Church Dogmatics: II.2 The Doctrine of the Word of God §§ 32–33

Church Dogmatics (Study Edition) #10

by Karl Barth

Karl Barth's Church Dogmatics is one of the major theological works of the 20th century. The Swiss-German theologian Karl Barth (1886-1968) was the most original and significant Reformed theologian of the twentieth century. Barth began the Church Dogmatics in 1932 and continued working on its thirteen volumes until the end of his life. Barth's writings continue to guide and instruct the preaching and teaching of pastors and academics worldwide. The English translation was prepared by a team of scholars and edited by G. W. Bromiley and T. F. Torrance and published from 1936. A team of scholars at Princeton Theological Seminary have now provided the translation of Greek, Latin, Hebrew and French passages into English. The original is presented alongside the English translation. This makes the work more reader friendly and accessible to the growing number of students who do not have a working knowledge of the ancient languages. This new edition with translations is now available for the first time in individual volumes.

Genres: Theology

248 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1988

About the author

Protestant theologian Karl Barth, a Swiss, advocated a return to the principles of the Reformation and the teachings of the Bible; his published works include Church Dogmatics from 1932.

Critics hold Karl Barth among the most important Christian thinkers of the 20th century; Pope Pius XII described him as the most important since Saint Thomas Aquinas. Beginning with his experience as a pastor, he rejected his typical predominant liberal, especially German training of 19th century.

Instead, he embarked on a new path, initially called dialectical, due to its stress on the paradoxical nature of divine truth—for instance, God is both grace and judgment), but more accurately called a of the Word. Critics referred to this father of new orthodoxy, a pejorative term that he emphatically rejected. His thought emphasized the sovereignty of God, particularly through his innovative doctrine of election. His enormously influenced throughout Europe and America.

Reviews

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

[Christopher Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very strange to feel the circuitry of your mind being rewired in real time

[Miles Trujillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Barth rearticulates the Doctrine of Election: he puts Jesus front and center. In doing so, he fights a latent paganism that has snuck into the western tradition through classic western articulations of election. He also bars misuse of the doctrine for idolatry. Unfortunately, by putting Jesus as the center and gamut of God's will, he heavily implies universalism because God cannot act to humanity any differently from how He's acted in Christ, and He does not keep Christ in hell.

Despite these flaws, Barth forcefully reminds the reader of how far the western tradition has strayed from Jesus. By crafting any doctrine apart from Christ, speculation leads us to fearful and unbiblical mysteries that only lead us to sink far into the stormy seas. Barth here offers theologians the opportunity to raise their hands to Christ, showing them how far they have sunk into the stormy sea from attending to the world's distractions. He reminds them that, in order to properly stand on theological waters, the peace of truth amidst the storm endemic to human thinking and present in all other fields based on that, they need to focus their gaze entirely on the person of Christ.

[Ryan Linkous · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume of Barth's Church Dogmatics was a refreshing, scintillating read. Not only is he brilliant, but his orthodox direction after the soul-numbing modern period of the 19th century is like drinking water after having gone through a desert. Also impressive is his vast interaction with the Christian tradition.

His idea of Jesus Christ as electing God and elected man is fascinating.