134 - Historical Investigation and New Testament Faith

Historical Investigation and New Testament Faith
By Ferdinand Hahn
Philadelphia, Fortress, 1983. 112 pp. $6.95.

Understanding the relationship between the Jesus whom the disciples heard and followed and the One who was remembered by and present to the early church is the subject of two essays by Ferdinand Hahn in this book.

In the first essay, the author describes the shortcomings of the historical critical method in dealing with the faith perspective of New Testament

135 - Historical Investigation and New Testament Faith

proclamation. He points to its positivistic assumptions which fail to do justice to the text's kerygmatic intention, thus missing the relationship between the pre-Easter history of Jesus and the post-Easter proclamation.

In his second and longer essay, Hahn calls for a method which allows for critical analysis in the context of the faith perspective. Beginning with solid historical clues for a picture of the pre-Easter history of Jesus (the conflict he aroused, the eschatological newness of his activity, his call to discipleship to a kingdom now arriving, and the status and significance of his person), Hahn describes a methodology for tracing the early church's proclamation as it gave the message of Jesus its new, Christological interpretation. As this method is used in New Testament studies, Hahn asserts, we shall discover how the message of salvation has been made accessible for every age.

H. Dana Fearon, III
Lawrenceville Presbyterian Church
Lawrenceville, N.J.