bultmann on the new testament and mythology

8/20/2019 Bultmann on the New Testament and Mythology

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B U L T M A N N O N T H E

N E W T E S T A M E N T

A N D M Y T H O L O G Y

J o s e p h W a y n e S m i t h S h a r y n W a rd *

University of Adelaide,

Australia.

1. I N T R O D U C T I O N

R u d o l f B u l t m a n n h a s c la im e d t h a t a n o u t s t a n d i n g t a s k o f t h e

c o n t e m p o r a r y C h r i s ti a n t h e o lo g i a n is t o d e m y t h o l o g i z e t h e N e w

T e s t a m e n t p r o c l a m a t i o n a n d a d v a n c e a n e x i s t e n t i a l i s t

r e i n t e r p r e t a t io n I. I n t h i s p a p e r w e s h al l a r g u e t h a t B u l t m a n n ' s

p r o p o s a l s a r e s e r io u s l y d e f e c t iv e . N o t o n l y is h is c a s e a g a i n s t

t h e ' m y t h i c a l ' v i ew o f C h r i s t i a n i t y e x t r e m e l y w e a k , b u t h is o w n

e x i s t e n t i a l i s t t h e o r y i s i n a d e q u a t e . W e sh a l l a r g u e t h a t i f

B u l t m a n n ' s c r i t i c i s m s o f t h e ' m y t h i c a l ' a c c o u n t o f C h r i st ia n i-

t y w e r e a c c e p t a b l e , t h e n t h e r e i s n o g o o d r e a s o n f o r a t t e m p -

t i n g t o s a v e C h r i s t i a n i t y b y a n e x i s t e n t i a l i s t r e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n .

T h i s m o v e is n o t h i n g m o r e t h a n a q u i t e a r b i t r a r y s t r a t e g y a d-

v a n c e d t o s a v e a n in a d e q u a t e p o s i t io n . H e n c e w e e i th e r a c c e p t

B u l t m a n n ' s m y t h i c a l v i e w o f C h r i s t i a n i t y , o r e ls e w e e l im i n a t e

a n y e x p l a n a t o r y r e fe r e n c e t o C h r i s t ia n p h e n o m e n a in o u r

c o g n i t iv e a t t e m p t s t o c o n s t ru c t a s y s t e m a t i c Weltanschauung.

2. A N E X P L I C A T I O N O F T H E M Y T H O F C H R I S -

T I A N I T Y

T h e m y t h i c a l v ie w o f C h r i s t i a n i t y d i s c u s s e d b y B u l t m a n n is

w h a t w e s h a l l c a l l , t o u s e a p a r a l l e l f r o m t h e p h i l o s o p h y o f

s c ie n c e , a r e a l i s t i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t h e S c r i p t u r e s 2. O n s u c h a

v ie w , t h e r a t io n a l l y r e c o n s t r u c t e d , l it e ra l s t a t e m e n t s o f t h e

S c r i p t u r e s a r e e i t h e r t r u e o r fa l se a n d t h e e s s e n t i a l t e r m s o f s u c h

s t a t e m e n t s t y p i c a l l y r e f e r . T h i s c l a i m r e q u i r e s e x p l i c a t i o n .

C l e a r l y n o t a ll s t a t e m e n t s o f t h e S c r i p t u r e s a r e e i th e r t r u e o r

f als e: s o m e s t a t e m e n t s a r e p u r e l y d e v o t i o n a l s t a t e m e n t s o f e m o -



tion an d praise O u r interest is restricted in this pa per to

W e l t a n s c h a u u n g s t a t e m e n t s .

T h e s e s t a t e m e n t s i n di v i du a te

Christianity as a uni qu e religion m o n g these sta tem ent s are

th e following:

(1) T h e r e e x i s t s a n o m n i s c i e n t , o m n i p o t e n t , l o v i n g , g o o d b e -

i ng , G o d , w h o i s o u t s i d e o f t h e w o r l d .

(2) T h i s b e i n g c r e a t e d e x n i h i lo t h e w o r l d o r e ls e g u i d e d e v o l u -

t i o n a r y p r o c e s s e s .

(3) T h e r e a l s o e x i s t d e m o n i c p o w e r s w h i c h m a y c a u s a l l y in -

f lu e n c e h u m a n h i s to r y . A l t e rn a t i v e l y G o d m a y i n sp i re h u m a n

t h o u g h t a n d i n fl u en c e h u m a n h i s to r y .

(4) T h e w o r l d w a s c r e a t e d to b e m o r a l ly p e r f e c t b u t h u m a n

k i n d w a s c r e a t e d w i t h t h e f r e e w i l l t o r e j e c t o r d i s o b e y G o d .

T h e r e s u l t w a s t h e f al l o f A d a m , a n o r ig i n al a c t o f d i s o b e d i e n c e

o f h u m a n k i n d.

(5) A n a u t h e n t i c l if e f o r t h e C h r i s t i a n c o n s i s t s in t h e o v e r c o m -

i n g o f s in b y f a i t h i n t h e g r a c e o f G o d , w i t h e t e r n a l s a l v a t i o n

a s th e u l t im a t e j u d g e m e n t f o r s u c h f ai th . N o t t o o b t a i n a n

a u t h e n t i c life , i s t o e n t e r in t o d a m n a t i o n , s e p a r a t i o n f r o m G o d ,

a n d t o u l t im a t e l y b e c o m e t h e p l a y t h i n g s o f t h e d e m o n i c p o w e r s.

(6) T h e t r a n s c e n d e n c e o f s in w a s m a d e p o s s i b l e b y t h e b i r t h

a n d c r u c if ix i o n o f J e s u s C h r is t , t h e s o n o f G o d , w h o a p p e a r e d

o n t h e E a r t h a s a m a n .

W h i l s t m u c h m o r e c o u ld b e a d d e d, t h i s c o n s t i t u t e s t h e b a s i c

a s s u m p t i o n s o f C h r i s t ia n i t y a c c e p t e d b y m a n y n o n - a c a d e m i c

C h u r c h g o e r s . I t i s a s t o r y o f D i v i n e i n fl u e n c e u p o n h u m a n a f-

f a i r s , a n d a n y t h i n g f u r t h e r a d d e d t o t h i s p i c t u r e i n c o r p o r a t e s

t h i s i n f l u e n c e (e .g . t h e E u c h a r i s t ) . I t i s s u c h a v i e w t h a t

B u l t m a n n r e g a r d s a s a m y t h . W e s h al l s t a t e h i s o b j e c t i o n s .

3 . B U L T M A N N S C R I T I C I S M S O F M Y T H O L O G I C A L

C H R I S T I A N I T Y

B u l t m a n n s f i r s t o b j e c t i o n to t h e m y t h o l o g i c a l v i e w o f C h r is -

t i a n i t y i s t h a t i t is b o t h s e n s e l e s s a n d i m p o s s i b l e . T h e t h r e e -

s t o ri e d m o r a l u n i v e r s e o f t h e N e w T e s t a m e n t i s s im p l y w r o n g ;

t h e r e i s n o H e a v e n o r H e l l a s o n t o lo g i c a l p l ac e s , a n d c o n s e q u e n t -

ly , G o d c a n n o t b e in H e a v e n , n o r c a n w e . I n d e e d : N o w t h a t

t h e f o r c e s a n d l a w s o f n a t u r e h a v e b e e n d i s c o v e r e d , w e c an n o

l o n g e r b e l i e v e in s p ir i ts w h e t h e r g o o d o r e v il . W e k n o w t h a t

5



t h e s t a r s a r e p h y s i c a l b o d i e s w h o s e m o t i o n s a r e c o n t r o l l e d b y

t h e l a w s o f t h e u n i v e rs e , a n d n o t d a e m o n i c b e i n g s w h i c h e n s l a v e

m a n k i n d t o th e i r s er v ic e . A n y i n f lu e n c e t h e y m a y h a v e o v e r

h u m a n l if e m u s t b e ex p l i c ab l e in t e r m s o f t h e o r d i n a r y l a w s o f

n a t u r e ; i t c a n n o t i n a n y w a y b e a t t r i b u t e d t o th e i r m a l e v o l e n c e .

S i c k n e s s a n d t h e c u r e o f d i s e a s e a r e li k e w i se a t t r i b u t a b l e t o

n a t u r a l c a u s a t i o n ; t h e y a r e n o t t h e re s u l t o f d a e m o n i c a c t i v i t y

o r o f e v i l s p e ll s . T h e m i ra c le s o f t he e w T e s t a m e n t h a v e c e a s -

e d t o b e m i r a c u l o u s a n d t o d e f e n d t h e ir h i s t o r ic i t y b y r e c o u r s e

t o n e r v o u s d i s o r d e r s o r h y p n o t i c e f f e c t s o n l y s e r v e s t o u n d e rl in e

t h e f a c t ~.

C o n t e m p o r a r y h u m a n i t y , v i e w e d in th e l i g h t o f t h e b i o lo g ic a l

a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l s c ie n c es , f in d s t h e s a c r a m e n t s u t t e r l y s t r a n g e

a n d i n c o m p r e h e n s i b l e i n B u l t m a n n ' s o p in i on . I t is u n c l e a r h o w

G o d c a n c a u s a l l y i n t e r a c t w i th h im - h er . T h e a t o n e m e n t is a l so

i n c o m p r e h e n s i b l e t o c o n t e m p o r a r y h u m a n i t y , i n v o l v i n g n o t h i n g

m o r e t h a n p r i m i t iv b i d e a s o f s a c ri f ic e 6. L i k e w i s e f o r t h e r e s u r -

r e c t i o n o f J e s u s 7.

B u l t m a n n i n s h o r t r e j e c ts a n y r e al is t a c c o u n t o f C h r is t i an i -

t y . S u c h a v i e w i s a n o u t r i g h t m y t h w h i c h is r e n d e r e d o b s o l e t e

b y m o d e r n s c ie nc e . B u l t m a n n c la im s t h a t t h e m y t h i c a l v ie w o f

t h e w o r ld m u s t b e a c c e p t e d o r r e j e c t e d i n i t s e n t i r e t y , f o r e v e n

e l im i n a t i n g a s p e c t s o f t h i s v i e w p o i n t s u c h a s t h e v i r g in b i r t h

o f J e s u s C h r is t , t h e m y t h i c a l c h a r a c t e r o f t h e v i e w p o i n t s ti ll

r e m a in s . O n c e w e s ta r t s u b t r a c t i n g f ro m t h e k e r y g m a , w h e r e

c a n w e n o n - ar b i t ra r i l y d r a w t h e l in e? N o w h e r e B u l t m a n n

b e l i e v e s . H e n c e t h e N e w T e s t a m e n t i s i n n e e d o f

d e m y t h o l o g i z i n g .

4. B U L T M A N N ' S A T T E M P T A T D E M Y T H O L O G I Z A T I O N

T h e p o i n t o f m y t h is n o t t o p r e s e n t a n o b j e c t i v e p i c t u r e o f t h e

w o r l d a s i t i s ( a s a n y r e a l i s t i c t h e o r y a t t e m p t s t o d o ) , b u t t o

e x p r e s s a n i m a g e o f t h e n a t u r e a n d l im i t s o f t h e h u m a n c o nd i-

t io n . I n p a r t ic u l a r , m y t h i s a n e x p r e s s i o n o f t h e c o n v i c t io n t h a t

h u m a n k i n d i s n o t m a s t e r o f h i s- h er o w n b e in g ; i t e x p r e s s e s a

s e n s e of c o s m i c i n d ep e n d e n c e . B u l t m a n n ' s d e p a r t u r e in

d e m y t h o l o g i z i n g t h e N e w T e s t a m e n t i s t o a t t e m p t t o u n d e r s-

t a n d e x i s t e n t i a l l y m y t h o l o g i c a l p r o p o s i t io n s : w e h a v e t o



discover whether the New Tes tam ent offers man an understan-

ding of himself which will challenge him to a genui ne existen-

tial decision. 8

Our criticism of Bul tma nn will be of his entire programme,

so we need not sketch his entire attempt at demythologiza-

tion.We are interes ted solely in his methodology. To review this,

consider Bul tma nn s att emp t to provide Christian self-

unders tandi ng without Christ. The

prim a facie

difficul ty which

Bultmarm faces is that in the New Test amen t faith is always

fa i th in Ch ri s t

being revealed only at a certain mom ent

in history (Gal. 3.23,25). How can a Christian understanding

of Being without Christ be given? Bult mann s answer to this

question, one which we believe given his assumptions is less

than satisfactory, is that through Christ, GOd has reconciled

the world to himself. The suffering of Chris t for humani ty s sins,

enables us to stand before God as righteous. To do so is to

become an authentic person, who stands open to the rich

possibilities of the future, and whose past life of non-

authe ntic ity is dead and done away with.

The event of Jesus Christ is therefore the revelation of the

love of God. It makes a man free from himself and free to be

himself, free to live a life of self-commitment in fa ith and love.

Bu t faith in this sense of the word is possible only where it t akes

the form of fai th in the love of God. Yet such fait h is still a sub-

tle form of self-assertion so long as the love of God is merely

a piece of wishful thinking. It is only an abs tra ct idea so long

as God has not revealed his love. Tha t is why faith for the Chris-

tian means fai th in Christ, for it is faith in the love of God reveal-

ed in Chr is t 9.

About the crucifixion Bultmann says:

By giving up Jesus to be crucified, God has set up the

cross for us. To believe in the cross of Christ does not mean

to concern ourselves with a mythical process wrought out-

side of us and our world, with an objective event turned

by God to our advantage, but rather to make the cross

of Christ our own, to undergo crucifixion with him. The

cross in its redemptiv e aspect is not an isolated incident

which befell a mythical personage, but an event whose



m e a n i n g h a s c o s m i c i m p o r t a n c e . I t s d e c i si v e ,r e v o lu -

t i o n a r y s i g n i f i c a n c e i s b r o u g h t o u t b y t h e e s c h a t a l o g i c a l

f r a m e w o r k i n w h i c h i t i s s e t . I n o t h e r w o r d s , t h e c r o s s i s

n o t j u s t a n e v e n t o f t h e p a s t w h i c h c a n b e c o n t e m p l a t e d ,

b u t i s t h e e s c h a t a l o g i c a l e v e n t i n a n d b e y o n d t i m e , i n s o

f a r a s i t { u n d e r s t o o d i n t h e s i g n i f ic a n c e , t h a t is , f o r fa i th )

i s a n e v e r - p r e s e n t r e a l i t y L 0

F i n a l l y , a b o u t t h e e x i s t e n t i a l s i g n i f ic a n c e o f t h e r e s u r r e c t i o n

B u l t m a n n s t a t e s :

. .. th e r e s u r r e c t i o n is n o t a m y t h o l o g i c a l e v e n t a d d u c e d i n

o r d e r t o p r o v e t h e s a v i n g e f f ic a c y o f t h e c r o s s , b u t a n a r-

t ic l e o f f a i t h j u s t a s m u c h a s t h e m e a n i n g o f th e c r o s s it se lf .

I n d e e d

f a i t h i n t h e r e s u r ~ r e c t i o n i s r e a l l y t h e s a m e t h i n g

a s f a i t h i n t h e s a v i n g e f f i c a c y o f t h e c ro s s

f a i t h i n t h e c r o s s

a s t h e c r o s s o f C h r i s t . H e n c e y o u c a n n o t f i rs t b e l ie v e in

C h r i s t a n d t h e n i n t h e s t r e n g t h o f t h a t f a i t h b e l ie v e in th e

c r o s s. T o b e l ie v e i n C h r i s t m e a n s t o b e l i e v e i n th e c r o s s

a s t h e c r o s s o f C h r i s t . T h e s a v i n g e f f ic a c y o f t h e c r o s s is

n o t d e r i v e d f r o m t h e f a c t t h a t i t i s th e c r o s s o f C h r i s t : i t

i s th e c r o s s o f C h r i s t b e c a u s e i t h a s t h i s s a v i n g e f fi c ac y .

W i t h o u t t h a t e f f i c a c y i t is t h e t r a g i c e n d o f a g r e a t m a n I~.

I t i s n e c e s s a r y f o r o u r c r it ic i s m s o f B u l t m a n n ' s p o s i t io n t h a t

t h e r e a d e r h a s b e f o r e h im / h e r c o p io u s e x a m p l e s o f B u l t m a n n ' s

m e t h o d o f a r g u m e n t . W e w ill n o w a r g u e t h a t B u l t m a n n ' s p o si -

t io n i s l o g ic a l ly c o n t r a d i c t o r y , a d i r e c t c o n t r a d i c t i o n o f h i s o w n

c l a im s o f ' th e i n a d e q u a c y o f m y t h o l o g i c a l C h r i s t i a n i ty .

5. A C R I T I Q U E O F B U L T M A N N ' S P R O P O S A L S

O n t h e o n e h a n d B u l t m a n n c la i m s t h a t a m y t h o l o g i c a l v i e w o f

C h r i s t i a n i t y is i n a d e q u a t e . B u l t m a n n t e l ls u s t h a t t h e

c o s m o l o g y o f s u c h a v ie w is o b s o le t e . I n p a r t i c u l a r t h e d o c t r in e

o f t h e a t o n e m e n t is ta k e n b y B u l t m a n n t o in v o lv e n o t h i n g m o r e

t h a n t h e p r im i t i v e n o t i o n s o f g u i lt a n d s y m p a t h e t i c m a g ic . I f

t h i s i s s o , t h e n i t i s d i f f i c u l t t o r e a s o n a b l y s e e a n y t h i n g o t h e r

t h a n a c o n t r a d ic t io n i n B u l t m a n n ' s s t a t e m e n t s a b o u t t h e e v e n t

o f J e s u s C h r i st , t h e c ru c i fi x io n , a n d t h e r e s u r r e c t i o n . T h e s e

s t a t e m e n t s a ll i n v o lv e t a l k a b o u t a G o d w h o s e e m s t o b e 'o u t-



side' of the human condition, who is capable of revealing

Himself through Christ -- or else they involve merely vague

mystifications.

In his talk about the crucifixion Bul tma nn on the one hand

speaks of this event as having cosmic importance, and claims

th at it is an eschatalogical event in and beyond time. This seems

once more to be mere myth making. On the other hand

Bultmann speaks of the cross of Christ as our own, that

somehow we undergo crucifixion with Him. If this is inte rpre ted

as an existential symbol, we fail to see any reason for regar-

ding this act as any less 'primitive' than the viewpoint of the

'mythical' account of Christianity. If Christ was not the son

of God, then how absurd it would have been to have died on

a cross. If this was an example of a

gener l

way to obtain

authentic being, it seems rather pointless for it is historically

limited. Crucifixion is not a common phemonenon in contem-

porary society and its mere material significance is lost on

modern people. What then can its point be beyond being a

method of execution?

Bultmann of course says that the resurrection is the same

thi ng as fa ith in the saving efficacy of the cross. He maintai ns

th at the saving efficacy of the cross is not derived from the fact

th at it is the cross of Christ, but it is the cross of Christ because

it has a saving efficacy. But let us recall that we have seen

Bultmann's prior rejection of spiritualism at all levels. What

then is this prior 'saving efficacy' of the cross? In natura l and

exist entia list terms, the cross did any th in g but save: it spelt

the end of Christ, it was the murder weapon. Bultmann must

either be talki ng nonsense, or else contrad ict ing himself by a

tacit appeal to a spiritual agency.

Let us push this general line of arg ume nt further. Surely to

speak of God acting, is to use mytholog ica l language, for the

term 'God' is a proper name of some Being and has a referen-

tial use. Wh y does Bult man n still use this term? Medicine no

longer uses terms referring to entities such as 'vital spirits'.

These entities are mere conceptual baggage which are

elimina ted wi th a change in conceptual scheme ~2. Wh y should

a consistent existentialist interpretation of the New Testa ment

make use of such terms? For us, this seems little more than an



att~,mpt t,~ throw out the bathwater and the babe and have both

as well. [;se of ()ccam s razor requires the elimination of such

terminology. This means that we are left with a certain

historical narrative plus existentialism. If the mythological view

of Chri stianity is untenable, then Bult man n only confuses mat-

ter~ by using the same terminology. Consistency requires its

abandonment: talk of GOd , sin and fai th is replaced by talk

invoh ing only existentia l terms.

To do this however, while restoring consist ency, only serves

to leave Christianity conceptually vacuous. There is no dif-

ference then between Christianity and Existentialism, because

what in effect one has done is to replace Christianity by Ex-

istentialism. Bultmann s first criticism of the mythological view

of Christianity can now be applied to his own position: there

is nothing specifically Christian in his view as such.

Does Bul tmann s criticism of mythological Chris tian ity hold?

The criticism is primarily th at this position is inconsistent with

modern physics, biology and psychology. This criticism is

stat ed in a very inadequate fashion in Bul tman n s writings for

he never considers how one would establish that elements of

the mythological viewpoint actually conflict with the best con-

temporary physical, biological and psychological theories. As

far as we can see, no contradiction as such can be derived, for

the good reason that scientific theories describe mechanisms

in this world God as an agent outside of the world is not

necessarily subject to its laws. Bultmann s argument then is

not circular, for it only succeeds if it is already assumed that

God is not a Divine Being. The best that Bultmann can

establi sh from his argume nt from science, is th at by considera-

tions of parsimony, explanato ry reference to God need not be

made. However, to argue in this fashion only leads Bultmann

back into the set of difficult ies which we previously not ed 13.

6. CONCLUSION: THE STATE OF THE A RGU MEN T

We have argued t hat Bult mann s existentialist Christian

theology suffers from theoretical defects. His position is open

to the following des tructi ve dilemma: if the mythologi cal ac-

count of Christianity is inadequate, then Bultmann must in

10



m a n y i n s t a n c e s {as c i t a t io n s i n d ic a te ) , c o n t r a d i c t h i m s e l f . O n

t h e o t h e r h a n d , a c o n s i s t e n t e x i s t e n t i a l i s t C h r i s t i a n t h e o l o g y ,

s h o u l d b y t h e p r in c i p le o f p a r s i m o n y , e l i m i n a t e a ll ' G o d - t a l k '.

T h i s i s t o r e s u l t i n a p o s i t i o n w h i c h i s n o t s p e c i f i c a l l y C h r i s -

t i a n a t a l l .

R e f e r e n c e s :

1. C f. R . B u l t m a n n , ' N e w T e s t a m e n t a n d M y t h o l o g y , in

Kerygrna and Myth, (ed.) H. W. Bartsch, (Harper Torch Books,

New York, 196.)pp. 1-44.

2. For an account of the realist position in the philosophy

of science cf R. Harre, The Principles of Scientific Thinking,

( M a c m i l l a n , L o n d o n , 1970 ); R . B h a s k a r ,

A Realist Theory of

Science

{ H a r v e s t e r P r e s s , S u s s e x , 1 97 8) a n d W . H . N e w t o n -

S m i t h ,

The Rationality of Science,

( R o u t l e d g e a n d K e g a n P a u l ,

Lo n d o n , 1 9 8 1 ) .

3. I t is a l so p o s s i b le t h a t a t a s u r f a c e l ev e l, s o m e s t a t e m e n t s

o f t h e S c r i p t u r e s m a y b e p a r a d o x i c a l , e x p e c ia l ly t h o s e d e s c r ib -

i n g t h e n a t u r e o f G o d . W e h a v e a r g u e d e l s e w h e r e ( D i a l ec t ic a l

L o g i c a n d T h e o l o g i c a l P a r a d o x e s , { s u b m i t te d fo r p u b l i ca t io n ) )

t h a t s u c h d i f f ic u l t i e s m a y b e e l i m i n a t e d b y a r e j e c t i o n o f

c l a s s i c a l l o g i c . I f n o n - c l a s s i c a l l o g i c s a r e n e e d e d t o r e s o l v e

v a r i o u s p a r a d o x e s in c la s si ca l l og ic a n d q u a n t u m m e c h a n i c s ,

t h e n i t s e e m s t o u s n o t u n r e a s o n a b l e t o b el ie v e t h a t a d ia le c-

t ic a l l o gi c m a y b e o f r e a d y u s e t o t h e o l o g i a n s .

If

t h e w o r l d c o u ld

s e r i o u s l y b e c o n s i d e r e d t o b e ' i n c o n s i s t e n t ' {cf. R . R o u t l e y ,

Ex-

ploring Meinong s Jungle and Beyond,

( A u s t r a l i a n N a t i o n a l

U n i v e r s i t y , C a n b e r r a , 1980)), t h e n i t is n o t u n r e a s o n a b l e a f t e r

a ll t h a t a t r a n c e n d e n t a l o b j e c t s u c h a s G o d m a y b e ' in c o n s is -

t e n t ' a s w e l l .

4 . B u l t m a n n , o p . c i t , n o t e 1, p . 3 .

5 . Ib id , pp . 4-5 .

6 . Ib id , p . 7 .

7 . Ib id , p .8 .

8. Ib id , p. 16.

9 . Ib id , p . 32 .

10 . Ib id , p . 36 .

l l . I b i d , p . 4 1 .

I I



12. For an accoun t of such an elimination, applied to the

mind-body problem cf, R. Rorty, Mind-B ody Iden tity , Privacy

and Categories ,

The Review of Metaphysics

, vol. XIX, 1965,

pp. 24-54.

13. This is of course to presuppose t ha t we know wha t

'science' is, an assumption open to considerable controversy.

See W. H. Newton-Smith,

The Rationality of Science

op. cir.

note. 2.

12

bultmann on the new testament and mythology

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