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Jesus Christ and Mythology
Translator's Preface: The eschatological interpretation of human life wasn't merely the teaching of a prophet 19 centuries ago, but is essentially true today as then. Jesus' message as he delivered it, not some modern variation or dilution of it, is his message today. The details of apocalyptic imagery are transitory (here is the germ of "demythologizing") & wishful thinking about the world to come is valueless, even harmful; but the eschatological message, "The kingdom of God is at hand," "among you" not "within you," is relevant to any age, including our own.
Introduction: Viewpoint & Method
The subject of this book is not the life or the personality of Jesus, but only his teaching, his message. Little as we know of his life & personality, we know enough of his message to make for ourselves a consistent picture. What the sources offer us is 1st of all the message of the early Xian community, which for the most part the church freely attributed to Jesus. This naturally gives no proof that all the words which are put into his mouth were actually spoken by him. As can be easily proved, many sayings originated in the church itself; others were modified by the church.
1 The Historical Background for the Ministry of Jesus
At least there can be no doubt that Jesus like other agitators died on the cross as a Messianic prophet.
2 The Teaching of Jesus: The Coming of the Kingdom of God
However little we know of the life of Jesus, if we keep in mind that he was finally crucified as a Messianic agitator, we shall be able in the light of the eschatological message to understand the fragmentary accounts of the end of his activity, overgrown tho they are with legend.
3 The Teaching of Jesus: The Will of God
Jesus as rabbi, his understanding of the Old Testament, his consideration of the Law, his ethic of obedience, his attitude towards wealth, the commandment of Love, the Will of God & the coming of the Kingdom.
4 The Teaching of Jesus: God the Remote & the Near
Jesus’ concept of God: similar & different from Jewish thought--different from Greek thought--a God of the future (influence of dualism)--the providence of God & God’s justice--miracles-- prayer--Faith--God as father--God remote & near--Sin & forgiveness.
Introduction: Viewpoint & Method
The subject of this book is not the life or the personality of Jesus, but only his teaching, his message. Little as we know of his life & personality, we know enough of his message to make for ourselves a consistent picture. What the sources offer us is 1st of all the message of the early Xian community, which for the most part the church freely attributed to Jesus. This naturally gives no proof that all the words which are put into his mouth were actually spoken by him. As can be easily proved, many sayings originated in the church itself; others were modified by the church.
1 The Historical Background for the Ministry of Jesus
At least there can be no doubt that Jesus like other agitators died on the cross as a Messianic prophet.
2 The Teaching of Jesus: The Coming of the Kingdom of God
However little we know of the life of Jesus, if we keep in mind that he was finally crucified as a Messianic agitator, we shall be able in the light of the eschatological message to understand the fragmentary accounts of the end of his activity, overgrown tho they are with legend.
3 The Teaching of Jesus: The Will of God
Jesus as rabbi, his understanding of the Old Testament, his consideration of the Law, his ethic of obedience, his attitude towards wealth, the commandment of Love, the Will of God & the coming of the Kingdom.
4 The Teaching of Jesus: God the Remote & the Near
Jesus’ concept of God: similar & different from Jewish thought--different from Greek thought--a God of the future (influence of dualism)--the providence of God & God’s justice--miracles-- prayer--Faith--God as father--God remote & near--Sin & forgiveness.
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1926
11 people are currently reading
390 people want to read
About the author
Rudolf Karl Bultmann
93 books55 followersRudolf Karl Bultmann (August 20, 1884, Wiefelstede – July 30, 1976, Marburg) was a German Lutheran theologian and professor of New Testament at the University of Marburg. He was one of the major figures of early 20th century biblical studies and a prominent voice in liberal Christianity.
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.] Bultmann argued that all that matters is the "thatness", not the "whatness" of Jesus, i.e. only that Jesus existed, preached and died by crucifixion matters, not what happened throughout his life.
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.
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.] Bultmann argued that all that matters is the "thatness", not the "whatness" of Jesus, i.e. only that Jesus existed, preached and died by crucifixion matters, not what happened throughout his life.
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.
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June 17, 2014
A fascinating, easy to read little book (provided you care about what he's writing about). Bultmann's starting point is the fairly undeniable fact that Jesus, and early followers of Jesus, expected the world to end within their lifetimes. It didn't. What do you do about that? If you're a theologian like Bultmann, you'll accept that "the course of history has refuted mythology," but argue that there's something important underlying the mythology.
It's in his understanding of mythology that Bultmann starts to get into trouble, because he doesn't distinguish between hermeneutics (the idea that all interpretations have to begin from a series of assumptions or biases), and existentialism, the idea that Man is Confronted By His Existence as a Question and so on: from a later perspective, he can't see that there's a difference between early Heidegger and later Gadamer.
This matters because he wants to understand 'mythology' as, roughly, the historically bounded starting point for the understanding of God. Particularly for biblical texts, this reveals itself whenever writers try to give a physical form to transcendent ideas--God smote Billy with a giant oak and so on. Nobody believes that these things happened. So Bultmann's demythologizing approach to the bible makes sense. Most people don't believe that the world is about to end; to that degree, we cannot be Christians. But perhaps if you get rid of the historically untenable bits of biblical texts, you can find something worthwhile in Christianity nonetheless. The attractiveness of this view is fairly obvious, and I suspect that most religious people must make some use of it, if only to say that slaying Amelakites was okay for Ancient Hebrews, but not so much for us.
The problem here is that Bultmann insists that 'our' standpoint for interpreting religion *must be* modern, specifically, that it must be Heideggerian. This leads to much maundering about Existence and Being and Questions that might be useful for understanding how we approach hammers, but doesn't really match up with people's actual problems, viz., war, exploitation, bigotry and so on.
Luckily you can demythologize Bultmann himself: yes, readers must 'interpret' the bible. Yes, they must do this from a particular perspective. Yes, that perspective shouldn't be intellectually irresponsible. But none of that means we have to be existentialists* worried about how people keep seeking security, as if that were somehow a greater evil than those who keep trying to undermine peace.
Also, watching him try to explain how the doctrine of justification is completely different from seeking security is really funny.
But if, like me, you're interested in the bible, but not a fundamentalist, this little book will give you some ideas for explaining your interest to your more rabid atheist friends.
*: Ridiculously, Bultmannn combines his general existentialism with a Kantian understanding of the moral law. Consider my gob smacked.
It's in his understanding of mythology that Bultmann starts to get into trouble, because he doesn't distinguish between hermeneutics (the idea that all interpretations have to begin from a series of assumptions or biases), and existentialism, the idea that Man is Confronted By His Existence as a Question and so on: from a later perspective, he can't see that there's a difference between early Heidegger and later Gadamer.
This matters because he wants to understand 'mythology' as, roughly, the historically bounded starting point for the understanding of God. Particularly for biblical texts, this reveals itself whenever writers try to give a physical form to transcendent ideas--God smote Billy with a giant oak and so on. Nobody believes that these things happened. So Bultmann's demythologizing approach to the bible makes sense. Most people don't believe that the world is about to end; to that degree, we cannot be Christians. But perhaps if you get rid of the historically untenable bits of biblical texts, you can find something worthwhile in Christianity nonetheless. The attractiveness of this view is fairly obvious, and I suspect that most religious people must make some use of it, if only to say that slaying Amelakites was okay for Ancient Hebrews, but not so much for us.
The problem here is that Bultmann insists that 'our' standpoint for interpreting religion *must be* modern, specifically, that it must be Heideggerian. This leads to much maundering about Existence and Being and Questions that might be useful for understanding how we approach hammers, but doesn't really match up with people's actual problems, viz., war, exploitation, bigotry and so on.
Luckily you can demythologize Bultmann himself: yes, readers must 'interpret' the bible. Yes, they must do this from a particular perspective. Yes, that perspective shouldn't be intellectually irresponsible. But none of that means we have to be existentialists* worried about how people keep seeking security, as if that were somehow a greater evil than those who keep trying to undermine peace.
Also, watching him try to explain how the doctrine of justification is completely different from seeking security is really funny.
But if, like me, you're interested in the bible, but not a fundamentalist, this little book will give you some ideas for explaining your interest to your more rabid atheist friends.
*: Ridiculously, Bultmannn combines his general existentialism with a Kantian understanding of the moral law. Consider my gob smacked.
April 18, 2022
Demythology has become a sort of bogeyman among evangelicals, but it certainly doesn't have to be. Bultmann offers a take on the language of the New Testament that tries to make it applicable for us today by taking away biblical language which does not fit with our modern worldview. The project of demythology is a project to remove mythological language from the Bible, especially language related to eschatology and the Kingdom of God.
Bultmann makes some good points, but ends up taking them too far for Christians who wish to take the Scripture seriously. However, this book offers an important hermeneutical method which modern Bible students have to deal with.
Again, here is a short synopsis of each chapter I wrote for class. Bultmann is easy to read, so people interested in the arguments (and not merely the conclusions which I present here) should refer to the book itself.
Chapter 1: The Meaning of Jesus and the Problem of Mythology
Bultmann begins his work by suggesting that the language of the New Testament, though it has no place in a modern scientific worldview (15), still has value and importance for the lives of modern humanity (14). The hermeneutical method Bultmann proposes for bringing forward the teaching of the Bible is “de-mythologizing,” which is to take the statements of the Bible, strip away the mythological language of a pre-scientific worldview, and learn what it has to teach us (18–19). Bultmann uses the example of the Kingdom of God, the “heart of the preaching of Jesus Christ” (11), as an example of something which must be demythologized: for the apostles this was an immanent part of the world and the natural conclusion of world history, but actual events of history have shown this is not the case (12); therefore, we must understand that the Kingdom is primarily eschatological, sudden and unexpected, and not the natural outworking of historical events (13).
Chapter 2: The Interpretation of Mythological Eschatology
Since Bultmann suggests that the primary lens through which we should understand Christ’s preaching is eschatological, he must define what he means by eschatology apart from mythological language (25–26). Eschatological preaching is first a call to obedience, bringing forward God’s final judgment against humanity and its sin into the present moment (27). Jesus’ preaching is couched in mythological language about God’s return and future, but demythologizing this means “to be open to God’s future which is really imminent for every one of us” (31).
Chapter 3: The Christian Message and the Modern Worldview
Since preaching is directed to “the hearer as a self,” we must demythologize the Scripture, taking it out of its language from the pre-modern worldview and adapting it to the present (35–36). Since we cannot resurrect the worldview of the Bible (38), we have to think through how we can preach to a scientific world (39). It begins by calling people to a God beyond the world, to abandon our security in the world, and concerned with the mysteries of, not how God is within himself, but how he acts with me in the world (43).
Chapter 4: Modern Biblical Interpretation and Existentialist Philosophy
Bultmann begins by affirming that every interpretation or hermeneutical method, including demythologizing, requires the interpreter to approach the text with his own set of presuppositions which guide the exegesis (46–48), for it is impossible to approach a text without them. Our relationship to the Bible prompts the questions we ask of it and the answers we learn from it (51), and Bultmann suggests that our questions are grounded in trying to make the Bible speak to our moment and to hear its truth about our own lives (52). Relying upon existentialist philosophy to provide an interpretive framework (55), Bultmann suggests the key question of the modern era (and the beginning of all theology) is, “How is man’s existence understood in the Bible?” (53).
Chapter 5: The Meaning of God as Acting
Speaking of God as acting is mythological unless we bring it down to our level; that is, it is God as he acts in and through and between worldly events that gives our concept of God meaning which in turn informs our self-understanding (61–62). We cannot understand God abstractly nor generally, but we can understand what he is doing here and now with us (66); faith thus is trusting that God is “acting in our acting,” even if we cannot perceive what his acting is (64). God’s distinction from creation lies in the fact that God cannot be objectively proved apart from faith—which is a subjective experience (72), a new self-understanding (75), which lies at the heart of what God is doing for us as we hear the word of God (76). God meets us in his Word, the preaching of Jesus Christ (78), and calls us to repentance, to live as the eschatological community of the saints in the present moment (80–82)—“in spite of” our experience, we live by faith that God is speaking to us today as we bring God’s future judgment against sin into the present.
Bultmann makes some good points, but ends up taking them too far for Christians who wish to take the Scripture seriously. However, this book offers an important hermeneutical method which modern Bible students have to deal with.
Again, here is a short synopsis of each chapter I wrote for class. Bultmann is easy to read, so people interested in the arguments (and not merely the conclusions which I present here) should refer to the book itself.
Chapter 1: The Meaning of Jesus and the Problem of Mythology
Bultmann begins his work by suggesting that the language of the New Testament, though it has no place in a modern scientific worldview (15), still has value and importance for the lives of modern humanity (14). The hermeneutical method Bultmann proposes for bringing forward the teaching of the Bible is “de-mythologizing,” which is to take the statements of the Bible, strip away the mythological language of a pre-scientific worldview, and learn what it has to teach us (18–19). Bultmann uses the example of the Kingdom of God, the “heart of the preaching of Jesus Christ” (11), as an example of something which must be demythologized: for the apostles this was an immanent part of the world and the natural conclusion of world history, but actual events of history have shown this is not the case (12); therefore, we must understand that the Kingdom is primarily eschatological, sudden and unexpected, and not the natural outworking of historical events (13).
Chapter 2: The Interpretation of Mythological Eschatology
Since Bultmann suggests that the primary lens through which we should understand Christ’s preaching is eschatological, he must define what he means by eschatology apart from mythological language (25–26). Eschatological preaching is first a call to obedience, bringing forward God’s final judgment against humanity and its sin into the present moment (27). Jesus’ preaching is couched in mythological language about God’s return and future, but demythologizing this means “to be open to God’s future which is really imminent for every one of us” (31).
Chapter 3: The Christian Message and the Modern Worldview
Since preaching is directed to “the hearer as a self,” we must demythologize the Scripture, taking it out of its language from the pre-modern worldview and adapting it to the present (35–36). Since we cannot resurrect the worldview of the Bible (38), we have to think through how we can preach to a scientific world (39). It begins by calling people to a God beyond the world, to abandon our security in the world, and concerned with the mysteries of, not how God is within himself, but how he acts with me in the world (43).
Chapter 4: Modern Biblical Interpretation and Existentialist Philosophy
Bultmann begins by affirming that every interpretation or hermeneutical method, including demythologizing, requires the interpreter to approach the text with his own set of presuppositions which guide the exegesis (46–48), for it is impossible to approach a text without them. Our relationship to the Bible prompts the questions we ask of it and the answers we learn from it (51), and Bultmann suggests that our questions are grounded in trying to make the Bible speak to our moment and to hear its truth about our own lives (52). Relying upon existentialist philosophy to provide an interpretive framework (55), Bultmann suggests the key question of the modern era (and the beginning of all theology) is, “How is man’s existence understood in the Bible?” (53).
Chapter 5: The Meaning of God as Acting
Speaking of God as acting is mythological unless we bring it down to our level; that is, it is God as he acts in and through and between worldly events that gives our concept of God meaning which in turn informs our self-understanding (61–62). We cannot understand God abstractly nor generally, but we can understand what he is doing here and now with us (66); faith thus is trusting that God is “acting in our acting,” even if we cannot perceive what his acting is (64). God’s distinction from creation lies in the fact that God cannot be objectively proved apart from faith—which is a subjective experience (72), a new self-understanding (75), which lies at the heart of what God is doing for us as we hear the word of God (76). God meets us in his Word, the preaching of Jesus Christ (78), and calls us to repentance, to live as the eschatological community of the saints in the present moment (80–82)—“in spite of” our experience, we live by faith that God is speaking to us today as we bring God’s future judgment against sin into the present.
April 19, 2022
Demythologizing is the process of translating complex and beautiful realities into the threadbare language of "ideas" for myopic modern man.
"Let those who have the modern world-view live as though they had none," indeed.
"Let those who have the modern world-view live as though they had none," indeed.
April 20, 2022
Jesus is not a myth. Jesus lives in my heart.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 29, 2024
I found the first three chapters of this book rather thought-provoking. There were plenty things to disagree with throughout, for instance his use of existentialist philosophy (which Bultmann defends) or his explanation of what it means to for God to act in the world (which is characterized in new self-understandings for man). However, I really do think Bultmann raises some profound questions, such as how we can interpret the Bible in the modern world without simultaneously adopting an ancient (Near Eastern) worldview? His answer was unsatisfactory: "strip away (or at least interpret) the mythology so that we can retain the true teaching/kergyma/meaning of Jesus' preaching." It is, at least, a question that I'll be thinking about.
April 19, 2022
Only an academic could write something so divorced from what people actually want.
De-mythologizing is like being given the keys to a mansion yet constructing a shack beside it because you don’t believe the keys will work.
I’m struck less by his modernism and more by his naivety. His critical project takes account of everything except for the human propensity to misunderstand.
A radical departure from Kierkegaard initial project: instead of forcing us from the fields of complacency to the ledge of the absurd, to the very precipice of faith, Bultmann bids us to return to the fields because good ole anxiety ain’t so bad!
De-mythologizing is like being given the keys to a mansion yet constructing a shack beside it because you don’t believe the keys will work.
I’m struck less by his modernism and more by his naivety. His critical project takes account of everything except for the human propensity to misunderstand.
A radical departure from Kierkegaard initial project: instead of forcing us from the fields of complacency to the ledge of the absurd, to the very precipice of faith, Bultmann bids us to return to the fields because good ole anxiety ain’t so bad!
June 2, 2021
This book is helpful to understand the state of modern Christianity, but Bultmann's "demythologizing" of the Bible completely undermines true Christianity.
Rudolf Bultmann grew up as a Lutheran pastor’s son in Oldenburg Germany. He was a New Testament professor at the University of Marburg in 1921 and remained there until his death. Bultmann was educated under liberal German theologians who found little value in Jesus of Nazareth. Bultmann sought to show the value of theology even for modern men who could not accept the Bible as truth. His book “Jesus Christ and Mythology” is a compilation of essays that he delivered in 1951 where he outlines his idea of “demythologizing” the Bible to uncover what he viewed as the core of Christianity.
Bultmann observed a problem with modern man. Man desires security and prosperity and thinks that he can gain this through his own effort and through collaboration with others. He is driven by selfish desires rather than obedience to the commandments of God and love toward others. All people ultimately die and all efforts of men are eventually torn down, but Bultmann observed that modern man forgets or ignores this reality and thinks that he can gain security through his own efforts. Bultmann, perhaps based on his own experience of living through World War I and World War II, observed that men try to take possession of the world through technological advancement but this often leads to disaster. Bultmann identified that there is still a solution and salvation for modern man. The Word of God calls man from his selfishness and brings him to God. Knowing God allows a man to truly know himself and also gives him freedom from the world and relieves his sorrow and anxiety. This is because God is beyond the world and rational understanding, and also man’s true self is beyond the world and rational understanding.
However, there is another problem that keeps rational modern men from knowing God and having faith in Him. This is what Bultmann calls the “false stumbling block” of the mythology of the Bible which prevents people from reaching the true stumbling block of the true Word of God. Modern science asserts that nature cannot be interrupted by supernatural powers, and therefore rational men who hold a scientific worldview could not accept a Christianity that demands one to accept supernatural intervention as true. Therefore, Bultmann argues that the pure truths of God and faith are trapped in myths that can no longer be accepted by modern standards. These myths include any notion of the supernatural interrupting and affecting nature. Bultmann thought that Jesus Himself never claimed to be the Messiah, but the mythology of redemption was borrowed from Gnosticism and applied to Jesus by the early Christians. Any event recorded in the Bible where God intervenes in nature would be categorized by Bultmann as mythological. This includes any miracles of Jesus, miracles in the Old Testament, and the idea that Jesus' death and resurrection was a cosmological reality that had an affect on the world. Any statements that speak of God’s actions as cosmic events are illegitimate. Bultmann said that any understanding of Jesus' death as sacrificial is a mythological cultic notion that is illegitimate unless understood symbolically. Bultmann’s goal was to create a way for rational men to have faith in God without expecting them to accept the “myths” in the Bible.
Bultmann asserted that there is a deeper theological meaning to all the “mythology” of the New Testament. Therefore, he argued that we must abandon the mythological aspects of Christianity and hold only to the deeper meaning. He calls this process “demythologizing.” In order for rational modern men to have faith in God, we can just say that the events recounted in the Bible are myths that are external and unnecessary to the true message of Christianity. Therefore, modern man does not have to accept things he cannot believe are true as historical fact in order to have faith in God.
Bultmann thought that Christian faith is something that happens to a person in the here and now. Faith is not a knowledge or a general worldview, but it is when a person believes that God acts on them and speaks to them in the here and now. Faith is always a present reality. Bultmann had an existential view of faith, where the important aspect is what God says to the believer in the here and now. Faith grows out of encountering the Scriptures as the Word of God. Bultmann said that to hear the Scriptures as the Word of God is to hear them as addressed directly to the individual as a proclamation to them. This proclamation is called kerygma. For Bultmann, the Scriptures are not the Word of God because of some objective fact or reality, but they are the Word of God when the believer encounters them as being “for them.”
Bultmann thought that the Bible is transmitted through the Church as a word addressing us. He believed that the Word of God and the Church belong together and that the Church is the community of the called as long as preaching of the Word genuinely occurs there. Bultmann believed that God’s Word is only an event, so therefore the Church is only the true Church as an event in the here and now. The purpose of the Church would be to preach the Word and be this event of the Word so that the called can hear that the Word is for them. This hearing creates faith and the freedom to follow God’s commands and seek truth and love. This is contrasted with the true Christian church which receives actual forgiveness of sins in Church through the Word and the Sacraments which was won by Christ on the cross. The preaching of the true Church proclaims the reality of the Atonement, and the people are strengthened in their faith which is in the blood of Christ shed on the cross.
One of Bultmann’s strengths we can possibly learn from is his critique of modern man. Bultmann argues that man cannot find true security and salvation in his own efforts, but will always be subject to death and destruction no matter how hard he tries to avoid it. Secular humanity tries to avoid this reality, and this truly is for their detriment. But the weakness of Bultmann’s theology does not actually solve man’s true problem. Bultmann presents a solution to this problem in a Christianity that lacks flesh. Bultmann’s assertion that God does not really act in this world means that his Christianity is incapable of solving the problems of evil that these people suffer from. Even when the myths are stripped away and the people are urged to only have faith in God, Bultmann does not give an adequate reason for why a secular human should have this faith. When Bultmann dismisses the incarnation, redemption, heaven, and hell to mere myths, he gives no real reason why people turn to the Christian faith specifically for security instead of finding this in some other religion or just continuing to trust in their own efforts.
Bultmann asserts that God withholds Himself from view and observation, and therefore any attempt to make His action visible is myth. But the essence of true Christianity is that God makes Himself known to His people. God spoke to His people in the Old Testament and God became man to die for us and forgive our sins. Christ’s physical shedding of blood on the cross paid the price for our sin and destroyed death and evil through this act. Bultmann saw faith as necessary to relieve anxiety and sorrow to find true freedom in God, but this is just an empty and hollow faith. True Christian faith has its object in Christ and His redemptive work on the cross. Redemption was bought and paid for with a price and real sin is washed away. Bultmann’s faith has no true object and the “salvation” that comes from this faith is merely because God declares it and the person believes it is for them in the here and now. Bultmann fails to acknowledge that people are afflicted with sin and therefore guilty and damned before God. Therefore, the salvation of Bultmann’s Christianity is a vague “freedom” from sin that cannot address how that sin was paid for and defeated.
Any version of Christianity that sacrifices what Scripture says in order that rational man might swallow it easier is rejecting true Christianity. This may look like Bultmann’s demythologizing, but it could take the form of the Gospel reductionism of higher critics who claim that they are denying the “unbelievable parts” of Scripture in order to save the core of Christianity, or it could even take the form of the Christian who is only concerned about their “personal relationship” with Christ and not about the redemptive work of Christ. Bultmann denied true Christianity in order to make it more acceptable to rational man, and this motivation constantly creeps back in many different forms.
Rudolf Bultmann grew up as a Lutheran pastor’s son in Oldenburg Germany. He was a New Testament professor at the University of Marburg in 1921 and remained there until his death. Bultmann was educated under liberal German theologians who found little value in Jesus of Nazareth. Bultmann sought to show the value of theology even for modern men who could not accept the Bible as truth. His book “Jesus Christ and Mythology” is a compilation of essays that he delivered in 1951 where he outlines his idea of “demythologizing” the Bible to uncover what he viewed as the core of Christianity.
Bultmann observed a problem with modern man. Man desires security and prosperity and thinks that he can gain this through his own effort and through collaboration with others. He is driven by selfish desires rather than obedience to the commandments of God and love toward others. All people ultimately die and all efforts of men are eventually torn down, but Bultmann observed that modern man forgets or ignores this reality and thinks that he can gain security through his own efforts. Bultmann, perhaps based on his own experience of living through World War I and World War II, observed that men try to take possession of the world through technological advancement but this often leads to disaster. Bultmann identified that there is still a solution and salvation for modern man. The Word of God calls man from his selfishness and brings him to God. Knowing God allows a man to truly know himself and also gives him freedom from the world and relieves his sorrow and anxiety. This is because God is beyond the world and rational understanding, and also man’s true self is beyond the world and rational understanding.
However, there is another problem that keeps rational modern men from knowing God and having faith in Him. This is what Bultmann calls the “false stumbling block” of the mythology of the Bible which prevents people from reaching the true stumbling block of the true Word of God. Modern science asserts that nature cannot be interrupted by supernatural powers, and therefore rational men who hold a scientific worldview could not accept a Christianity that demands one to accept supernatural intervention as true. Therefore, Bultmann argues that the pure truths of God and faith are trapped in myths that can no longer be accepted by modern standards. These myths include any notion of the supernatural interrupting and affecting nature. Bultmann thought that Jesus Himself never claimed to be the Messiah, but the mythology of redemption was borrowed from Gnosticism and applied to Jesus by the early Christians. Any event recorded in the Bible where God intervenes in nature would be categorized by Bultmann as mythological. This includes any miracles of Jesus, miracles in the Old Testament, and the idea that Jesus' death and resurrection was a cosmological reality that had an affect on the world. Any statements that speak of God’s actions as cosmic events are illegitimate. Bultmann said that any understanding of Jesus' death as sacrificial is a mythological cultic notion that is illegitimate unless understood symbolically. Bultmann’s goal was to create a way for rational men to have faith in God without expecting them to accept the “myths” in the Bible.
Bultmann asserted that there is a deeper theological meaning to all the “mythology” of the New Testament. Therefore, he argued that we must abandon the mythological aspects of Christianity and hold only to the deeper meaning. He calls this process “demythologizing.” In order for rational modern men to have faith in God, we can just say that the events recounted in the Bible are myths that are external and unnecessary to the true message of Christianity. Therefore, modern man does not have to accept things he cannot believe are true as historical fact in order to have faith in God.
Bultmann thought that Christian faith is something that happens to a person in the here and now. Faith is not a knowledge or a general worldview, but it is when a person believes that God acts on them and speaks to them in the here and now. Faith is always a present reality. Bultmann had an existential view of faith, where the important aspect is what God says to the believer in the here and now. Faith grows out of encountering the Scriptures as the Word of God. Bultmann said that to hear the Scriptures as the Word of God is to hear them as addressed directly to the individual as a proclamation to them. This proclamation is called kerygma. For Bultmann, the Scriptures are not the Word of God because of some objective fact or reality, but they are the Word of God when the believer encounters them as being “for them.”
Bultmann thought that the Bible is transmitted through the Church as a word addressing us. He believed that the Word of God and the Church belong together and that the Church is the community of the called as long as preaching of the Word genuinely occurs there. Bultmann believed that God’s Word is only an event, so therefore the Church is only the true Church as an event in the here and now. The purpose of the Church would be to preach the Word and be this event of the Word so that the called can hear that the Word is for them. This hearing creates faith and the freedom to follow God’s commands and seek truth and love. This is contrasted with the true Christian church which receives actual forgiveness of sins in Church through the Word and the Sacraments which was won by Christ on the cross. The preaching of the true Church proclaims the reality of the Atonement, and the people are strengthened in their faith which is in the blood of Christ shed on the cross.
One of Bultmann’s strengths we can possibly learn from is his critique of modern man. Bultmann argues that man cannot find true security and salvation in his own efforts, but will always be subject to death and destruction no matter how hard he tries to avoid it. Secular humanity tries to avoid this reality, and this truly is for their detriment. But the weakness of Bultmann’s theology does not actually solve man’s true problem. Bultmann presents a solution to this problem in a Christianity that lacks flesh. Bultmann’s assertion that God does not really act in this world means that his Christianity is incapable of solving the problems of evil that these people suffer from. Even when the myths are stripped away and the people are urged to only have faith in God, Bultmann does not give an adequate reason for why a secular human should have this faith. When Bultmann dismisses the incarnation, redemption, heaven, and hell to mere myths, he gives no real reason why people turn to the Christian faith specifically for security instead of finding this in some other religion or just continuing to trust in their own efforts.
Bultmann asserts that God withholds Himself from view and observation, and therefore any attempt to make His action visible is myth. But the essence of true Christianity is that God makes Himself known to His people. God spoke to His people in the Old Testament and God became man to die for us and forgive our sins. Christ’s physical shedding of blood on the cross paid the price for our sin and destroyed death and evil through this act. Bultmann saw faith as necessary to relieve anxiety and sorrow to find true freedom in God, but this is just an empty and hollow faith. True Christian faith has its object in Christ and His redemptive work on the cross. Redemption was bought and paid for with a price and real sin is washed away. Bultmann’s faith has no true object and the “salvation” that comes from this faith is merely because God declares it and the person believes it is for them in the here and now. Bultmann fails to acknowledge that people are afflicted with sin and therefore guilty and damned before God. Therefore, the salvation of Bultmann’s Christianity is a vague “freedom” from sin that cannot address how that sin was paid for and defeated.
Any version of Christianity that sacrifices what Scripture says in order that rational man might swallow it easier is rejecting true Christianity. This may look like Bultmann’s demythologizing, but it could take the form of the Gospel reductionism of higher critics who claim that they are denying the “unbelievable parts” of Scripture in order to save the core of Christianity, or it could even take the form of the Christian who is only concerned about their “personal relationship” with Christ and not about the redemptive work of Christ. Bultmann denied true Christianity in order to make it more acceptable to rational man, and this motivation constantly creeps back in many different forms.
February 28, 2024
Cringe
Read
April 27, 2024There are a few things in Bultmann that are interesting, particularly with regard to his thoughts on time, but only when read within the context of more trustworthy guides. By the end, I just kept thinking, "I'm going to mythologize even harder!"
April 17, 2022
How did this guy change the world?
Some exciting statements about faith and experiencing God, but why go here for them when you could go pretty much anywhere else.
Some exciting statements about faith and experiencing God, but why go here for them when you could go pretty much anywhere else.
April 8, 2013
This book is lucid and brief, in the argument for the demythologization of the New Testament and in the exposition of the notion that exegesis is never without presupposition. Another thing Bultmann makes clear, very usefully, is that there is a difference between discussing existential realities and existentialist philosophy: the former has to do with personal encounters and the historicity of humanity while the latter has to do with the formal properties and the meaning of existence. Because Bultmann denies that God can be analyzed in the latter sense, and that God works within history, not from without it, a demythologization of the New Testament will not lead us to a faith in God, but will provide, in some ways, an existential encounter with the text: by understanding our life-situation, we are confronted with the responsibility for that situation. I'd recommend it to anybody interested in biblical exegesis and the problem of the concept of God.
May 29, 2015
Rudolf Bultmann asks great questions concerning the contemporary import of the 2,000 year old proclamation that Jesus is Lord. What are the issues for "modern" man to proclaim, to understand and to respond to that message? How does "modern" man relate to "ancient" man without collapsing into C.S. Lewis' chronological snobbery? What is religious myth and how do we determine it from historical fact? What, why and how is de-mythologizing?
This is a quick but potent read. A book that will stay with me as long as I live. Not for the answers given but for the questions raised. A must read for some.
This is a quick but potent read. A book that will stay with me as long as I live. Not for the answers given but for the questions raised. A must read for some.
September 10, 2024
A SHORT SERIES OF LECTURES BY A CRUCIAL 20TH CENTURY THEOLOGIAN
Rudolf Bultmann (1884-1976) was a German theologian and professor of New Testament at the University of Marburg, whose 1941 essay "New Testament and Mythology" (reprinted with commentary in 'Kerygma and Myth') was one of the 20th century's most influential essays of theology. This volume contains lectures he gave in October 1951 at Yale University Divinity School.
He begins by saying "The heart of the preaching of Jesus Christ is the Kingdom of God. During the nineteenth century exegesis and theology understood the Kingdom of God as a spiritual community consisting of men joined together by obedience to the will of God which ruled in their wills. By such obedience they sought to enlarge the sphere of His rule in the world. They were building, it was said, the Kingdom of God as a realm which is spiritual but within the world, active and effective in this world, unfolding in the history of this world."
He adds that Jesus "expected that this would take place soon, in the immediate future, and he said that the dawning of that age could already be perceived in the signs and wonders which he performed, especially in his casting out of demons. Jesus envisaged the inauguration of the Kingdom of God as a tremendous cosmic drama. The Son of Man will come with the clouds of heaven, the dead will be raised and the day of judgment will arrive, for the righteous the time of bliss will begin, whereas the damned will be delivered to the torments of hell."
He writes, "If we can say anything more, it is that the action of God reaches its fulfillment in the glory of God. Thus the Church of God in the present has no other purpose than to praise and glorify God by its conduct and by its thanksgiving. Therefore, the future Church in the state of perfection cannot be thought of otherwise than as a worshipping community which sings hymns of praise and thanksgiving. We can see examples of this in the Revelation of John."
He concludes on the note, "Nevertheless, the world is God's world and the sphere of God as acting. Therefore, our relation to the world as believers is paradoxical... In terms of this book, we may say, 'let those who have the modern world-view live as though they had none.'"
Rudolf Bultmann (1884-1976) was a German theologian and professor of New Testament at the University of Marburg, whose 1941 essay "New Testament and Mythology" (reprinted with commentary in 'Kerygma and Myth') was one of the 20th century's most influential essays of theology. This volume contains lectures he gave in October 1951 at Yale University Divinity School.
He begins by saying "The heart of the preaching of Jesus Christ is the Kingdom of God. During the nineteenth century exegesis and theology understood the Kingdom of God as a spiritual community consisting of men joined together by obedience to the will of God which ruled in their wills. By such obedience they sought to enlarge the sphere of His rule in the world. They were building, it was said, the Kingdom of God as a realm which is spiritual but within the world, active and effective in this world, unfolding in the history of this world."
He adds that Jesus "expected that this would take place soon, in the immediate future, and he said that the dawning of that age could already be perceived in the signs and wonders which he performed, especially in his casting out of demons. Jesus envisaged the inauguration of the Kingdom of God as a tremendous cosmic drama. The Son of Man will come with the clouds of heaven, the dead will be raised and the day of judgment will arrive, for the righteous the time of bliss will begin, whereas the damned will be delivered to the torments of hell."
He writes, "If we can say anything more, it is that the action of God reaches its fulfillment in the glory of God. Thus the Church of God in the present has no other purpose than to praise and glorify God by its conduct and by its thanksgiving. Therefore, the future Church in the state of perfection cannot be thought of otherwise than as a worshipping community which sings hymns of praise and thanksgiving. We can see examples of this in the Revelation of John."
He concludes on the note, "Nevertheless, the world is God's world and the sphere of God as acting. Therefore, our relation to the world as believers is paradoxical... In terms of this book, we may say, 'let those who have the modern world-view live as though they had none.'"
June 13, 2019
I've been flirting with the idea of existential Christianity for a while now (fell in love with Kierkegaard through his book "Works of Love") and have been curious to learn the ins and outs and basic philosophy.
I heard Bultmann was a good foundation for the philosophy, so I picked up this book (sort of at random). I had no idea what the premise of the book really was and the title made me nervous (coming from a hardcore Evangelical background, this sounded oddly blasphemous). But I had to start somewhere. So I braced myself for whatever controversial ideas Bultmann would be throwing at me.
He started with the idea that some of the things that Jesus said were clearly not to be taken literally, which is a point that even Biblical literalists have to concede eventually, given how many metaphorical and symbolic descriptions there are in every book of the Bible.
From that point on, Bultmann discusses what it means to really know God, encounter God, and what role the Bible plays in it all. Most of it was surprisingly agreeable. Even my mother (who literally cried when I told her I was interested in existential Christianity) would have to agree with him on a lot of what he said. But there were points where I had to stop and contemplate the implications of what he was saying. He stretched my thinking in many ways. I took a lot of notes in the margins of the book, several of which were questions I had that may or may not have been fully answered.
But by the end, I was glad I had given him my time and headspace. It was a new experience to read such different takes on spirituality. As soon as I finished the last page, I knew I would be going back to reread it all. It was way too much to digest the first time and it left me wanting to know more.
I heard Bultmann was a good foundation for the philosophy, so I picked up this book (sort of at random). I had no idea what the premise of the book really was and the title made me nervous (coming from a hardcore Evangelical background, this sounded oddly blasphemous). But I had to start somewhere. So I braced myself for whatever controversial ideas Bultmann would be throwing at me.
He started with the idea that some of the things that Jesus said were clearly not to be taken literally, which is a point that even Biblical literalists have to concede eventually, given how many metaphorical and symbolic descriptions there are in every book of the Bible.
From that point on, Bultmann discusses what it means to really know God, encounter God, and what role the Bible plays in it all. Most of it was surprisingly agreeable. Even my mother (who literally cried when I told her I was interested in existential Christianity) would have to agree with him on a lot of what he said. But there were points where I had to stop and contemplate the implications of what he was saying. He stretched my thinking in many ways. I took a lot of notes in the margins of the book, several of which were questions I had that may or may not have been fully answered.
But by the end, I was glad I had given him my time and headspace. It was a new experience to read such different takes on spirituality. As soon as I finished the last page, I knew I would be going back to reread it all. It was way too much to digest the first time and it left me wanting to know more.
April 17, 2024
A short, but clear defense for demythologizing the New Testament. This is a key reading to understand how certain hermeneutics lead you to a denial of a New Testament worldview. Whether that's good or bad is up to you. I think it's bad, but respect the ability to clearly articulate such a position.
Most interesting quote:
"In faith man understands himself ever anew. this new self-understanding can be maintained only as a continual response to the word of God which proclaims His action in Jesus Christ. It is the same thing in ordinary human life. The new self-understanding which grows out of the encounter of man with man can be maintained only if the actual relation between man and man is maintained. 'The kindness of God is new every morning'; yes, provided I perceive it anew every morning. For this is not a timeless truth, like a mathematical statement. I can speak of the kindness of God which is new every morning only if I myself am renewed every morning" (76).
Most interesting quote:
"In faith man understands himself ever anew. this new self-understanding can be maintained only as a continual response to the word of God which proclaims His action in Jesus Christ. It is the same thing in ordinary human life. The new self-understanding which grows out of the encounter of man with man can be maintained only if the actual relation between man and man is maintained. 'The kindness of God is new every morning'; yes, provided I perceive it anew every morning. For this is not a timeless truth, like a mathematical statement. I can speak of the kindness of God which is new every morning only if I myself am renewed every morning" (76).
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October 23, 2022Conclusions non recommandables, démontrant un biais moderne contre tout aspect surnaturel.
Cependant, j’ai été grandement surprise par la qualité de l’exégèse de Bultmann. C’est fou comment une bonne exégèse ne se traduit pas nécessairement en bonne interprétation.
Une excellente leçon à tout interprète biblique, à savoir d’être conscient de ses biais et préjugés et de veiller à ne pas les imposer sur le texte.
Cependant, j’ai été grandement surprise par la qualité de l’exégèse de Bultmann. C’est fou comment une bonne exégèse ne se traduit pas nécessairement en bonne interprétation.
Une excellente leçon à tout interprète biblique, à savoir d’être conscient de ses biais et préjugés et de veiller à ne pas les imposer sur le texte.
January 2, 2023
I figured I'd better read some liberal theology at last. Yikes. It's not hard to see why Bultmann has become so influential, but his whole model is almost laughably flawed to anyone who can look at these things reasonably. There's nothing stopping any adherent of his system from simply getting rid of all belief in the transcendent if it isn't in accord with one's opinion of what is feasible to believe in the contemporary age.
March 15, 2025
The de-mythologizing project has failed, but Bultmann’s creative and sharp mind endures.
The book is a fascinating window into higher education, theology’s struggle as a legitimate academic discipline mid 20th century, and the mind of a very bright man as well as the rigorous institutional training that made him.
Heterodox. Nevertheless—insightful. I hope higher institutions develop such rigorous, capable, critical, learned theologians once again.
The book is a fascinating window into higher education, theology’s struggle as a legitimate academic discipline mid 20th century, and the mind of a very bright man as well as the rigorous institutional training that made him.
Heterodox. Nevertheless—insightful. I hope higher institutions develop such rigorous, capable, critical, learned theologians once again.
April 4, 2023
There are a couple of interesting insights in here, but the man’s words are almost entirely poison. He has twisted God’s Word into a shape of his own liking, and in doing so he has corrupted its message. His methods are also lacking. He provides no support for his positions, only an increasing number of assertions that lack backing. Avoid this book.
May 10, 2025
It’s difficult to know what God as creator might be a symbol of if not the “myth” which Bultmann thinks is false. But the book was a quick and easy read that introduces the tenor and main ideas of Bultmann’s project.
September 22, 2018
I liked this. I agreed more or less, and I appreciated the readability. I just think it could have been put together better.
October 30, 2018
Very academic
November 25, 2020
Interesting book that describes Bultmann's approach to NT studies and hermeneutics (demythologizing). This book is arguably more about existential philosophy/interpretation than NT studies.
December 7, 2021
Bultmann is the bomb.
Read
December 9, 20227-102
August 8, 2024
interesantes conceptos de hermenéutica y existencialismo cristiano en los últimos dos capítulos
April 22, 2025
Something something science something something heresy or whatever
August 20, 2025
Short, sweet, and to the point!
Read
June 10, 2015Hur lurat man kan bli av tjockleken av böcker. Självklart visste jag hur inflytande den här boken har varit och hur omdiskuterad Bultmanns teori om avmytologisering är. Men jag hade inte förväntat mig att han skulle kunna få med så mycket argumentation i så litet omfång (på det sättet påminner den om Walter Winks, Jesus and non-violence). Jag antar att om man har en poäng väldigt tydlig för sig och man har varit tvungen att försvara den ett antal gånger så kan man renodla den poängen på ett sådant tydligt och klargörande sätt som Bultmann gör.
Vad är poängen då? Jo, avmytologisering är en hermeneutik, ett sätt att skilja andemeningen av Jesu lära/Guds vilja från dåtidens världsbild så att vi kan ta till oss poängen till oss. Bultmann kopplar samman detta med kerygma, predikan kan man säga och jag kan tycka att det är precis vad den här sortens hermeneutik är. Vill inte de flesta predikanter så att säga 'översätta' eller kontexualisera bibelns budskap till idag? Sett utifrån det ljuset tycker jag att avmytologisering är högst oproblematiskt. Det hela beror väl på hur långt man ska dra den. Ska alla under avmytologiseras? Låter de sig göra det, eller är det undret i sig (ibland) som är själva poängen. Även om det inte skulle vara så? Kan man separera "mening" och "handling" på det sättet?
Ja, det finns förstås frågor och skarpare hjärnor än min har laft fram kritik, men många har säkert kritiserat "avmytologisering" utan att ha läst den här korta skriften (jag bland annat). Det tycker jag man ska undvika att göra. Det går inte att läsa precis allt som man har en åsikt om, men för den som läser den här boken tror jag att man får tänka efter lite vad man tror att avmytologisering handlar om.
Vad är poängen då? Jo, avmytologisering är en hermeneutik, ett sätt att skilja andemeningen av Jesu lära/Guds vilja från dåtidens världsbild så att vi kan ta till oss poängen till oss. Bultmann kopplar samman detta med kerygma, predikan kan man säga och jag kan tycka att det är precis vad den här sortens hermeneutik är. Vill inte de flesta predikanter så att säga 'översätta' eller kontexualisera bibelns budskap till idag? Sett utifrån det ljuset tycker jag att avmytologisering är högst oproblematiskt. Det hela beror väl på hur långt man ska dra den. Ska alla under avmytologiseras? Låter de sig göra det, eller är det undret i sig (ibland) som är själva poängen. Även om det inte skulle vara så? Kan man separera "mening" och "handling" på det sättet?
Ja, det finns förstås frågor och skarpare hjärnor än min har laft fram kritik, men många har säkert kritiserat "avmytologisering" utan att ha läst den här korta skriften (jag bland annat). Det tycker jag man ska undvika att göra. Det går inte att läsa precis allt som man har en åsikt om, men för den som läser den här boken tror jag att man får tänka efter lite vad man tror att avmytologisering handlar om.
August 12, 2011
For a so-called "ephoch-making" work wrestling with amongst other things Jesus Christ and mythology (duh), a search for a Biblical hermenuetic, eschatalogy, and the philosophical impact of Heidegger this is a surprisingly short and simple read.
Personally, I have read much about Bultmann but had yet to read any of his works. Had I known how simple he was to read I might have started earlier as I found this book engagging and a delight to read.
Still, one must not mistake simplicity with a lack of profundity or complexity. Bultmann is simple but complex. To grasp his thesis that a thoroughly eschatalogical faith (i.e. the faith of Jesus) must be one that de-mythologizes the Scriptures to arrive at historical Jesus is certainly a full one at that.
Personally, I have read much about Bultmann but had yet to read any of his works. Had I known how simple he was to read I might have started earlier as I found this book engagging and a delight to read.
Still, one must not mistake simplicity with a lack of profundity or complexity. Bultmann is simple but complex. To grasp his thesis that a thoroughly eschatalogical faith (i.e. the faith of Jesus) must be one that de-mythologizes the Scriptures to arrive at historical Jesus is certainly a full one at that.
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