Gerhard Ebeling states these ideas very bluntly when he says that revelation is not “a historical datum” nor is it “a historic event.” Revelation was not accomplished and completed during the years 1–30 C.E. Rather, it continues to take place whenever the kerygma is preached; it takes place in the act of faith.16 In surveying this position I have outlined, I must first point out its positive aspects. Today critical research is very different from what it was in the previous (nineteenth) century.