B onhoeffer and B ultmann: Toward an Apocalyptic Rapprochement

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.