While arguments for the rejection of the Old Testament were raging, many were advocating for the retention of the Old Testament because of its demonstration as a primitive forerunner of Christianity. Proponents of this view see the Old Testament as archaic, presenting mythological ideas of a religion that gets replaced by Christianity. The view of the Old Testament as a ?pre-stage? for the New does not certify the rejection of the Old Testament, but rather it encourages the Christian to study and appreciate the development of the Church and Christianity through the ages (Kuske 11).
Those on the more liberal end of this standpoint, cannot release the Old Testament from its canonical status because some of the Old Testament is good and necessary for Christian understanding. Some parts cannot be kept and others discarded. Logically, or perhaps grudgingly, the Bible must be kept whole (Kuske 13).
The third position accepts the Old Testament as having equal status as the New Testament. Both are holy and are complete only in their combined unity. Bonhoeffer embraces this position in the tradition of Karl Barth and Wilhelm Vischer.
Works Cited
Anderson, Francis, I. ?Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Old Testament,? Reformed Theological Review, 34
(May-August 1975), 33-44.
Ballard, Paul. ?Bonhoeffer as Pastoral Theologian,? Theology, 94 (1991), 115-123.
Barnett, Victoria J. ?Dietrich Bonhoeffer?s Ecumenical Vision,? Christian Century, 112 (1995), 454-457.
Bethge, Eberhard. Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Biography (Revised Edition). Barnett, Victoria J., ed.
Minneapolis: Fortress, 2000.
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Letters and Papers from Prison (Enlarged Edition). NY: Touchstone, 1997.
Klassen, A.J., ed. A Bonhoeffer Legacy. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1981.
Green, Clifford J. ?Bonhoeffer, Modernity, and Liberation Theology?. In Floyd, Wayne Whitson Jr. and
Marsh, Charles, eds. Theology and the Practice of Responsibility: Essays on Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Valley Forge, PA: Trinity, 1994.
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Hummel, Horace D. ?Christological Interpretation of the Old Testament,? Dialog, 2 (1963), 108-117.
Kaiser, Walter C. Jr. Toward an Exegetical Theology: Biblical Exegesis for Preaching and Teaching.
Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1981.
Kuske, Martin. The Old Testament as the Book of Christ: An Appraisal of Bonhoeffer?s Interpretation.
Philadelphia: Westminster, 1976.
Harrelson, Walter. ?Bonhoeffer and the Bible?. In Marty, Martin E., ed. The Place of Bonhoeffer:
Problems, and Possibilities in His Thought. NY: Association Press, 1964.
McCrown, Wayne and James E. Massey, eds. Interpreting God?s Word for Today. Anderson, IN:
Warner, 1982.
McKim, Donald K., ed. A Guide to Contemporary Hermeneutics: Major Trends in Biblical Interpretation.
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1986.
Pangritz, Andreas. ??Who is Jesus Christ, for us, today???. In DeGruchy, John W., ed. The Cambridge
Companion to Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Radmacher, Earl D. and Preus, Robert D., eds. Hermeneutics, Inerrancy, and the Bible. Grand Rapids,
MI: Academie, 1984.
Rosenbaum, Stanley, R. ?Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Jewish View,? JES, 18 (Spring 1981), 301-307.
Murphy, Roland, ed. Theology, Exegesis, and Proclamation. NY: Herder & Herder, 1971.
Willis, Robert E. ?Bonhoeffer and Barth on Jewish Suffering: Reflections on the Relationship Between
Theology and Moral Sensibility,? JES, 24 (Fall 1987), 598-615.
Anderson, Francis, I. ?Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Old Testament,? Reformed Theological Review, 34
(May-August 1975), 33-44.
Ballard, Paul. ?Bonhoeffer as Pastoral Theologian,? Theology, 94 (1991), 115-123.
Barnett, Victoria J. ?Dietrich Bonhoeffer?s Ecumenical Vision,? Christian Century, 112 (1995), 454-457.
Bethge, Eberhard. Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Biography (Revised Edition). Barnett, Victoria J., ed.
Minneapolis: Fortress, 2000.
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Letters and Papers from Prison (Enlarged Edition). NY: Touchstone, 1997.
Klassen, A.J., ed. A Bonhoeffer Legacy. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1981.
Green, Clifford J. ?Bonhoeffer, Modernity, and Liberation Theology?. In Floyd, Wayne Whitson Jr. and
Marsh, Charles, eds. Theology and the Practice of Responsibility: Essays on Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Valley Forge, PA: Trinity, 1994.
- – -. ?Interpreting Bonhoeffer: Reality or Phraseology?,? JR, 55 (April 1975), 270-275.
Hummel, Horace D. ?Christological Interpretation of the Old Testament,? Dialog, 2 (1963), 108-117.
Kaiser, Walter C. Jr. Toward an Exegetical Theology: Biblical Exegesis for Preaching and Teaching.
Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1981.
Kuske, Martin. The Old Testament as the Book of Christ: An Appraisal of Bonhoeffer?s Interpretation.
Philadelphia: Westminster, 1976.
Harrelson, Walter. ?Bonhoeffer and the Bible?. In Marty, Martin E., ed. The Place of Bonhoeffer:
Problems, and Possibilities in His Thought. NY: Association Press, 1964.
McCrown, Wayne and James E. Massey, eds. Interpreting God?s Word for Today. Anderson, IN:
Warner, 1982.
McKim, Donald K., ed. A Guide to Contemporary Hermeneutics: Major Trends in Biblical Interpretation.
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1986.
Pangritz, Andreas. ??Who is Jesus Christ, for us, today???. In DeGruchy, John W., ed. The Cambridge
Companion to Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Radmacher, Earl D. and Preus, Robert D., eds. Hermeneutics, Inerrancy, and the Bible. Grand Rapids,
MI: Academie, 1984.
Rosenbaum, Stanley, R. ?Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Jewish View,? JES, 18 (Spring 1981), 301-307.
Murphy, Roland, ed. Theology, Exegesis, and Proclamation. NY: Herder & Herder, 1971.
Willis, Robert E. ?Bonhoeffer and Barth on Jewish Suffering: Reflections on the Relationship Between
Theology and Moral Sensibility,? JES, 24 (Fall 1987), 598-615.