-Aryan Christian ministers. He did not, however, speak out against "the antiSemitic[sic] laws which had already been promulgated" and he was philosophically limited in his ability to "repudiate, in a comprehensive manner, the central tenets of Nazi racism and antiSemitism[sic]."
Beliefs regarding Jesus
His History of the Synoptic Tradition (1921) is still highly regarded as an essential tool for gospel research, even by scholars who reject his analyses of the conventional rhetorical pericopes or narrative units of which the Gospels are assembled, and the historically-oriented principles called "form criticismForm criticism
Form criticism is a method of biblical criticism that classifies units of scripture by literary pattern and that attempts to trace each type to its period of oral transmission. Form criticism seeks to determine a unit's original form and the historical context of the literary tradition. Hermann...
" of which Bultmann has been the most influential exponent:
- "The aim of form-criticism is to determine the original form of a piece of narrative, a dominical saying or a parable. In the process we learn to distinguish secondary additions and forms, and these in turn lead to important results for the history of the tradition."
In 1941 he applied form criticism to the Gospel of John
Gospel of John
The Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus...
, in which he distinguished the presence of a lost Signs Gospel
Signs Gospel
The Signs Gospel is a hypothetical gospel account of the life of Jesus Christ. Some scholars believe it to be a primary source document for the Gospel of John. This theory has its basis in source criticism...
on which John, alone of the evangelists, depended. This monograph, highly controversial at the time, became a milestone in research into the historical Jesus
Quest for the Historical Jesus
The quest for the historical Jesus is the attempt to use historical rather than religious methods to construct a verifiable biography of Jesus. As originally defined by Albert Schweitzer, the quest began in the 18th century with Hermann Samuel Reimarus, up to William Wrede in the 19th century...
. The same year his lecture New Testament and Mythology: The Problem of Demythologizing the New Testament Message called on interpreters to replace traditional supernaturalism with the temporal and existential categories of Bultmann's colleague, Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger was a German philosopher known for his existential and phenomenological explorations of the "question of Being."...
, rejecting doctrines such as the pre-existence of Christ
Pre-existence of Christ
The pre-existence of Christ refers to the doctrine of the ontological or personal existence of Christ before his conception. One of the relevant Bible passages is where, in the Trinitarian view, Christ is identified with a pre-existent divine hypostasis called the Logos or Word...
. Bultmann believed this endeavor would make accessible to modern audiences - already immersed in science and technology - the reality of Jesus' teachings. Bultmann thus understood the project of "demythologizing the New Testament proclamation" as an evangelical task, clarifying the kerygma
Kerygma
Kerygma is the Greek word used in the New Testament for preaching . It is related to the Greek verb κηρύσσω , to cry or proclaim as a herald, and means proclamation, announcement, or preaching.The New Testament teaches that as Jesus launched his public ministry he entered the synagogue and read from...
, or gospel proclamation, by stripping it of elements of the first-century "mythical world picture" that had potential to alienate modern people from Christian faith:
"It is impossible to repristinate a past world picture by sheer resolve, especially a mythical world picture, now that all of our thinking is irrevocably formed by science. A blind acceptance of New Testament mythology would be simply arbitrariness; to make such acceptance a demand of faith would be to reduce faith to a work"
While Bultmann reinterpreted theological language in existential terms, he nonetheless maintained that the New Testament proclaimed a message more radical than any modern existentialism. In both the boasting of legalists "who are faithful to the law," and the boasting of the philosophers "who are proud of their wisdom," Bultmann finds a "basic human attitude" of "highhandedness that tries to bring within our own power even the submission that we know to be our authentic being." Standing against all human highhandedness is the New Testament, "which claims that we can in no way free ourselves from our factual fallenness in the world but are freed from it only by an act of God ... the salvation occurrence that is realized in Christ." Bultmann remained convinced the narratives of the life of Jesus were offering theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
in story form. Lessons were taught in the familiar language of myth. They were not to be excluded, but given explanation so they could be understood for today. Bultmann thought faith should become a present day reality. To Bultmann, the people of the world appeared to be always in disappointment and turmoil. Faith must be a determined vital act of will, not a culling and extolling of "ancient proofs."
He carried form-criticism so far as to call the historical value of the gospels into serious question. Some scholars criticized Bultmann and other critics for excessive skepticism regarding the historical reliability of the gospel narratives. The full impact of Bultmann was not felt until the English publication of Kerygma and Mythos (1948). The conservative and confessing Lutheran theologian, Walter Kunneth
Walter Künneth
Walter Künneth was a German Protestant theologian. During the Nazi era, he was part of the Confessing Church, and in the 1960s took part in the debate around the demands of Rudolf Bultmann to 'de-mythologize' the New Testament as an advocate of a word-oriented interpretation of the Bible...
provided some interesting insights on Bultmann in his Die Theologie der Auferstehung.
Selected works
- Die Geschichte der synoptischen Tradition (1921, 1931)
- History of the Synoptic Tradition, Harper San Francisco, 1976, ISBN 0-06-061172-3 (seminal work on form criticism)
- Jesus (1926)
- Jesus and the Word, New York, London, C. Scribner’s sons, 1934, online
- Jesus Christ and Mythology, Prentice Hall, 1997, ISBN 0-02-305570-7
- Neues Testament und Mythologie (1941)
- The New Testament and Mythology and Other Basic Writings, Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 1984, ISBN 0-8006-2442-4
- KerygmaKerygmaKerygma is the Greek word used in the New Testament for preaching . It is related to the Greek verb κηρύσσω , to cry or proclaim as a herald, and means proclamation, announcement, or preaching.The New Testament teaches that as Jesus launched his public ministry he entered the synagogue and read from...
and Myth by Rudolf Bultmann and Five Critics (1953) London: S.P.C.K., HarperCollins 2000 edition: ISBN 0-06-130080-2, online edition (contains the essay "The New Testament and Mythology" with critical analyses and Bultmann's response)
- Das Evangelium des Johannes (1941)
- The Gospel of JohnGospel of JohnThe Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus...
: A Commentary, Westminster John Knox Press, 1971, ISBN 0-664-20893-2
- The Gospel of John
- Theologie des Neuen Testaments (1948–53)
- Theology of the New Testament: Complete in One Volume, Prentice Hall, 1970, ISBN 0-02-305580-4
- Das Urchristentum im Rahmen der Antiken Religionen (1949)
- Primitive Christianity in its Contemporary Setting, Thames and Hudson, 1956.
- Religion without Myth (coauthored with Karl JaspersKarl JaspersKarl Theodor Jaspers was a German psychiatrist and philosopher who had a strong influence on modern theology, psychiatry and philosophy. After being trained in and practicing psychiatry, Jaspers turned to philosophical inquiry and attempted to discover an innovative philosophical system...
) (1954)- Myth & Christianity: An Inquiry Into The Possibility Of Religion Without Myth, translation 1958 by Noonday Press, Prometheus Books, 2005, ISBN 1-59102-291-6. In this dialogue with philosopher Jaspers, Jaspers first makes the case that Christianity can not be understood apart from its mythical framework, and that myth is necessary form of communication through symbol. Bultmann responds that modern scientific analysis of the text is required to separate the genuine from the miraculous claims, thereby revealing the true message.
- History and Eschatology: The Presence of Eternity (1954–55 Gifford lecturesGifford LecturesThe Gifford Lectures were established by the will of Adam Lord Gifford . They were established to "promote and diffuse the study of Natural Theology in the widest sense of the term — in other words, the knowledge of God." The term natural theology as used by Gifford means theology supported...
), Harper, 1962 ,Greenwood Publishers, 1975: ISBN 0-8371-8123-2
Further reading
- The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, edited by Raymond E. BrownRaymond E. BrownThe Reverend Raymond Edward Brown, S.S. , was an American Roman Catholic priest, a member of the Sulpician Fathers and a major Biblical scholar of his era...
, Joseph A. Fitzmeyer, and Roland E. Murphy, Prentice Hall 1990, update of 1968 edition, see John S. Kselman and Ronald D. Witherup, "Modern New Testament Criticism," sections II & III on Bultmann and reactions, pp. 1137–1142. - R. Bultmann, Existence and Faith. Shorter Writings of Rudolf Bultmann, edited and translated by S. M. Ogden, London, 1961, (Meridian Books in USA)
- R. Bultmann, Jesus and the Word, translated by L. P. Smith and E. H. Lantero, London, 1952. Available online at www.religion-online.org http://www.religion-online.org/showbook.asp?title=426
- R. Bultmann, New Testament and Mythology and Other Writings, edited and translated by S. M. Ogden, London, 1984.
- D. Fergusson, Bultmann, London, 1992.
- Reginald H. Fuller, The Foundations of New Testament Christology, New York, 1965.
- Edgar V. McKnight, What is Form Criticism (Guides to Biblical Scholarship, New Testament Series), Fortress Press, 1969.
- Ian F. McGrady, "The Gospel According to John (According to Bultmann)" Ed. Ian McGrady http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0028N65CE
External links
- Rudolf Bultmann and Five Critics, Kerygma and Myth http://www.religion-online.org/showbook.asp?title=431
- Mahlon H. Smith's Synoptic Gospels Primer has a brief biography and further links.
- Wesley Wildman, "Rudolf Bultmann": analysis of themes: God as Wholly Other; Existentialist interpretations; demythologization
- John C. McDowell, Girton College, Cambridge: "Rudolf Bultmann (1884-1976)": brief introductory essay
- Heinrich Fries: Bultmann-Barth and Catholic theology
- John F. McCarthy, Modernism in the Demythologizing of Rudolf Bultmann, Living Tradition, No. 112, July 2004
- Ben Myers, Review of Rudolf Bultmann, Theologie als Kritik (September 2007)
- John F. McCarthy, The Incomplete Response of Catholic Theologians to the Demythologizing of Rudolf Bultmann (1999):
- Rudolf Bultmann and Demythologization, The Boston Collaborative Encyclopedia of Modern Western Theology
- Rudolf Bultmann's 1954-55 Gifford lectures, "History and Eschatology" with full text of the book of the same name .