ABSTRACT
The principal demand for the criticism of mythology comes from a curious contradiction which runs right through the New Testament. The last twenty years have witnessed a movement away from criticism and a return to a naive acceptance of the kerygma. The danger both for theological scholarship and for the Church is that this uncritical resuscitation of the New Testament mythology may make the Gospel message unintelligible to the modern world. The mythology of the New Testament is in essence that of Jewish apocalyptic and the Gnostic redemption myths. The historical event of the cross acquires cosmic dimensions. Cross and resurrection form a single, indivisible cosmic event which brings judgement to the world and opens up for men the possibility of authentic life. Christian love, through which faith operates, is open to a similar interpretation. Faith in the sense of obedient self-commitment and inward detachment from the world is only possible when it is faith in Jesus Christ.
