born Aug. 20, 1884, Wiefelstede, Ger.
died July 30, 1976, Marburg, W.Ger.
German Protestant theologian and New Testament scholar.
The son of a Lutheran pastor, he studied at the University of Tübingen and later taught many years at Marburg (192151). He established his reputation with his analysis of the Gospels in History of the Synoptic Tradition (1921). Influenced by his colleague Martin Heidegger , he held that Christian faith should focus less on the historical Jesus and more on the transcendent Christ, and he examined the New Testament in mythical terms. During the Nazi era he supported the anti-Nazi Confessing Church . His postwar books included Kerygma and Myth (1953), History and Eschatology (1957), and Jesus Christ and Mythology (1960).