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drbobcornwall's review
5.0
There is clearly an apocalyptic thread that runs through the New Testament. You will find it in the Gospels, in the letters, and of course in the apocalypse itself, the Book of Revelation. Some have deemed apocalyptic theology too dangerous to handle, thus efforts are made to remove or downplay that dimension of the biblical story. But, is that possible? And if we do, do we end up domesticating Jesus and the Christian movement. I will admit that there are groups who make use of apocalyptic imagery and texts in ways that are dangerous, but should they have the last word? These are questions that have been on my mind as I begin a project on eschatology, that doctrine of last things.
In the course of my readings on eschatology and apocalyptic theology, I re-encountered the work of Ernst Kasemann, the late German New Testament scholar and theologian who might be best known for his break with his mentor Rudolph Bultmann. In large part that break had to do with differing understandings of the apocalyptic vision within the New Testament. For Kasemann, Bultmann's emphasis on the individual was too narrow a vision, one that did not provide a foundation for active engagement in the world.
Kasemann wrote a few commentaries, but much of his work came in the form of essays, which over the years have been translated. "Church Conflicts" is the most recent attempt at translating and making available the work of Kasemann for a new generation. This volume contains eighteen essays that cover a variety of topics, but often with an apocalyptic or eschatological dimension. We see in these essays Kasemann's emphasis on discipleship, and the discipleship being rooted in the person of the crucified Nazarene.
This collection of essays offers us the translation of the first volume of Kasemann's "Kirkliche Konlikte", which was published in German in the 1980s and is comprised of essays, lectures, Bible studies, meditations, and sermons that Kasemann delivered in some form from the 1960s to the 1980s. Volume 2 of this collection was earlier published by Eerdmans under the title "On Being a Disciple of the Crucified Nazarene."
The period in which these essays emerged was a time in which Kasemann became a well-known figure in ecumenical circles. It was also a period in which he was drawn into supporting the student movements of the late 1960s. It is also during this period that his daughter disappeared in Argentina, having been taken by the ruling junta that led to her torture and death at their hands. Needless to say, all of this, plus his own history of navigating the years of the Nazi rule and its aftermath, contribute to his radicalized theology. That reality is reflected in the words of James Cone, who provides the foreword to this book. Cone reveals that Kasemann alone among the European theologians understood him.
The editor, Ry O. Siggelkow provided a most helpful introduction to the book in which he introduces the reader to Kasemann the person as well as the theologian, helping set the essays in context. We learn of his origins, his ministry in a mining region among working people, his initial welcome of Hitler's message, and later rejection of it. As one who has read Bonhoeffer's works and many of the biographies, it is instructive to note that these two German theologians were born in the same year. Bonhoeffer is the more famous, in large part due to his martyrdom. Kasemann's life took different turns and yet there are parallels here that need to be considered.
It is difficult to pick out a particular essay or essays to take note of. Each has a life of its own, but as we read them we can discern his strong commitment to the message and life of Jesus. He was also committed to the church, especially its ecumenical dimension. While committed to the unity of the church he was quite upfront about the diversity of theologies, confessions, and such that existed from the beginning. Interestingly, it is here that Kasemann broadened the meaning of Bultmann's program of "demythologizing." He embraced Bultmann's thesis that the ancient modes of thought can not be repristinated in the present, but he wanted to radicalize the theses. He writes "Texts must be demythologized because and insofar as both humanity and the world require a continual demythologizing." But he goes further: "The gospel demythologizes and de-demonizes earthly conditions, thus also our views and the text that makes them known. We find ourselves a battlefield between God and idols, continually tempted not to let ourselves be formed by Christ after the image of our Lord, but to form ourselves and the world around us to our own will." (pp. 17-18). It is the emphasis on the crucified Nazarene that permeates the book.
Coming away from the book, I may not agree at all points, but I find him provocative and instructive. That James Cone would say that he alone understood him and welcomed him is important. That he and Moltmann share a commitment to reclaiming the apocalyptic and eschatological elements of the gospel is also important. It is also instructive at a time when we are wrestling with the implications of white supremacy and white privilege that Kasemann, whose writings present in this volume date to 1982 and before, speaks clearly about the distortions of Christianity that are rooted in the White Man. Thus, he writes in an essay titled "The Proclamation of the Cross of Christ in a Time of Self-Deception" (1974): "Demythologization of humanity means repentance for the Christian." (p. 161).
These essays are decades old and yet they still resonate and thus are worthy of our attention.
In the course of my readings on eschatology and apocalyptic theology, I re-encountered the work of Ernst Kasemann, the late German New Testament scholar and theologian who might be best known for his break with his mentor Rudolph Bultmann. In large part that break had to do with differing understandings of the apocalyptic vision within the New Testament. For Kasemann, Bultmann's emphasis on the individual was too narrow a vision, one that did not provide a foundation for active engagement in the world.
Kasemann wrote a few commentaries, but much of his work came in the form of essays, which over the years have been translated. "Church Conflicts" is the most recent attempt at translating and making available the work of Kasemann for a new generation. This volume contains eighteen essays that cover a variety of topics, but often with an apocalyptic or eschatological dimension. We see in these essays Kasemann's emphasis on discipleship, and the discipleship being rooted in the person of the crucified Nazarene.
This collection of essays offers us the translation of the first volume of Kasemann's "Kirkliche Konlikte", which was published in German in the 1980s and is comprised of essays, lectures, Bible studies, meditations, and sermons that Kasemann delivered in some form from the 1960s to the 1980s. Volume 2 of this collection was earlier published by Eerdmans under the title "On Being a Disciple of the Crucified Nazarene."
The period in which these essays emerged was a time in which Kasemann became a well-known figure in ecumenical circles. It was also a period in which he was drawn into supporting the student movements of the late 1960s. It is also during this period that his daughter disappeared in Argentina, having been taken by the ruling junta that led to her torture and death at their hands. Needless to say, all of this, plus his own history of navigating the years of the Nazi rule and its aftermath, contribute to his radicalized theology. That reality is reflected in the words of James Cone, who provides the foreword to this book. Cone reveals that Kasemann alone among the European theologians understood him.
The editor, Ry O. Siggelkow provided a most helpful introduction to the book in which he introduces the reader to Kasemann the person as well as the theologian, helping set the essays in context. We learn of his origins, his ministry in a mining region among working people, his initial welcome of Hitler's message, and later rejection of it. As one who has read Bonhoeffer's works and many of the biographies, it is instructive to note that these two German theologians were born in the same year. Bonhoeffer is the more famous, in large part due to his martyrdom. Kasemann's life took different turns and yet there are parallels here that need to be considered.
It is difficult to pick out a particular essay or essays to take note of. Each has a life of its own, but as we read them we can discern his strong commitment to the message and life of Jesus. He was also committed to the church, especially its ecumenical dimension. While committed to the unity of the church he was quite upfront about the diversity of theologies, confessions, and such that existed from the beginning. Interestingly, it is here that Kasemann broadened the meaning of Bultmann's program of "demythologizing." He embraced Bultmann's thesis that the ancient modes of thought can not be repristinated in the present, but he wanted to radicalize the theses. He writes "Texts must be demythologized because and insofar as both humanity and the world require a continual demythologizing." But he goes further: "The gospel demythologizes and de-demonizes earthly conditions, thus also our views and the text that makes them known. We find ourselves a battlefield between God and idols, continually tempted not to let ourselves be formed by Christ after the image of our Lord, but to form ourselves and the world around us to our own will." (pp. 17-18). It is the emphasis on the crucified Nazarene that permeates the book.
Coming away from the book, I may not agree at all points, but I find him provocative and instructive. That James Cone would say that he alone understood him and welcomed him is important. That he and Moltmann share a commitment to reclaiming the apocalyptic and eschatological elements of the gospel is also important. It is also instructive at a time when we are wrestling with the implications of white supremacy and white privilege that Kasemann, whose writings present in this volume date to 1982 and before, speaks clearly about the distortions of Christianity that are rooted in the White Man. Thus, he writes in an essay titled "The Proclamation of the Cross of Christ in a Time of Self-Deception" (1974): "Demythologization of humanity means repentance for the Christian." (p. 161).
These essays are decades old and yet they still resonate and thus are worthy of our attention.
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