Theology and Myth: An Evangelical Response to Demythologizing -- By: Clark H. Pinnock

Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 128:511 (Jul 1971)
Article: Theology and Myth: An Evangelical Response to Demythologizing
Author: Clark H. Pinnock


Theology and Myth:
An Evangelical Response to Demythologizing

Clark H. Pinnock

[Clark H. Pinnock, Professor of Theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois.]

“Bultmann has the distinction of having identified and shaped most of the questions with which contemporary scholars must wrestle.”1 Although there are signs that Bultmann’s influence is waning and his theology being left behind in the development of liberal thought, a response to his demythologizing proposal is very much in order. While the zenith of his personal popularity has certainly passed, his general approach at this point has not been adequately refuted but become part and parcel of the intellectual equipment of most nonevangelical theologians. Furthermore, Bultmann has developed in a clear and succinct manner one of the most serious challenges which traditional Christianity has ever faced in her entire history. For no single concept is unaffected by its application. The purpose of this article is not meant to be altogether negative. It aims to go beyond a mere negative judgment on this aspect of Bultmann’s thought, and will attempt to construct in outline an alternative proposal which is viable and biblical. The need for such is apparent in view of the virtual nonexistence of a considered evangelical reply to his enormously influential and creative restatement of liberal theology.

The Scope of Demythologizing

The Theology of Bultmann. It is difficult, if not impossible, to be dispassionate about the theology of Rudolf Bultmann. He

polarizes people! For some he is a twentieth century Luther, extending into epistemology the sola fide principle. Those to his right denounce him as the archheretic selling out on the gospel, while those to the left accuse him of stubborn traditionalism in not surrendering completely the final importance of Jesus Christ. Three of the major influences on his thought bring to light the various dimensions of his theology.

First of all, there is the heritage of his schooling under the greatest liberal scholars—Weiss, Jülicher, Herrmann, Gunkel, Heitmüller. Even after his decisive conversion to dialectical thinking, there is a significant continuity with the classical liberal theology in Bultmann’s mind-set. This is clear in his radical, negative criticism of the Gospels, in his blind antipathy to the supernatural, in his continued loyalty to the “history of religions” school of Bousset and Reitzenstein, and in his idea that the New Testament message is intended to enable one to realize authentic human existence.

The second motif became pu...

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