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1. Clearly, Bultmann is open in principle to the _Sachkritik_ of all Christian witness at _all_ levels \-\- the task of (New Testament) theology, in his view, being precisely "to inquire back behind the different formulations \[_sc_. of the kerygma\] in order to construct, so to speak, an ideal type of the kerygma" ("_Theologie als Wissenschaft_": 16 \[_NTM_: 60\]).

3. In Bultmann's view, "the kerygma today acquires its legitimation from the Christ event of the past," and because this is so "present preaching and systematic theology along with it has need of a critical control that secures its identity with the apostolic preaching \-\- namely, New Testament theology" (17 f. \[62\]). (Elsewhere, in speaking about what is meant by "appropriateness to scripture," Bultmann asserts that "the only thing at stake is identity in subject matter \[_die Identität in der Sache_\]." \[_NTM_: 63\])