Bultmann's Christology according to Karkkainen

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The Bultmannian demythologization is a subject widely misunderstood by many prominent theologians and biblical scholars. The fault lies in the fact that Bultmann uses various philosophical concepts and the label attached as myth to the theory of demythologization itself is difficult to understand. Karkkainen’s understanding of the Bultmannian view shall dominate this paper to reveal how prominent scholars such as Karkkainen and Norman Geisler and various others misunderstood Bultmann’s true intentions. The essay shall focus on Karkkainen’s understanding of Bultmann’s theory. Language is limited as it fails to capture the true event, and as language itself is symbolic therefore the problem is how to separate myth from the text. Rudolph Bultmann 1884-1976 was a German scholar who revolutionized the questions regarding the Gospels with his form criticism. Myths are by nature historically unverifiable therefore the myths have been interpreted by the New Testament authors for theological purposes instead of presenting them as historical event according to Bultmann. Bultmann asserts that the incarnation, miracles, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension are key events that took place during the time of the apostles and contemporaries; therefore it is a myth for the modern believers as we put our faith in the trustworthiness of the disciple’s faith on the events about the person and work of Christ. The myth is presented by Bultmann as an event we cannot recreate; therefore it is a myth as the languages used in the text itself is symbolic in nature. The Bultmannian mythological Christology is hard to define as the Karkkainen in the book “Christology: A Global Introduction “did not fully define the term “myth” and used the terminology qui... ... middle of paper ... ...ersity Press. Douglas J. D. and Tenney C. Merrill. 2011. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan. Erickson J. Millard. 1998. Systematic Theology II Edition. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic. Geisler L. Norman. 2011. Systematic Theology In One Volume. Minneapolis: Bethany House. _______________. 2012. The Big Book of Christian Apologetics An A To Z Guide. Grand Rapids: Baker Books. Grudem Wayne. 2000. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids: IVP Groothuis Douglas. 2011. Christian Apologetics A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith. Downers Grove: IVP. http://www.newadvent.org/ Karkkainen Matti Veli. 2004. The Doctrine of God: A Global Introduction. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic. McGrath E. Alister. 2013. Christian History An Introduction. Oxford: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Schnelle Udo. 2009. Theology Of The New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.
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