PART I
ANTHROPOLOGICAL PRESUPPOSITIONS
1. Nygren’s Critical Philosophy of Religion 3
2. Antithesis: Gott-Mensch in Barth 23
3. Bultmann’s Anthropology 45
4. Review and Perspective 66
PART II
HERMENEUTICAL PRESUPPOSITIONS
5. Nygren’s Motif Research 85
6. Barth’s Conception of “the Word” 108
7. Bultmann’s Interpretation of the Kervgma 129
8. Retrospect and Conclusion 150
Index 169

A growing awareness in theological circles of the need for examining the basic assumptions of three of the most influential modern theologians — Anders Nygren, Karl Barth and Rudolph Bultmann — has led to this critical examination by Gustaf Wingren.
An invaluable aid in the understanding of the far- reaching implications of these assumptions, this book concentrates on the important relationship between the law—a subject largely avoided in modern theology—and the gospel. The author reveals what he believes to be basic flaws in the theology of these three men.
As an answer to the question: “How do the great theologians arrive at certain conclusions?,” this work is of interest to all students and teachers of contemporary theology, biblical criticism and methodology.
The author
Gustaf Wingren received the degree of Doctor of Theology from the University of Lund, where he is Professor of Systematic Theology. He has lectured at many other universities, and has written a number of books in Swedish and German.