German protestant theology of history in the 20th century

German Protestant theology of history in the 20th century was largely a reaction to the process of secularization of modernity and to the liberal theology of the 19th century. The article overviews the main theological models proposed in the last century. The “theology of crisis” of K. Barth emphasizes the absolute otherness of God, which calls into question all the apparent achievements of human history. R. Bultmann offers an existential approach based on an individual personal experience, which devalues history and leads to the “demythologization” of some elements of the biblical kerygma. G. Ebeling seeks to overcome the gap between the objective and subjective understanding of history with the help of hermeneutics, which should adequately express the historically framed message of the Gospel in contemporary circumstances. J. Moltmanm considers history from the perspective of eschatological hope, which requires an active social position from Christianity. W. Pannenberg emphasizes the need for a holistic perception of history in the light of faith, which allows us to avoid historical subjectivism and pessimism. O. Cullmann returns to the traditional scheme of the indissoluble “salvation history”, which is both universal and individual.