Das Urchristentum im Rahmen der antiken Religionen (Primitive Christianity in Its Contemporary Setting / 1949 Bultmann), book

<bibexternal title="Das Urchristentum im Rahmen" author="Bultmann"/> Das Urchristentum im Rahmen der antiken Religionen <German>/ Primitive Christianity in Its Contemporary Setting (1949) is a book by Rudolf Karl Bultmann.

Abstract

In his overall depiction of Second Temple Judaism, Bultmann followed the traditional view of late nineteenth century German scholarship as a religious system characterized by legalism and an absent God.

Bultmann does not investigate the historical origins of the Incarnation, per say, but rather the precursors to a much broader category that he labels as "Primitive Christianity." As a historian of religion, he sees early Christianity as being the remarkable product of syncretism between late, especially Palestinian Judaism and Hellenistic Paganism. In order to demonstrate his thesis, he structures his work into an exploration of five primary sections of 1) OT heritage, 2) Judaism, 3) Greek Heritage, 4) Hellenism, and 5) Primitive Christianity. The first four sections provide the backdrop to the more synthetic work that he does in section five. In particular, he argues that a combination of Jewish apocalyptic ideas about the immanent end of times and final judgment combined with themes from Hellenistic religious beliefs, especially the Gnostic Redeemer Myth, functions as the backdrop to many of the theological themes and ideas in early Christianity. Intriguingly, he focuses much more on the theme of death and resurrection in Pauline thought than potential precursors to the doctrine of Incarnation. That being said, when he does address the topic of Incarnation, focusing especially on Phil 2 and the Gospel of John, he anachronistically employs the so-called 'Gnostic Redeemer Myth' to both in order to argue for a pre-existent, divine Christ sent into the world. The lack of extensive secondary citations within the monograph and at times, large sweeping descriptions without cogent examples can be frustrating, and yet, by envisioning Christianity's roots in both late Judaism and Hellenistic Paganism, Bultman's work combines the overarching arguments of his predecessors, von Harnack and Ottley, while still, for its time, making a significant contribution to the study of early Christianity. ~Deborah Forger

Editions and translations

Published in Zurich: Artemis, 1949.

Translations

• Primitive Christianity in Its Contemporary Setting = Das Urchristentum im Rahmen der antiken Religionen (1956 Bultmann / Fuller), book (English ed.)

• Il cristianesimo primitivo nel quadro delle religioni antiche (1964 Bultmann), book (Italian ed.)