The Study of the Influence of the Enlightenment on the New Christian Theology, with an Emphasis on the Ideas of Ritschl, Bultmann and Panneberg

The Enlightenment is a very important stage in the history of scientific developments in the West. These widespread developments have had a profound effect on Christian theology; they have led Christian theologians to abandon their several hundred- year- old beliefs and ideas, and have resulted in the emergence of new theological schools in Christianity. Using a descriptive-analytical method, this paper , seeks to show the role and effect of the achievements of the Enlightenment on the formation of the new Christian theology based on the thoughts of some of the new Christian theologians (Ritschl, Bultmann, and Pannenberg).The findings of this study indicate that the achievements of the Enlightenment cast doubt on the basic beliefs of Christianity, namely miracles, the validity of the Bible, the proofs of the existence of God, the revelation (mystical intuition), the doctrine of the original sin, and the identity and significance of Jesus . Therefore, each of the Christian theologians sought to overcome this problem by presenting new ideas.