Oscar Cullmann (25 February 1902,

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

– 16 January 1999,

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (; ; (no longer in use)), more commonly known simply as Chamonix (), is a communes of France, commune in the departments of France, department in the regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It was the site of the f ...

) was a French

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

theologian. He is best known for his work in the ecumenical movement and was partly responsible for the establishment of dialogue between the Lutheran and Roman Catholic traditions. Because of his intense ecumenical work, Cullmann's Basel colleague

Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Reformed theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Decl ...

joked with him that his tombstone would bear the inscription "advisor to three popes".

Biography

Cullmann was born in

(then in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

) and studied classical

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

and

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

there. In 1926, he accepted an assistant professorship, a position previously held by

Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was a German and French polymath from Alsace. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. As a Lutheran minister, ...

. In 1930, he was awarded a full professorship of

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

. From 1936, he also taught the history of the early church. In 1938, he began teaching both subjects at

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

Reformed Seminary. In 1948 Cullmann accepted a position teaching theology in Paris at the Sorbonne while he continued at Basel. He retired from both in 1972. He was elected a foreign member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...

in 1960. He was invited to be an observer at the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

.Cross, F. L., ed. ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church''. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005, pp
441442
article ''Cullmann, Oscar'' Upon his death at 96, the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodo ...

issued a special tribute to Cullmann to honour his ecumenical work.

Theology

Cullmann's studies on

Christian eschatology Christian eschatology is a minor branch of study within Christian theology which deals with the doctrine of the "last things", especially the Second Coming of Christ, or Parousia. The word eschatology derives from two Greek roots meaning "last ...

and

Christology In Christianity, Christology is a branch of Christian theology, theology that concerns Jesus. Different denominations have different opinions on questions such as whether Jesus was human, divine, or both, and as a messiah what his role would b ...

drove him to propose a third position over against the popular positions of C. H. Dodd and

, known as "redemptive history" or "

inaugurated eschatology Inaugurated eschatology is the belief in Christian theology that the end times were inaugurated in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and thus there are both "already" and "not yet" aspects to the Kingdom of God. George Eldon Ladd sugge ...

". His Christology is described as 'event' rather than the doctrine of natures. He wrote that Jesus Christ was the midpoint of sacred history, which informs general history and runs linearly from creation to consummation. He stressed the objective reality of sacred history against the existentialist interpretation of

Rudolf Bultmann Rudolf Karl Bultmann (; ; 20 August 1884 – 30 July 1976) was a German Lutheran theologian and professor of the New Testament at the University of Marburg. He was one of the major figures of early 20th-century biblical studies. A prominent c ...

, a fellow German theologian. Cullmann suggested the analogy of

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

and

VE-Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of German Instrument of Surrender, Germany's unconditional surrender of Wehrmacht, its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official su ...

to illustrate the relationship between Jesus' death and resurrection on the one hand, and his '' parousia'' on the other.

Selected works

Among Cullmann's important works are: * - (trans from the Zürich: Zwingli-Verlag, 1948 1st edition). * - (trans from the Zollikon-Zürich: Evangelischer Verlag a. g., 1946 1st edition). * - (trans from the Basel & Zürich, 1944 1st edition). * - (trans from the Zürich : Zwingli, 1952 1st edition). * * - (trans from the Kampen: Kok, 1911 1st edition). * - (trans from the Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1965 1st edition).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cullmann, Oscar 1902 births 1999 deaths Clergy from Strasbourg 20th-century Lutheran theologians French Lutheran theologians 20th-century French theologians Academic staff of the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences Members of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques Commanders of the Legion of Honour Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences 20th-century German theologians German biblical scholars French biblical scholars New Testament scholars Academic staff of the University of Paris Alsatian-German people Academic staff of the University of Basel Academic staff of the University of Strasbourg University of Strasbourg alumni Lutheran biblical scholars Corresponding fellows of the British Academy