The Unity of Theology: The Contribution of Wolfhart Pannenberg

by Theodore James Whapham

However, it is precisely in regard to this emphasis on self-revelation that Pannenberg and his colleagues are most critical. In 1960, Pannenberg, Rolf Rendtorff, Trutz Rendtorff, and Ulrich Wilkens developed their response to the theology of revelation current at the time, merging scriptural and systematic studies in an effort to articulate a theology of revelation rooted soundly in the testimony of Scripture.[17] These studies suggest that the diversity of scriptural definitions of revelation point away from the concept of God’s direct self-revelation of his essence, despite the implications of the term “theophany.” Instead, Scripture studies developed by Rendtorff and Wilkens argue that throughout the biblical tradition divine manifestations never have God’s essence as their content. Rather, they insist that divine manifestations in Scripture always point directly to some definitive content and only indirectly to God’s essence.