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One of the most influential Protestant theologians of the post-World War II era, Wolfhart Pannenberg has contributed to many different areas of theological inquiry. He was among the first in his generation to think theologically about the modern scientific picture of the universe. His work in theological anthropology—understanding what it means to be human in Christian terms—has been extremely influential. His summa, the three-volume Systematic Theology, is available from Eerdmans. Thomas Jay Oord interviewed Pannenberg in St. Paul, Minnesota, in March of this year.
As you've entered the latter stages of your career, you've probably reflected on your contributions as a scholar. What experiences in your childhood or youth do you now see as particularly influential in shaping these contributions?
As you may know, I was not raised in a Christian family. Although I was baptized as a child, I did not have a Christian education. But in 1945, I had a visionary experience at the occasion of a sunset. Light flooded all around me and through me, and I didn't know where I was or how long the experience lasted. It may have lasted for an eternity. Afterward, I found myself a humble human being and was just puzzled.
I thought I had to come to terms with that event and what it really meant to me. It happened on the 6th of January, 1945. I didn't know at the time that the 6th of January is Epiphany, the feast of Christ's glorification. Later on, I thought it was significant that it was on this particular day. I became, so to speak, metaphysically awakened. But I didn't yet know the purpose of this awakening.
I had read Nietzsche and Kant before I was 16—even before I had read the first line of the Bible. From my reading of Nietzsche, I thought that I was perfectly informed about what I should think of Christianity. But I met some people who didn't fall under that specter of guilt or obsessed parrotism. I met Christians who seemed to be quite jolly and joyous human beings, and I was puzzled as to how that could be. This contributed to my decision to find out about Christianity by studying theology. I started in 1945 and found myself increasingly attracted to the content of the Christian message and the profound nature of Christian doctrine. I soon came to the conclusion that what I experienced on the 6th of January, 1945 was really the light of Christ.
Much has been made of Karl Barth's and Gerhard von Rad's influence on your theology. On what areas of your thought do you see them as having the greatest influence?
Karl Barth was a towering figure in theology right after the war. In my early years as a student, I read through all the volumes of his Church Dogmatics. In 1950, I went to Basel to hear his lectures. I came with a very good recommendation from one of Barth's former students, so I was received by Barth very warmly and invited to his home. I was impressed by his person and by his teaching. But, in the second semester I spent at Basel, there was a small group that would come together in Barth's home to discuss some of his thoughts. We discussed one of his smaller works, The Community of Christians and the State. There he developed some analogical reasoning, including some conclusions for politics from Christology.
One of these conclusions was that there should be no secret diplomacy as a consequence of our belief that Christ is alive. I didn't find this particularly persuasive. I thought that perhaps the world of politics would profit from more secret diplomacy. So, I criticized Barth. Barth just didn't like criticism, and my relationship with him grew considerably cooler. But I always remained impressed by his emphasis that God has to come first in theology, and that the same should be said about Jesus Christ. God, as revealed as Jesus Christ, comes first and should not be replaced by anything else. So, to this extent, I am still influenced by Barth.
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