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

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Das Urchristentum im Rahmen der antiken Religionen (1949) is a book by Rudolf Karl Bultmann.

Abstract

Bultmann does not investigate the historical origins of the Incarnation, per say, but rather the precursors to the much broader category of what 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. 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. Translated into English (1956)

Table of contents

External links

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