Originally published: New York: Scribner, 1951-1955.

As the first volume in the Johannine Monograph Series, The Gospel of John: A Commentary by Rudolf Bultmann well deserves this place of pride. Indeed, this provocative commentary is arguably the most important New Testament monograph in the twentieth century, perhaps second only to The Quest of the Historical Jesus by Albert Schweitzer. In contrasting Bultmann's and Schweitzer's paradigms, however, we find that Bultmann's is far more technically argued and original, commanding hegemony among other early-Christianity paradigms. Ernst Haenchen has described Bultmann's commentary as a giant oak tree in whose shade nothing could grow, and indeed, this reference accurately describes its dominance among Continental Protestant scholarship over the course of several decades.

The book is an excellent reference on a subject about which little has been written for the professional/academic scholar. It is indispensable for the student of Second Corinthians and provides insight into the exegetical basis of Bultmann's theology.

Aside from the fact that it is perhaps the single most discussed and controversial theological writing of the century, no one knowledgeable of Bultmann's work could doubt its basic importance for his entire contribution. Although the position is for which it argues was hardly new, having already taken shape in several of his theological essays written during the 1920s, it is nevertheless the classic formulation of this position and as such incomparable in the Bultmann corpus.

Bultmann's pioneering study of the New Testament initiated a new era in biblical studies in the Twentieth Century. Together with Karl Barth, Bultmann broke with liberal theology, but his often misunderstood program of demythologization took him in a radically different direction from Barth. In many respects Bultmann set the agenda for biblical theology in the decades following World War II. This volume concentrates on the key texts and ideas in Bultmann's thought. It presents the essential Bultmann for students and the general reader. Roger Johnson's introductory essay and notes on the selected texts set Bultmann in his historical context, chart the development of his thought, and indicate the significance of his theology in the development of Christian theology as a whole. Substantial selections from Bultmann's work illustrate key themes: God as "Wholly Other" Jesus and the Eschatological Kingdom Existentialist interpretation Kerygma Faith and Modernity in conflict Demythologizing: controversial slogan and theological focus