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Does Jesus have a say in the kerygma? A critical remembrance of Bultmann

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 June 2005

Michael D. Gibson
Affiliation:
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240

Abstract

This article is an examination of the theological conception of the ‘kerygma’ and its relation to the Synoptics presentation of the preaching and deeds of Jesus, as posited by New Testament theologian Rudolf Bultmann. At issue is a query into whether, according to Bultmann, the historical words or sayings of Jesus of Nazareth occupy a place in the theological formulation of the kerygma by the early Church. As Bultmannian interpretation continues to figure in New Testament studies, the purpose of the paper is to weigh the full implications of Bultmann's theological category of ‘kerygma’ and the consequence of the person of Jesus to this category, and the question of theological warrant.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© Scottish Journal of Theology Ltd 2005

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Footnotes

The term ‘remembrance’ is deliberately chosen, as the preaching of the kerygma is of necessity an event of remembrance of the crucified and risen Christ (Rudolf Bultmann, Theology of the New Testament, trans. Kendrick Grobel (London: SCM Press, 1952), 1:81); and, also, this paper is an exercise in re-evaluation of the kerygmatic theology of Bultmann.