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B onhoeffer and B ultmann: Toward an Apocalyptic Rapprochement
Author(s) -
Congdon David W.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
international journal of systematic theology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.149
H-Index - 13
eISSN - 1468-2400
pISSN - 1463-1652
DOI - 10.1111/ijst.12002
Subject(s) - ambiguity , opposition (politics) , interpretation (philosophy) , relation (database) , philosophy , clarity , reading (process) , theology , law , political science , linguistics , chemistry , computer science , politics , biochemistry , database
In the 1950s and 1960s, the relation between D ietrich B onhoeffer and R udolf B ultmann was a topic of much dispute, with G erhard K rause declaring the apparent opposition between them ‘resolved’ in 1964. Recent apocalyptic theology has reopened the divide between them by claiming B onhoeffer as an apocalyptic thinker over against B ultmann. This article disputes that reading by arguing that the very conditions under which B onhoeffer is rightly understood as apocalyptic open up the door for a new interpretation of B ultmann. The question of their relationship reveals the ambiguity surrounding the notion of apocalyptic. There is a pressing need for greater clarity regarding this notion as well as greater charity in relation to B ultmann.