Journal: Southern Baptist Journal of Theology
Volume: SBJT 03:1 (Spring 1999)
Article: Schlatter Reception Then: His New Testament Theology
Author: Andreas J. Köstenberger

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SBJT 3:1 (Spring 1999) p. 40

Schlatter Reception Then:
His New Testament Theology

Andreas J. Köstenberger

Andreas J. Köstenberger is Associate Professor of New Testament at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. He has translated Adolf Schlatter’s two-volume New Testament Theology, The History of the Christ (Baker, 1997) and The Theology of the Apostles (Baker, forthcoming). He is also the author of a number of articles and has most recently published The Missions of Jesus and the Disciples According to the Fourth Gospel (Eerdmans, 1998).

With the appearance of the first volume of Schlatter’s New Testament Theology1 in English,2 and the publication of the second volume projected in the near future,3 the question arises how Schlatter’s work was received when it first appeared in print over eighty years ago. It remains to be seen how North American reviewers will assess Schlatter’s contribution to New Testament scholarship at the end of the twentieth century. Since this review process is just beginning to get underway, a look at the historical reception of Schlatter’s two-volume New Testament Theology will prove to be instructive. After a brief biographical sketch, this article will survey reviewer criticism, sketch Schlatter’s or his defenders’ responses to these criticisms, evaluate this dialogue, and summarize positive reviews. Some final observations conclude the essay.

Biographical Sketch of Adolf Schlatter4

The seventh of nine children, Adolf Schlatter was born in St. Gallen, Switzerland, on August 16, 1852. After completing his theological studies in Basel and Tübingen (1871–1875), Schlatter served as pastor in several Swiss state churches (1875–1880). A brief tenure at the University of Bern (where Schlatter submitted his dissertation on John the Baptist) was followed by a post in Greifswald (1888–1893), a small town in northern Germany. While in Greifswald Schlatter worked in close cooperation with the renowned Greek lexicographer Hermann Cremer. His next assignment led to Berlin (1893–1898), where he was hired as an alternative to the eminent liberal historian Adolf Harnack, who at that time was enmeshed in controversy for criticizing the Apostle’s Creed.

His last major career move took him to Tübingen, where he lectured in New Testament and systematics for almost twenty-five years (1898–1922). During this time, his wife died prematurely (1907). The years after her death proved Schlatter’s most productive as a scholar. In...

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