Posts tagged "Rudolf Bultmann"
The Self-Abandonment of Love, According to Rudolf Bultmann
Bible / Theology

The Self-Abandonment of Love, According to Rudolf Bultmann

by Todd Brewer on Feb 14, 2013 • No Comments

In celebration of Valentine’s Day, here are a few choice quotes on love from the great Lutheran New Testament scholar, Rudolf Bultmann:

“An act of friendship or love is genuine only if I am really in the doing of it, and do not stand alongside it: only when I do not think of myself and my achievement, only when the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing: only when I think of absolutely nothing bu the person on whom I am bestowing it. A Work of love is fundamentally easy even when I exhort it from myself…

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The Top Theology Books of 2012
Books / Religion / Theology / Year In Review

The Top Theology Books of 2012

by Todd Brewer on Dec 31, 2012 • 1 Comment

The following is a list of my top Mockingbird theology books of 2012 (in no particular order).

- Glorious Ruin by Tullian Tchividjian

Tchividjian does it again. Thoughtful, provocative, and deeply encouraging, “Glorious Ruin” places suffering at the heart of the Christian life and what we understand about God, but probably the biggest virtue of this book is its personal and accessible tone. Suffering is never spoken of in cold abstraction from its down-to-earth reality. It’s no wonder this book has gotten so much attention on this site.

- Justification Is for Preaching edited by Virgil Thompson

A much needed book for preachers and…

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Freedom and Control According to Rudolf Bultmann
Religion / Theology

Freedom and Control According to Rudolf Bultmann

by Todd Brewer on May 1, 2012 • 4 Comments

It is my contention that the ever-contentious 20th century theologian, Rudolf Bultmann, was nothing less than a committed Lutheran. To those somewhat familiar with him, this statement will come as a bit of a surprise. Especially within the English-speaking world, Bultmann is famous for being the father of de-mythologizing and form criticism! But it was one of the chief accomplishments in his career that he placed the present preaching of the Word at the heart of theology. While this took many different (and controversial!) forms within his scholarly life, this also indicates that it is within his sermons that Bultmann’s…

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Rudolf Bultmann on Honesty, Grace and Self-Regard
Identity / Psychology / Theology

Rudolf Bultmann on Honesty, Grace and Self-Regard

by Todd Brewer on Aug 20, 2009 • 7 Comments

In honor of the 125th anniversary of much-debated Lutheran theologian Rudolf Bultmann’s birthday, the following are excepts from a sermon he preached on August 4th, 1940.

“Psychology has shown us how the natural need for recognition, if suppressed, can assume morbid developments, and how a human life may be ruined and brought to disaster if this desire for recognition is repressed so that it results in a so-called inferiority complex… In fact the need for recognition for one’s value is something implanted in the very nature of man. We can only live and breathe freely in a circle where we are…

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