scholarly journals Bultmann's Thoughs:Demitologizationand Its Impact on the Contemporary Christianity Today

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Stanley Kalalo ◽  
Antoni Bastian ◽  
David Ming

Liberal theology was a characteristic that stood out in Bultmann's day. Several questions arise: Who is Rudolf Karl Bultmann? How did Bultmann and his thinking demotologi? What are Bultmann's works? How Demithologization and Its Impact on 21st Century Era Christianity? The solution is: (1) Bultman is a New Testament figure based on his form criticism. (2) The demotology says that the entire New Testament is a myth. Especially the stories about the Lord Jesus. He argued that the experiences of the Lord Jesus' ministry, his miracles, death, and resurrection, were stories fabricated by the early church. Biblical evangelicals believe in the invalidity of the Bible and all supernatural events that are recorded in the Bible, both the Old Testament, as well as the events of the preaching of the Word carried out by the Lord Jesus Christ and the Rulers, accompanied by a statement of power, is a truth that also makes sense. Christian faith, cannot accept unreasonable things.Bultmann'sdemitologization should not be taken as a theology, but as a discourse of seeking the truth with no clear origin, a thought for those who do not know God, namely vain thoughts, dark understanding.

1953 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 406-416
Author(s):  
R. McL. Wilson

In the Gospel according to St. John it is written that ‘God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have ever-lasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.’ In these familiar words is summed up the message of the Bible as a whole, and of the New Testament in particular. In spite of all that may be said of sin and depravity, of judgment and the wrath of God, the last word is one not of doom but of salvation. The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is a Gospel of salvation, of deliverance and redemption. The news that was carried into all the world by the early Church was the Good News of the grace and love of God, revealed and made known in Jesus Christ His Son. In the words of Paul, it is that ‘God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself’.


Author(s):  
Paul M. Blowers

Early Christian interpretation of Scripture on the theme of creation not surprisingly gave considerable attention to the Genesis account of the origins of the world, in part to counter the claims of Graeco-Roman cosmology, but more importantly to expound the latent theological meaning of the many details of the biblical cosmogony. But patristic exegetes were also keen on the fact that ‘creation’ in the Bible implied far more than beginnings; indeed, it designated the whole economy (oikonomia) of the Creator’s ongoing relation to the creation as set forth in sacred history and as requiring the further interpretative lenses of Christology, soteriology, and eschatology. Early Christian interpreters plumbed a wide variety of Old Testament texts beyond Genesis (especially the Psalms, Deutero-Isaiah, and the Wisdom literature). In their New Testament commentary they focused on such motifs as the subjection of creation to ‘vanity’, the work of Jesus Christ in recapitulating God’s creative purposes, and the eschatological renewal and transformation of the created universe in its relation to human salvation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 105-121
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Gotchold

The paper discusses the issue of the desire for truth in Plato’s Republic, Book VII, and the Old and New Testaments with regard to Girard’s theory of mimetic desire, the scapegoat mechanism and the founding murder. Both Plato and the Bible describe outstanding individuals – Anax, Moses and Jesus – who attain truth. This causes communal envy, leading to the outbreaks of mimetic violence. However, neither Plato nor the Old Testament allow the founding murder to happen. Consequently, they depict communities which deal with strict laws and suppressed violence. It is only in the New Testament that mimetic violence fi nds its outlet in the sacrifi cial killing of Jesus Christ.


1950 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 278-287
Author(s):  
Thomas Hannay

For some time past there has been a great need that theology should become more biblical, and that biblical studies should become more theological. To-day there are welcome signs that this is coming about, which is in effect a reviving sense of the authority of the Bible. There is a feeling that if criticism has not finished its task—which can hardly be the case—it is time that it was supplemented by something else; that it has too long dominated biblical studies as though it were the very building, whereas it is in fact a means of securing the foundations on which the main structure can be raised; that its necessary method of analysis, increasingly elaborated, has tended to destroy the recognition of the majestic structure of the biblical revelation and its unity. Thus Dr Vincent Taylor in the introduction to his Jesus and His Sacrifice confessed that after twenty-five years devoted to the minutiae of synoptic criticism, he had a great desire to consider what the Gospels really have to say for themselves. In the realm of Old Testament studies there has emerged a sense that, Israel's history being so remarkable, it is useless to brush aside all the later developments of, let us say, the Priestly Code as regrettable and retrograde; it is wiser and more helpful to ask what their significance really is, and whether they do not rather witness to the rich fulness of religion under the old covenant. The point to be driven home is just this: when the sources have been analysed and dated as far as may be, then begins the real task of considering what is the significance of the contents. That can and will only be found in our Lord Jesus Christ. But that in effect means allowing the Bible to be its own interpreter, explaining one part by another. Especially when seeking for the significance of the Old Testament must the search be carried over into the New Testament. It seems worth while to try and work this method out on the theme of the temple.


2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duncan Macpherson

Michael Prior raised the issue of Bible texts apparently morally unacceptable and at odds with the “core Gospel message” of the liberating love of God revealed in Jesus Christ. He pointed to Old Testament texts invoked to justify colonialism and, in particular, the colonial oppression of the Palestinians. Others have underlined texts in the New Testament used to justify anti-Semitism. Opinion divides between blaming the interpreters and blaming the texts themselves, usually by questioning their historicity. Both issues impact upon the Israeli-Palestinian confl ict and raise mirror-image questions concerning biblical inspiration demanding the liberationist hermeneutic implicit in Prior's work.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 15-24
Author(s):  
James W. Ellis

Although women’s words account for a small portion of biblical scripture, the Bible records two related prayerful songs that were sung by female prophets: the song of Hannah, in the Old Testament, and the Magnificat of Mary, in the New Testament. This essay uses typological methodology to explore the songs’ connections, including their shared literary precedents and nearly identical theological themes. Their fundamental similarities suggest Hannah’s song served as a harbinger of the Magnificat. Hannah and Mary’s shared blessing, divinely ordained motherhood, and their shared inspiration, the Holy Spirit, explain the parallels of their prayerful verses and prophetic utterances, which were of great relevance for both covenants of the Judeo-Christian faith.


2021 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Douw G. Breed

Exegesis of 2 Peter 3:1–2 and its significance for contemporary Christians with specific reference to views of the so-called New Atheists. Die Bybel: 2020-vertaling, in Afrikaans translation of the Bible, has been introduced at a time when the Bible, the God of the Bible and believers who accept the Bible as the Word of God are seriously under suspicion. The question is how Christians are supposed to act and react in the light of these developments. The religious conviction of Peter’s first readers was under great pressure as a result of false teachers. This article exegetically indicates the guidance that Peter gives to his readers according to 2 Peter 3:1–2 and points out its significance for contemporary Christians. The exegesis in the article is concentrated on 2 Peter 3:1–2 within the context of the letter and is done according to the grammatical-historical model as practised in the Reformed tradition. The article cites examples of the New Atheists’ questioning of the Christian faith. Reference is then made to 2 Peter 3:1–2, regarding what believers must do when their faith is questioned. The article found that Christians today, like Peter’s first readers, are still under great pressure because of atheists’ hostile actions. Like Peter’s first readers, modern-day believers need guidance so that they do not succumb to the pressures on their steadfastness. Christians must think purely of the Old Testament prophets and the apostles of Jesus Christ and the revelation they received from God and Jesus Christ. When Christians think purely about prophets and apostles, they will understand the meaning of these people’s message in their present circumstances and will be able to act appropriately. 2 Peter 3:1–2 provides guidance to Christians whose faith is under pressure due to the hostile actions of unbelievers.Contribution: The article contributes to the understanding of the guidance that Peter gave to his first readers according to 2 Peter 3:1–2 and provides guidance to Christians whose faith, like Peter’s first readers, is being questioned.


2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-38
Author(s):  
Jonathan Octavianus

As every epoch there are there a transition time, on Old Testament like Moses with Joshua, Joshua selected by God an supported fully by Moses, Conversely Moses have liberally to be changed. Like Elijah to Elisha too.Pattern on New Testament there are an examples of transition time too, like Jesus Christ to His Disciples, an transition from Paul to his successor Timothy. This is a heart and soul a big leader, and shall all leadership owners shepherd in church, Christian institution, etc.Which most be remembered in transition of leadership, that people of God leadership, about who will lead, who continue leadership, like a principle in biblical, hence a role of God, is determinant an anoint man which be selected the absolute God choice and constitute all other, but a succession router leader is which have been selected His own. An can be anointed in front of believers.


2010 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 101
Author(s):  
Dariusz Kasprzak

Neither the Apostles nor any Christian minister is admitted to use the priest’s title in the text of the New Testament. Nevertheless, in the New Testament we can perceive the development of the doctrine of the priest ministry in the early Church. Albert Vanhoye maintains that the lack of the term “priest” in the New Testament suggests the way of understanding of the Christian ministry, different from this in the Old Testament. It can’t be considered as a continuation of Jewish priesthood, which was concentrated mainly on ritual action and ceremonies. In the first century the Church developed the Christology of priesthood (Hbr) and ecclesiology of priesthood (1 P). Early Christians focused first on the redemptive event of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and Jesus as the mediator of a new covenant. Only then the religious communities adopted the priest’s title for their ministry.In the early years of the Church, all the ministries were regarded as a charismatic service among the Christian communities. In their services the early Christians followed Jesus Christ sent by God to serve. The Holy Spirit sent by God in the name of Jesus bestowed the spiritual gifts upon the Church (1 Kor 12–13). Consequently the disciples of Jesus and their successors could continue his mission. The Twelve Apostles’ ministry was the very first and most important Christian ministry. It was closely connected to the service of Jesus Christ himself. The Apostles were sent by the authority of Jesus Christ to continue his mission upon earth and they preached the Good News of the risen Christ. The Apostolicity was the fundamental base for every Church ministry established in different Christian communities. Successive ministries were established in order to transmit the teaching of Jesus Christ and to lead the community. For the early Christians the priesthood was not an individual privilege. It had rather the community character.


1948 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-73
Author(s):  
R. Stuart Louden

We can trace a revival of theology in the Reformed Churches in the last quarter of a century. The new theological interest merits being called a revival of theology, for there has been a fresh and more thorough attention given to certain realities, either ignored or treated with scant notice for a considerable time previously.First among such realities now receiving more of the attention which their relevance and authority deserve, is the Bible, the record of the Word of God. There is an invigorating and convincing quality about theology which is Biblical throughout, being based on the witness of the Scriptures as a whole. The valuable results of careful Biblical scholarship had had an adverse effect on theology in so far as theologians had completely separated the Old Testament from the New in their treatment of Biblical doctrine, or in expanding Christian doctrine, had spoken of the theological teaching of the Synoptic Gospels, the Pauline Epistles, the Johannine writings, and so on, as if there were no such thing as one common New Testament witness. It is being seen anew that the Holy Scriptures contain a complete history of God's saving action. The presence of the complete Bible open at the heart of the Church, recalls each succeeding Christian generation to that one history of God's saving action, to which the Church is the living witness. The New Testament is one, for its Lord is one, and Christian theology must stand four-square on the foundation of its whole teaching.


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