Tim Labron’s ‘Bultmann Unlocked’

I’m very happy to let you know that I have just received an advance copy of Tim Labron’s new book. ‘Bultmann Unlocked’ will be available to readers in the UK on the 11th of November 2010 and readers in the US will be able to buy this volume at the beginning of January 2011.

This book has received two great reviews from Michel Desjardins and John Painter – both are quoted below:

‘Only a few years ago taking a degree in Christian origins or Protestant Christian theology would have included at least some acquaintance with Rudolf Bultmann. But Bultmann’s writings, like Eliade’s in the field of comparative religion, are now more often criticized or simply ignored. Labron, while not overlooking the problems with Bultmann’s work, insists here on its perennial value for scholars in general and Christians in particular. He considers Bultmann’s key point to be succinctly expressed in his exegesis of John 1:14a, underlining the divine as the counter-pole to the human, and the incarnation as a deep paradox. Labron emphasizes Bultmann’s radical, independent thought, while also lingering on its deep points of similarity with Ludwig Wittgenstein. Indeed, throughout this book Labron seeks to unlock the potential he sees in Bultmann to generate fresh thought and sound Christian theology. This book is a superb testimony to the creative energies of both these German and Canadian scholars.’ – Michel Desjardins, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada.

‘Labron notes that the work of Bultmann has fallen into obscurity. If his work is mentioned these days, its fate is a dismissive nod consigning it to the dustbins of the past. Labron rightly argues that this situation is unjustifiable, a consequence of a failure to grasp the import of Bultmann’s work. That failure is rooted in misunderstanding, which Karl Barth noted, was common among Bultmann’s contemporary critics. Nothing has changed. The aim of his book is to unlock Bultmann’s thought from obscurity and the prison of dismissive misunderstanding. He does not seek to gain uncritical acceptance of Bultmann’s thought, but to reveal what Bultmann called the actual scandal of the gospel. Using his own work on Wittgenstein and post-structuralism he sets out to show that Bultmann’s existentialism is actually opposed to Cartesian thought, thus requiring reassessment.’ – John Painter, Charles Sturt University, Australia.

Comments

[TM]

Given Labron's previous work, I am glad to see this Bultmann title. This will likely be a work that is both interesting and thought provoking (in agreement and disagreement!).