New Testament Studies from 1850 - 1986

Main

F.C. Baur

1792 - 1860

Used Hegel's dialectic method. Dated the New Testament documents to later dates, in the second century.

D.F. Strauss

1808 - 1874

"Mythological" explanations for Christianity. Figure in First Quest.

B.F. Westcott

1825 - 1901

Worked with Lightfoot and Hort. Compiled Greek New Testament with Hort.

F.J.A. Hort

1828 - 1892

Worked with Lightfoot and Westcott. Compiled a Greek New Testament with Westcott.

J.B. Lightfoot

1828 - 1889

Pushed back against Baur's dating method, and was able to achieve a much earlier dating for most of the New Testament. Worked with Westcott and Hort.

Edwin Hatch

1835 - 1889

Worked on showcasing the influences of Hellenism on Christianity, the Bible, and the Early Church.

Martin Kähler

1835 - 1912

Dealt with the differences between the historical Jesus and the historical, biblical Christ.

J. Wellhausen

1844 - 1918

Developed the documentary hypothesis in relation to the Old Testament. It makes the argument that there were multiple sources used for the books of the Torah.

Adolf von Harnack

1851 - 1930

Analyzed Hellenistic influence on Christianity, called for an understanding of the Kingdom of God as central to Christianity. However, said this kingdom had to do with an inner spirituality.

William Ramsay

1851 - 1939

An archeologist and scholar. Discovered a lot of biblical artifacts that have helped confirm the authenticity of the texts.

Albert Eichhorn

1856 - 1926

A founder of the "history of religions" way of thinking about things.

William Wrede

1859 - 1906

Wrote a book that argued that Jesus never claimed to be Messiah.

A.C. Headlam

1862 - 1947

Made great contributions into the debate over the historicity of the gospels, specifically Mark.

Wilhelm Bousset

1865 - 1920

Wrote "Kyrios Christos" which looked at the development of early Christianity and how Christians began to regard Jesus as Lord.

B.H. Streeter

1874 - 1937

Textual critic, proposed the four source hypothesis for dealing with the synoptic problem.

Albert Schweitzer

1875 - 1965

Wrote "The Quest for the Historical Jesus," effectively ended the first quest.

M. Dibelius

1883 - 1947

Form critic, who went along with Bultmann in saying that historical Jesus is impossible to find.

C.H. Dodd

1884 - 1973

Promoted a realized eschatology, meaning that the Kingdom of God is not a future place or activity, but rather a present reality.

E.C. Hoskyns

1884 - 1937

Emphasized the importance of studying the New Testament through the theology of it, instead of throwing that away and attempting to do a purely scientific, historical study of theological documents.

Rudolf Bultmann

1884 - 1976

Believed that a quest for the historical Jesus is impossible. It can't be done, historically, and it gets in the way of faith. Had huge impact on the field of New Testament studies. Form critic.

Karl Barth

1886 - 1968

Scripture is narrative of a God who takes initiative. God has acted and is waiting for humans to respond. Arguably the most influential 20th century theologian.

K.L. Schmidt

1891 - 1956

New Testament Form Critic, claimed that gospels could not be used for history.

Joachim Jeremias

1900 - 1979

Worked to get through the historical and cultural layers to understand Jesus at his core.

Günther Bornkamm

1905 - 1990

Student of Bultmann. Was involved in the Second Quest, promoted a close relationship between early church and Christ.

Ernst Käsemann

1906 - 1998

Involved in the New Quest for the Historical Jesus. Associated with Bultmann. Developed some criterion for historicity.

Hans Conzelmann

1915 - 1989

Student of Bultmann. Pushed theology of Kingdom of God to the foreground.

E.P. Sanders

1937 - Present

New Testament scholar involved in the Third Quest. Very influential in starting the move toward studying "The New Perspective on Paul."