Twenty years ago the theology of Rudolf Bultmann was one of the central points in theological discussion. Today the attention of theologians has moved elsewhere. Yet an attempt to assess Bultmann provisionally today may not be out of place, and the following essay is offered as a contribution to that assessment, in the hope that either alone, or together with other reappraisals and criticisms it may be useful. It is the result of a continuing personal engagement of long standing, in (...) which Bultmann's thought has been of value to me, not least in the fields where he has stimulated me to fascinated disagreement. (shrink)