The True Human Being

The aim of Odgaard Møller’s book is threefold: The first main section seeks to clarify how and why Jesus is presented in the pre-1968 writings of the Danish theologian and philosopher K. E. Løgstrup (1905–1981). Throughout his work, Løgstrup’s main focus has been a rehabilitation of the insight that life is something definite, because it is created. Here, Jesus primarily plays a methodological/strategic role as the one confirming and giving witness to Løgstrup’s interpretation of created life in a given time of his authorship. When faith in creation is formulated polemically against another interpretation of life, Jesus serves as Løgstrup’s ally in this discussion. In the second main section, this examination is extrapolated to include a discussion with Bultmann and two of his students in order to clarify the character of his Christology, not least whether – or in what way – this can be characterised as “implicit Christology”. Finally, in the light of Ricoeur’s hermeneutic philosophy of religion, the third main section considers the systematic-theological validity of this picture of Jesus. The overall conclusion can be summed up in this way: The main line in Løgstrup’s work goes from created life to the human being Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus incarnates created life; therefore he is the true human being. This close connection between (created) Life and (true) Human Being is the kernel in Løgstrup’s thought. This makes his perception of Jesus and his Christology distinctive, original and specifically Løgstrupian.