Wolfhart Pannenberg

¶ 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...

In Chapter 2, Pannenberg will explore the concept of God and the question of its truth. The chapter is actually an exploration into the philosophy of religion. To offer yet another contrast with Karl Barth, here is a chapter that Barth would say no theologian should write. Barth begins quickly in his prolegomena to proclaim the Word of God and revelation. In contrast, Pannenberg thinks that to gain a hearing for the Christian message, one needs persuade others that the discussion of God is still credible, valuable and meaningful. I will divide this chapter into two considerations, one being whether the word “God” is still meaningful in a secular culture, and the other is the yes Pannenberg gives to the notion of a natural knowledge of God and the no he gives to natural theology.            The challenge of secularity is always before him. In this case, he thinks that the mention of God or the divine sounds like a holdover from a childish and superstiti...