Wolfhart pannenbergs recent venture into christology, jesusgod and man,2 represents a significant departure in several respects from the dominant modes of german theologizing over the past two centuries. This is by no means a peculiarly roman catholic understanding. In revelation as history, pannenberg and others upended barths dictum that revelation could not be a predicate of history by saying that revelation is history. In the midst of history, jesus christ has come as fully revealing god in anticipation of the consummation of. The source of pannenbergs revision can be traced back to his views of reason, revelation, and the godworld relation. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The affirmation that the god of israel and the god of the philosophers is the one and same godan affirmation that entails the reception by christian theology of the philosophical argument for the one true godis a constitutive and permanent feature of christian faith. A good resource for the study of revelation is matthew henrys commentary, which can be found on the web. On both counts pannenberg is at odds with the dominant views of revelation and its relation to history in modern theology. Wolfhart pannenberg on the history of christology the.
His emphasis on history as revelation, centred on the resurrection of christ, has proved important in stimulating debate in both protestant and catholic theology, as well as. History figures prominently in the titles of many works by and about pannenberg, and he has said that, in his view, history is the most. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. Cook when an important new name appears on the theological horizon thinking christians experience a natural though probably an unwise urge to classify the newcomer in terms of established labels, so that his contribution might the more readily be assimilated into current church thinking. Wolfhart pannenberg was without doubt one of the most influential theologians of the 20th century. A proposal for a more open, less authoritarian view of an important theological concept wolfhart pannenberg, david granskou on. Rendtorff are both, properly speaking, concluding pieces, the former coalescing the dicta of the preceding chapters into the dogmatic theses of systematic theology, and the latter discussing the impact of the problem of.
Christians are to live now by faith in the historical reality of the. An exploration of the trinitarian doctrine of wolfhart pannenberg. Introduction pannenberg made his first significant mark upon the theological community in 1968 when his influential revelation as history 1 was first published, reacting against a common early 20th century trend of avoiding historical criticism by embracing it and concluding that revelation was exclusively history. His first major work, revelation as history, was a collection of essays which pannenberg edited, introduced, and to which he contributed a chapter. Pannenbergs solution, in contrast, recognized the objective truth as the end of an inductive handling of the content of revelation. Volume 2 of pannenbergs magnum opus moves beyond the highly touted discussion of systematic prolegomena and theology proper in volume 1 to commanding, comprehensive statements. Revelation as history the war and postwar generations witnessed heated debates regarding the themes of dialectical theology and the bultmannian existential method. Historical revelation is there for anyone who has eyes to see. If god is true, then he can and will be found at the end of a critical investigation of his historical revelation. If revelation is historical, it must be ascertainable and verifiable by the methods of historical scholarship, and the point of departure for theology cannot be the word of god or the kerygma, but instead the.
The books of daniel and the revelation should be bound together and published. A proposal for a more open, less authoritarian view. Pannenberg has written a masterful christology from below in jesus. The eschatological meaning of jesus resurrection as a historical. Since then numerous volumes and essays have poured from the pen of the prolific pannenberg, extending the concept of revelation as history into various areas of doctrine. The christology of wolfhart pannenberg sage journals. This is the suggestion that i made to elder haskell which resulted in the book he published. Pannenbergs argument for the historicity of the resurrection. In the course of religious history the concept of revelation has become a description of the result of. That is to say that the doctrine of gods revelation is the foundation upon. Widely regarded as the foremost theologian in the world today, wolfhart pannenbergs longawaited systematic theology, volume 2, for which his many previous primarily methodological writings have laid the groundwork. He was born in stettin, germany, now part of poland in 1928.
In the midst of history, jesus christ has come as fully revealing god in anticipation of the consummation of history and gods kingdom when he returns. Positive assertions can be made only because god has revealed himself as the triune lord. Apr 24, 2012 wolfhart pannenberg on revelation introduction. Wolfhart pannenberg, retired from a long theology career at munich, has died at age 85. Jenson has not been accorded a place at the center of the american academic establishment. Thus jesus is identified with gods essence as power over all and as the end of history. He has made a number of significant contributions to modern theology, including his concept of history as a form of revelation centered on the resurrection of christ, which has been widely debated in both protestant and catholic theology, as well as by nonchristian thinkers.
The reiteration of the eternal trinitarian god, who in himself possesses the totality of life in the simultaneity of his eternity, provides the ontological ground for pannenberg s concept of revelation as history. It may be instructive to compare the above statement. A group of younger scholars, headed by wolfhart pannenberg, then of mainz, later of munich, was proposing a radical alternative to bultmanns existential theology. Bingham 141 question 25 2 out of 2 points wolfhart pannenberg sees faith as rooted in history. Wolfhart pannenberg on revelation thoughts of a living. Wolfhart pannenberg 1928 the students companion to.
All christian doctrines develop over time as the church revises its talk about god, as karl barth would say, and christology is no exception. Barth, on the one hand, argued that revelation was an existential divine encounter in which god makes himself known to the individual. They disagreed, however, on the locus of revelation, which led to radically different theological projects. Tracking the trinity in contemporary theology 101 revelation, and reealedness. Pannenberg writes, to say that the revelation of god is not a supernatural event which breaks into history perpendicularly from above but rather that it is the theme of history itself, the power that moves it in its deepest dimension, is to say something about god. Revelation as history pannenberg was the coeditor of, and one of the main. This thesis will argue that while wolfhart pannenbergs theological. For pannenberg, as lane explains it, revelation is contained in the events of history, all the events of universal history. Pdf pannenbergs concept of revelation and the gospel of john. A study guide to the prophecies of daniel and the revelation. Interestingly, several of these scholars, as well as others not included on the list, downplayed the importance of heaven. A few explanations of certain portions might be added, but i am not sure that these would be needed. The story of daniel the prophet, and the story of the seer of patmos.
Which of the following best represents how faith is related to history, according to pannenberg. With a starting point built on a hegelian and barthian understanding,2. Pannenberg was a major twentiethcentury theologian by any count, with a series of brilliant articles, important books on the topics of revelation, christology, ethics, science, anthropology, and metaphysics, and a hefty 3volume systematic theology to cap. Building on hegel, they maintained that knowledge, as history, is always openended and can thus be. Pannenbergs doctrine of the trinity lies at the very center of his doctrine of god. The reiteration of the eternal trinitarian god, who in himself possesses the totality of life in the simultaneity of his eternity, provides the ontological ground for pannenbergs concept of revelation as history. The poor sinners gospel weitling, wilhelm christian. Pannenberg says that in opposition to the view of religion as a purely anthropological human. Wolfhart pannenberg, ne le 2 octobre 1928 a stettin en allemagne aujourdhui szczecin. This revelation, for barth, is gods own interpretation of himself. The revelation of god pannenberg begins this chapter with the crucially important observation that god. No other books contain so many chains of prophecy reaching down to the end.
History as revelation and divine discourse in history. Gods presence in history wolfhart pannenberg wolfhart pannenberg, jesus god and man. God of the philosophers by wolfhart pannenberg articles. Pannenberg on the resurrection and historical method. For pannenberg, everything hinges on the resurrection. As richard bauckham has pointed out, what the nt presents is a christoloo of divine identity. Buy revelation as history by pannenberg, wolfhart, quinn, e. The churchs orientation in the present time is to be toward the revelation of god in jesus christ. I had the privilege of studying with pannenberg in munich, where he taught theology at the university of munich, during 19811982.
In 1961 pannenberg with his circle published revelation as history 1968. It may be instructive to compare the above statement on history with the following statement from. God and man, he provided an impressive outline of how christology as a dogma had developed historically. Explorations in the eschatological theology of wolfhart pannenberg. This focus, then, offers the reader a unique insight into the revelation of god. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them.
And his own prayers memorably combine trust in god with realism. Unlike barth, pannenberg preferred to base his theology on critical studies of the scripture. We may nevertheless question whether the role of jesus as fulfiller of apocalyptic expectation is as decisive for nt as pannenberg suggests. The full text of this article hosted at is unavailable due to technical difficulties. Wolfhart pannenberg 2 october 1928 4 september 2014 was a german theologian. Rendtorff are both, properly speaking, concluding pieces, the former coalescing the dicta of the preceding chapters into the dogmatic theses of systematic theology, and the latter discussing the impact of the problem of revelation on the concept of the church. Search the history of over 424 billion web pages on the internet.
This attack on kantianism and pannenbergs explicit move toward a more hegelian philosophical orientation help to account for the intimate and positive relationship between theology and historical inquiry in his thinking. Theology and the philosophy of science is pannenberg s engagement with contemporary philosophy of science in a discussion about what constitutes a discipline as wissenschaftlich, as. In wolfhart pannenbergs famous christology book, jesus. Pannenbergs work is a theology from below, examining the person of jesus beginning with his identity as the man from nazareth. Buy revelation as history by wolfhart pannenberg isbn. Dec 23, 20 this led pannenberg to state explicitly that the death of god theologians are the heirs of barth and bultmann pannenberg 1973, p. Wolfhart pannenberg, born in stettin, germany now szczecin, poland, was a german christian theologian. Wolfhart pannenberg, the emergence of creatures and their succession in a developing universe, asbury theological journal 50. Combining exegetical and philosophical insights, fusing historical and con. In wolfhart pannenberg s famous christology book, jesus. Placher t he claim that god reveals himse lf in history is obviously central to the theology of woltliart pannenberg. His emphasis on history as revelation, centred on the resurrection of christ, has proved important in stimulating debate in both protestant and catholic theology, as well as with nonchristian thinkers. Wolfhart pannenberg 19282014, theological outflanker. Wolfhart pannenberg 2 october 1928 4 september 2014 was a german lutheran theologian.
Scholars, such as paul althaus and emil brunner, supplied the discipline with a broad critique of barthian views. He has made a number of significant contributions to modern theology. It is important first, because from the point of view of logic it proceeds any other christian doctrine. As someone just beginning my journey into serious theological reading i found his german academic style of writing a bit dense at times, but overall it was well worth the effort. Wolfhart pannenberg boston collaborative encyclopedia of. Wolfhart pannenberg 19282014, theological outflanker the. Pannenbergs quest for the proleptic jesus 55 thus god reveals himself in the history of jesus. When an important new name appears on the theological horizon thinking christians experience a natural though probably an unwise urge to classify the newcomer in terms of established labels, so that his contribution might the more readily be assimilated into current church thinking. This naturally leads pannenberg into a discussion of revelation, which he understands as the selfdemonstration of the deity of god in the process of salvation history 187.
Wolfhart pannenberg, christianity and secularism, asbury theological journal 50. For pannenberg history is revelation, while dialectical presence is revelation. He basically ends up with orthodox christology, but he cautions against speaking of jesus during his ministry in terms that most of us are comfortable using. In pannenbergs concept of revelation, appearance and essence merge. Wolfhart pannenberg project gutenberg selfpublishing. Featured texts all books all texts latest this just in smithsonian libraries fedlink us genealogy lincoln collection. Wolfhart pannenberg 2 october 1928 4 september 2014 1 was a german theologian. Revelation as history rolf rendtorff, trutz rendtorff. He claims to have broken with the widely prevalent theology of the word and points instead to history as the medium of gods revelation. Gods unsurpassable future is present in its futurity in jesuswhich is pannenbergs way of saying that god as the worlds future is not simply identical with jesus, for jesus is not the father.
Building on hegel, they maintained that knowledge, as history, is always openended and can thus be understood only from the end, when history is complete. But more than this, pannenberg maintains that the god who constitutes history has himself fully entered the process of history in his revelation. Pannenbergs use of history as a solution to the religious. Pdf history as revelation and divine discourse in history. Similar to hegel, he argues that history as such is divine revelation.
However, in the early 60s wolfhart pannenberg, a german systematician and former pupil. Critically, the trinitarian doctrine serves to keep all language about god monotheistic. Wolfhart pannenberg s recent venture into christology, jesusgod and man,2 represents a significant departure in several respects from the dominant modes of german theologizing over the past two centuries. Pannenberg s quest for the proleptic jesus 55 thus god reveals himself in the history of jesus. This chapter presents the life and works of wolfhart pannenberg. Faith is at the end of the journey for pannenberg instead of at the beginning for barth. Sep 10, 2014 wolfhart pannenberg was without doubt one of the most influential theologians of the 20th century. The source of pannenberg s revision can be traced back to his views of reason, revelation, and the godworld relation. The most famous epoch in the development of christology was the ecumenical council of.
Combining exegetical and philosophical insights, fusing historical and con temporary. Wolfhart pannenberg sees faith as rooted in history. Gods unsurpassable future is present in its futurity in jesuswhich is pannenbergs way of saying that god as the worlds future is. His unique blend of exacting standards and warm, personal encouragement have helped. The subject of gods revelation is of primary importance for christian theology. Pannenberg made his first significant mark upon the theological community in 1968 when his influential revelation as history was first published, reacting against a common early 20 th century trend of avoiding historical criticism by embracing it and concluding that revelation was exclusively history. Although revelation occurs in history, history as such is not revelation.