Oscar Cullmann | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1902-02-25)25 February 1902 Strasbourg |
| Died | 16 January 1999(1999-01-16) (aged 96) Chamonix |
| Known for | Christian theologian |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | Strasbourg seminary |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Christian eschatology andChristology |
| Institutions | Basel Reformed Seminary, Sorbonne - Paris |
| Influenced | John Howard Yoder[1] |
Oscar Cullmann (25 February 1902,Strasbourg – 16 January 1999,Chamonix) was a FrenchLutheran theologian. He is best known for his work in theecumenical movement and was partly responsible for the establishment ofdialogue between the Lutheran and Roman Catholic traditions. Because of his intense ecumenical work, Cullmann's Basel colleagueKarl Barth joked with him that his tombstone would bear the inscription "advisor to three popes."[citation needed]
Cullmann was born inStrasbourg (then inGermany) and studied classicalphilology andtheology at theseminary there. In 1926, he accepted an assistant professorship, a position previously held byAlbert Schweitzer.
In 1930, he was awarded a full professorship ofNew Testament. From 1936, he also taught the history of the early church. In 1938, he began teaching both subjects atBasel Reformed Seminary. In 1948 Cullmann accepted a position teaching theology in Paris at theSorbonne while he continued at Basel. He retired from both in 1972.
He was elected a foreign member of theRoyal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1960.[2]
He was invited to be an observer at theSecond Vatican Council.[3]
Upon his death at 96, theWorld Council of Churches issued a special tribute to Cullmann to honour his ecumenical work.
Cullmann's studies onChristian eschatology andChristology drove him to propose a third position over against the popular positions ofC. H. Dodd andAlbert Schweitzer, known as "redemptive history" or "inaugurated eschatology". His Christology is described as 'event' rather than the doctrine of natures.[4] He wrote that Jesus Christ was the midpoint of sacred history, which informs general history and runs linearly from creation to consummation.[3] He stressed the objective reality of sacred history against the existentialist interpretation ofRudolf Bultmann, a fellow German theologian. Cullmann suggested the analogy ofD-Day andVE-Day to illustrate the relationship between Jesus' death and resurrection on the one hand, and hisparousia on the other.[5]
Among Cullmann's important works are:
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