Philip Arthur Bence PhD Thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText

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blessing on the status quo, and make preaching irrelevant
and unnecessary.
Yet, within Fosdick's great strength lies weakness.
Fosdick himself admitted a potential flaw in preaching
which begins with people's felt needs. This plan
excludes many sermons contemporary man needs to hear, but
with which he senses no immediate identity.3
A second flaw also arises directly out of Fosdick's
preaching strength. Fosdick sought to move people closer
to the example of Jesus Christ. However, one might
question whether Fosdick's theology offers a power strong
enou gh to actualize that ideal. One might question
whether Jesus, the model, is adequate without Christ, the
Saviour. Fosdick believed in the sufficiency of Jesus as
the perfect exemplar, yet perhaps he over—idealized the
natural state of man. underestimatin g man's need and
God's provision of grace.
B. RUDOLF BULTMANN
Rudolf Bultmann's preaching called for present
decision. He believed that the recipients of preaching
could not affect either past or future events in their
lives. Only the present moment is available for
effective action. Therefore, preaching should focus on
the present.
Based on this premise, questions such as the
following characterize Bultmann's preaching theology:
'Will you at this moment forsake all visible security and
cling only to the unseen God? Will you give up your