Rudolf Karl Bultmann
(born Aug. 20, 1884, Wiefelstede, Ger. — died July 30, 1976, Marburg, W.Ger.) German
Protestant theologian and New Testament scholar. The son of a
Lutheran pastor, he studied at the University of Tübingen and later taught many years at Marburg (1921 – 51). He established his reputation with his analysis of the Gospels in
History of the Synoptic Tradition (1921). Influenced by his colleague
Martin Heidegger, he held that Christian faith should focus less on the historical
Jesus and more on the transcendent Christ, and he examined the New Testament in mythical terms. During the Nazi era he supported the anti-Nazi
Confessing Church. His postwar books included
Kerygma and Myth (1953),
History and Eschatology (1957), and
Jesus Christ and Mythology (1960).
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