Barth for Armchair Theologians

Armchair Theologians

by John R. Franke

This volume introduces readers to the life and thought of Karl Barth (1886-1968), one of the most important theologians since the Reformation era. Featuring the Armchair series' characteristic whimsical illustrations, Barth for Armchair Theologians surveys Barth's theology as it emerges and culminates in his monumental Church Dogmatics as well as how his theology continues to be interpreted in the present day. Written by experts but designed for the novice, the Armchair series provides accurate, concise, and witty overviews of some of the most profound moments and theologians in Christian history. These books are essential supplements for first-time encounters with primary texts, lucid refreshers for scholars and clergy, and enjoyable reads for the theologically curious.

Genres: Theology, Religion, Biography, History

200 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2006

About the author

John R. Franke is a Christian theologian and Theologian in Residence at First Presbyterian Church of Allentown, PA. He was the Lester and Kay Clemens Professor of Missional Theology at Biblical Seminary in Hatfield, PA until 2011. Franke received a BA from Nyack College, an MA from Biblical Theological Seminary, studied at Drew University, and received his D.Phil. from the University of Oxford where he studied with Alister McGrath.

Franke has associated himself with the missional church and Emerging church (EC) movements, having given talks and presentations at various EC conferences. His theology tends to be regarded as postmodern and postconservative.

Reviews

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reformed theologian Karl Barth is admittedly a difficult man to follow. His thoughts build upon each other in such a way that to isolate one part of his thought is to remove its context and up the chances of misquoting and/or misunderstanding him. He wrote about theology as a dialectical process, which demanded that he adopt a dialectical approach. This hasn't stopped many scholars from writing about him and using his thought to support their own ideas, however. This book provides a nice summary of Barth's ideas, with accompanying comic illustrations to drive home the points, and would serve as a good entry point for reading Barth. Franke has his own opinions about correct and incorrect readings of Barth, which he writes about in the final chapter when discussing neo-Orthodox and postmodern interpretations of Barth. As I find theologies that build upon theologians rather amusing in and of themselves, I enjoyed Barth's statement that closes the work, about the angels laughing at Barth and all of his books trying to write about God, and at all of the people who follow trying to write about Barth. The book concludes with a page of suggestions for further reading.

[Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very excellent and accessible book on Karl Barth’s life and theological vision. I am appreciative of such a work that can easily explain the teachings of a seemingly intimidating theologian such as Barth. John Franke demonstrates an incredible and thorough knowledge of Barth’s corpus, as well as how Barth has been received and interpreted by subsequent scholarship. Rather than a postmodern or neo-orthodox theologian, Franke maintains that Barth remained a dialectical theologian throughout his career after his break with Protestant Liberalism. For Barth, God is the One who freely acts in love. Barth also did not believe that his theological work was in any way for the “final word” on theological inquiry. Theological reflection must continually begin again at the beginning, and this is best reflected in Barth’s Church Dogmatics. I especially appreciate Barth’s methodological resistance to theology as propositional task. Theological reflection is an ongoing engagement with the text of Scripture and the tradition of the Christian Community.

I also desire to assimilate Barth’s thoroughly Christocentric approach to dogmatics and ethics. I should add that this is an extremely well paced book. I enjoyed it much more than the other volume that I read in this series on Aquinas. I hope to reread this book down the road.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this a very useful overview of Barth while reading Insights, a collection of excerpts from Barth's publications.

[Aaron Choi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concise, informative, without being superficial (and pictures to boot!). Barth has always lurked as a large but distant shadow whenever I dipped into theological study, first in seminary and now in personal reading. I became further acquainted with the Swiss scholar when going through the Bonhoeffer biography and decided to purchase this book to learn more about the man and his writings. Both the biographical sketch and the survey of his thought, particularly the overview on his magnum opus, "Church Dogmatics," were illuminating. The doctrine of inerrancy notwithstanding, it is remarkable how Barth landed on such traditional theological views while being surrounded by the liberalism that was characteristic of the academy during his time (and since). He remains an intriguing figure in my mind and hope to learn more about him, if only out of sheer curiosity as I seriously doubt I could incorporate much of what he taught into pastoral ministry. One exception to this would be his healthy view of God's transcendence, a feature that is oftentimes under-appreciated or overlooked altogether in today's theological and ecclesiastical climate.

[Alex Szatmary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was helpful for me in introducing me to Barth's thought. I find myself faced with the same theological problems that he was, treading between the impotence of liberalism and the audacity of conservatism. Franke's concluding chapter, warning against misreading Barth was apropos.

[John Coatney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great little introduction to Karl Barth, especially in terms of putting his theology (and his Church Dogmatics) into historical context. Barth is noteworthy in large part because of the ways in which he interacted and responded to the theological challenges of his time, and this little book provides a great overview that explains how and why his reactions were so impressive and useful, even today.

Aside from introducing and contextualizing Barth's thought, the thesis of this book is that, as opposed to von Balthazar's assessment, Barth's theology remained dialectical throughout his entire life (post 1918), and to read his post-Anselm writings as if he had abandoned his dialectical approach leads to significant misunderstandings.

[John B. MacDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Karl Barth was one of the foremost Christian theologians of the 20th Century. His work emerged from the darkness of liberal theologies prevalent in the period leading up to World War 1.

Franke provides a very readable access to Karl Barth's important works, which view everything through the lens of Jesus Christ.

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these Armchair Theologians books. I'll probably read the whole series eventually. This had a short biography of Barth and the context that shaped his theology. It also had a short introduction to reading Barth and understanding Church Dogmatics.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

The armchair series are always useful to gain a better understanding of the work, lives, and critiques of the subject. Franke does a solid job giving enough detail to tell the story, without writing a massive book, but also provides sources for those who want to dive deeper.

[Rainer Erani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay Barth 👀👀

I really am liking this Armchair Theologians series. Great introductions to the unfamiliar details of the lives of familiar names.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are anything like me, you, too, are interested in Swiss theologians. (That's a joke). Karl Barth is a giant of Protestant theology; I've heard about him, and have seen him referenced so frequently that I finally had to see what in the hell everyone is so hot and bothered over. Barth's most famous work--the five volume, 8,000+ pages magnum opus titled Church Dogmatics--is well beyond my mortal ability to read. Barth is high-level theology, which is why, rather than reading his original works, I took the easy road and read about book about his original works.

Barth lived and wrote, in part, during the rise of Hitler's Third Reich. I am fascinated by the response of the Christian churches in Germany during this time period, and I admit that I see a certain analogy with some American churches today. Flag wavin', gun tottin', Bible bangin', country invadin', God blessin' nationalism is as frightening as it is unsupportable, and while America is not Nazi Germany by any stretch of the imagination...well, let's just paraphrase Upton Sinclair: if fascism is to come to America, it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a Bible. Men like Barth (and Bonhoeffer) understood that all too well. The former was kicked out of Germany for his resistance to the Nazis. The later lost his life.

Barth claimed that one should first believe and then attempt to understand. He proposed what he called 'dialectical theology' where proposals about God, and counter proposals, were set against each other in an attempt to shed light on something (to Barth, at least) that is ultimately unilluminable: God. Language and words could not describe who and what God really is. Confessions and dogmas and articles of faith could become idols if they, and not the God behind them, became the focus of worship. Religion is an idol. God cannot be tamed. The life and death of Jesus were like a crater left after a tremendous shell had exploded: you can't see what happened, but only try to grapple with the aftermath. God is God. Man cannot reach up to God; God can only reach down to us. A minister should carry a Bible in one hand and newspaper in the other.

Things like that.

The most startling thing for me was to realize how unlike Barth I am (as are many people who intellectualize faith). I have attempted to think myself into faith. I will read, for example, and hope that something I come across will startle me, or shake me, or inspire me, or convince me to come to faith. Barth, conversely, says that if one first believes--if one accepts that God is real, and that Jesus is His revelation to mankind--it makes understanding much easier. That's a provocative point; I can see why people in the 1930s were taken aback by that perspective.

I would not like to read Barth, but I am glad I learned a bit more about him.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great little book from a great series. If you have just heard of Karl Barth, you owe it to yourself to find out more about him. This book gives a good summary of his life and the background of the times he lived in. There is a very good summary of most of his important works with an entire chapter of 40+ pages dedicated to his magnum opus, Church Dogmatics. I found myself wanting to read the Dogmatics after reading this book as Franke does such a good job of whetting one's appetite for this work. Warning: sometimes reading this book requires some chewing on the text, but it is well worth it. You will come away with a greater appreciation for both theology and Barth.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author did a great job showing the development of Barth's life and thought, and I feel he gave a fair shake to his teachings and views. Most people completely botch Barth's teachings and compartmentalize him into boxes he doesn't fit in. The author does a great job demonstrating this and placing Barth where he belongs. Excellent job, five stars.

[Andrew Goddard]

An excellent short introduction (166pp of text) with masses of fun cartoons that provides a helpful overview of Barth's life and work, emphasising in final chapter the importance of reading him as a dialectical theologian.

[Pastor Jamie Strickler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for explaining the goals and starting places of modern liberal theology to which Barth rebelled.

[Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read Barth so I can't say how accurate the author is in depicting his thought, but it was very readable and helpful. It definitely makes me want to read Barth.

[Lars Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A magisterial presentation of Barth, to the point and insightful. It contains the best overview of Barth's Church Dogmatics I have ever encountered.

[Patricia Pryor · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only way I can figure out Karl Barth was to read this book first. It is very helpful.

[Jamall Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

An invaluable asset to learning about Barth and his central ideas.

[Dmcconkey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good over view of Barth's life and thinking. A good introduction.