A commemoration of the legacy of Rudolf Bultmann, born 130 years ago

Abstract

The article commemorates Rudolf Bultmann’s legacy and the date of his birth 130 years ago. It demonstrates Bultmann’s historical critical exegesis of the New Testament and his theological hermeneutics. The article explains Bultmann’s use of the concept “kerygma” and the influence of existential philosophy on his hermeneutical programme of demythologisation and humankind’s critical dialectical relatedness to creation. It also discusses Bultmann’s understanding of the significance of the person and history of Jesus and God’s otherness by means of the expression “mythological rest”. From these fundamental perspectives as points of departure, the article focuses on three dimensions in his works, namely his Jesus book, his book about the history of early Christianity and his reconstruction of the plot of the Gospel of John.