Hans Conzelmann
Hans Conzelmann (October 27, 1915 – June 20, 1989) was a German scholar who made many contributions to New Testament research in the twentieth century. One of his major works was Die Mitte Der Zeit (Tübingen, 1954), literally 'The Middle of Time', which was translated into English under the title, The Theology of St. Luke. This work, which approached Lukan theology by way of Redaction Criticism, paved the way for much scholarly discussion in the second half of the twentieth century. Conzelmann, along with other post-Bultmannian scholars, challenged the view that Jesus was an apocalyptic figure, but rather focused on the message of Christ as the kingdom of God breaking into the present. This was a challenge to the portrait of Jesus as expecting an imminent eschaton.
Conzelmann contends that Jesus' teaching about eschatology is unconnected to his words about God and ethics. These areas of his teaching are, however, linked by Jesus' understanding of himself "as one who opens up immediacy to God in every relationship" (Luke Timothy Johnson, The Writings of The New Testament, p. 127).
[edit] Salvation History
Perhaps Conzelmann's main contribution to the study of Luke's Gospel was his contention that Luke changed the emphasis in Jesus' teaching from an expectation that he (Jesus) would return shortly after his death, resurrection and ascension (a belief in the imminent parousia) to seeing God at work in history and therefore that the early Christians needed to find ways of living as disciples of Christ 'in the long haul' through history. This theological emphasis was called Heilsgeschichte (usually translated into English as salvation history).
Conzelmann thought that history could be divided into three eras:
1. the Old Testament period (up to and including John the Baptist)
2. the period of Jesus' earthly ministry (which Conzelmann said was free from interference from Satan)
3. the era of the Church.
These details have been challenged by later scholars - for example by asking where John the Baptist most accurately fits and if the life of Jesus really was a 'Satan free zone'. [1]
- ^ See e.g. Christopher Tuckett Luke (Sheffield Academic Press Guide) chapter 2 and I. Howard Marshall Luke: Historian and Theologian chapters 3 & 4
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