Wolfhart Pannenberg

¶ 4 Fourth, Dr. Congdon discusses the nature of the act of faith in Bultmann that has encouraged me to explore this subjective act from a theological perspective. Although the act of faith is subjective, I want to explore it as a way for the believer to align his or her life with Christ. Such a faith involves a transformation of life, orienting it toward making our lives about Christ. I want to explore theologically what we are doing when we turn to what God has done in Christ and enter the process of transformation into the image of the Son and walking in the power of the Spirit. This discussion is at a different level than that of how the pastor or evangelist would actually address people. However, I would like to think that behind the preaching and teaching of the people of the church, its leaders are engaging in such theological discussions. First, we will explore how Moltmann understands the illuminating and inspiring view of the subjective act of faith we find in Bultma...

¶ 3 Third, Dr. Congdon has made me more aware of the alien or strange nature of the gospel. An important reason for this strangeness is the context that Jewish apocalyptic provides for understanding both Jesus and the apostolic witness contained in the gospel. Jewish apocalyptic will feel strange and alien to the person living in the technocratic, scientific, and democratic setting of today. Demythologizing as Bultmann practices it is way of addressing the nature of this strangeness. Although the theologian may disagree with the direction Bultmann takes the mission of demythologizing, it seems inescapable that the theologian, and therefore the preacher and teacher in the church, will engage in the mission of demythologizing in some form. In effect, I hope I can raise the question for the reader not so much of whether the reader demythologizes, but how and on what basis you demythologize. In the form of a reminder, Bultmann gained much scholarly attention for his work on myth ...

¶ 2 Second, I would like to offer a way of clarifying the relation between the revelation of God on the one hand to other phenomenological descriptions of humanity, culture, and nature on the other. Bultmann opens this door with his use of the existential nature of human existence. The point here is to clarify revelation as our primary source for knowledge of God, but our knowledge of humanity and world might serve as an important point of contact for theology, preaching, and witness in the world. The debate between Bultmann and Barth, as Dr. Congdon describes it, has made one thing increasingly clear. If we are to know anything about God, it will be because God reveals who God is. The initiative is from God. Revelation is therefore an expression of the grace and love of God for humanity. We hear revelation as a strange or foreign presence. In part, such strangeness arises out of differing cultural and intellectual settings. Yet, its strangeness also arises out of its escha...