Church Dogmatics

by Helmut Gollwitzer

Karl Barth's monumental work, "Church Dogmatics," is recognized as a landmark in Protestant theology--perhaps the most important work of this century. However, the size range of its fourteen volumes has meant that its content and significance may not be so widely known or appreciated as it deserves. In this concise introduction, Helmut Gollwitzer provides a selection of some of the most important passages from "Church Dogmatics" to help the busy student explore the heart of the great work; or perhaps to direct a student to parts of the "Dogmatics" of greatest interest.

Genres: Theology, Religion, Christian, Reference

270 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1961

About the author

Helmut Gollwitzer (1908-1993) was a Protestant (Lutheran) theologian and author. Known as a close friend of Rudi Dutschke, whose wife studied with Gollwitzer, and a pastor to Ulrike Meinhof, he was prominently involved in the political debates ensuing in the late 1960s and 1970s. Gollwitzer was a pacifist and well-known opponent of nuclear weapons, the US engagement in Vietnam and the arms race, as well as a staunch critic of capitalism.

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Karl Barth is the most influential theologian of the 20th century. To me, anyone who makes both those on one side (fundamentalists, conservatives) and those on the other side (liberals) uncomfortable is probably on to something.

This book is portions from the 13 volume Church Dogmatics. After reading it, I wanted to order the complete, unabridged set and dive in.

Then I realized how expensive it is. And how I have a baby and a wife who I should probably spend time with. Oh, and my job. Plus I need to cook dinner and fix the front door...

Yeah, a 13 volume theology is not on my agenda anytime soon. But one of these days...

What I appreciate most about Barth is his absolute focus on Jesus Christ as our clearest picture of God and as the one true human. If only more Christians were more enamored with Jesus and less enamored with their own theologies we'd be ok.

[Adam Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reflects Barth at his best. At every turn the text is utterly captivated by Jesus Christ, and will countenance no rivals. Whether ascending the heights of the universal metanarrative or descending to the depths of seeming philosophical minutiae, everything is always grounded in, referenced to, issuing from, and pointing toward the particular man Jesus Christ and our particular humanity in relation to Him and to God through Him. At every turn our pretense to comprehend God and subject Jesus to that comprehension is called out for the idolatry that it is, and whether our work in theology, out community in the church, or our fellowship between man and wife, no area is free from the lure of such errors and therefore the need for the divine corrective, for the prophetic call to orient our eyes and thoughts and words and actions with respect to Jesus Christ and Him alone.

A refreshing read beginning to end when compared with much of the mushiness that passes for "theological" these days, Chapter VII ("Man and Woman") particularly so.

[Noah McMillen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, but it definitely was limited by what it was, a selection. Though I am grateful to be able to read pieces of the Church Dogmatics without wading through many volumes, I was very aware I was reading snippets and not getting the full idea, to no fault of the editor, but that is simply the nature of a selection.

It was enlightening to see how Christ-centered Barth's theology is. I always have heard that about Barth, but it was a different thing to actually read it. For Barth, Christ is the center of revelation. He is the one Word of God, and we must look to Him for all our knowledge of God and even our knowledge of ourselves. Christ, as the true man, is intimately bound up in what it means to be human. His existence is definitional for humanity, and the incarnation raises up all mankind.

Also, reading the short section of Barth on Mozart was amazing. After reading this passage, listening to Mozart's Great Symphony had extra meaning:

"I must again revert to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Why is it that this man is so incomparable? Why is it that for the receptive, he has produced in almost every bar he conceived and composed a type of music for which 'beautiful' is not a fitting epithet: music which for the true Christian is not mere entertainment, enjoyment or edification but food and drink; music full of comfort and counsel for his needs; music which is never a slave to its technique nor sentimental but always 'moving,' free and liberating because wise, strong and sovereign? Why is it possible to hold that Mozart has a place in theology, especially in the doctrine of creation and also in eschatology, although he was not a father of the Church, does not seem to have been a particularly active Christian, and was a Roman Catholic, apparently leading what might appear to us a rather frivolous existence when not occupied in his work? It is possible to give him this position because he knew something about creation in its total goodness [...] in the music of Mozart—and I wonder whether the same can be said of any other works before or after—we have clear and convincing proof that it is a slander on creation to charge it with a share in chaos because it includes a Yes and a No, as though orientated to God on the one side and nothingness on the other. Mozart causes us to hear that even on the latter side, and therefore in its totality, creation praises its Master and is therefore perfect. Here on the threshold of our problem—and it is no small achievement—Mozart has created order for those who have ears to hear, and he has done it better than any scientific deduction could" (159-161).

Barth was, surprisingly to me, very poignant on man and woman. For Barth, man is only truly man in light of woman and vice versa. Man and woman display humanity in diverse ways in such a way that they need each other to complete the picture, and this is not just for man and wife but also for the single man and woman, and not just for man and woman in general but for the particular man and woman. They are to live up to their God-given role and rejoice in it, resulting in the flourishing of humanity. In male and femaleness, there is equality but order.

"All is well so long and so far as man and woman, as they seek to be man individually and together whether in or outside the union of love and marriage, are not merely fully aware of their sexuality, but honestly glad of it, thanking God that they are allowed to be members of their particular sex and therefore soberly and with a good conscience going the way marked out for them by this distinction. But things are far from well if man or woman or both seek to be man in such a way that in virtue of a fancied higher being their sex becomes indifferent or contemptible or vexatious or even hateful, a burden which they bear unwillingly and from which they would gladly emancipate themselves as they ask after God and seek to be human. This is the starting point of the flight from God which inevitably becomes a flight into inhumanity" (209).

However, I did not find all of Barth's ideas stimulating. One area I found particularly irritating was his outright rejection of natural theology and his accusation that it is idolatry. Nevertheless, this was a great read.

[Dale Hagwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is probably better to read instead of the entire dogmatics. Because it is a thematic selection of Barth’s Church Dogmatics, it was a bit more of a slog to read than Barth is himself. Nevertheless, this book encapsulates Barth’s thought well. For me personally, I was mainly interested in how Barth deals with revelation and Christology. It was good to read Barth on his own terms. Because of my limited interests, the rest of the book was rather new and intriguing, especially how Barth deals with the relationship of Covenant and Creation. All in all, good to read if you’re interested in reading Karl Barth.

[Walter · Rating 5 out of 5]

It could change your life. I expect this to come as a first breath of air for those of who belong to the Great American Evangelical Machine and haven't yet read Barth. He offers real freedom, real conundrums, real difficulties, and if you believe in a living God and not just your professed doctrine (note my hint of cynicism), Barth offers both fear and awe.
My middle and late teenage years were spent devouring Lewis. I wish I'd been given Barth instead.

[J. Alfred · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Where God is concerned for him, man and his humanity are not lost. He is still at home."

Barth is as austere and as confusing as you've heard, and also as interesting. Reading his literally voluminous Church Dogmatics in excerpted form is good in that most of us will never get around to cracking any single one of those volumes, but rough going in that all context is necessarily removed. So, a mixed bag.

[Duane Alexander Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine reader

I had read Barth’s Evangelical Theology many years ago but wanted to read some of CD without reading it all. This was a fine reader though I understand that much of the theology in CD is found in the extensive footnotes, and these were not included in this book.

[Connor Longaphie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really wonky

[Brother Gregory Rice, SOLT · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some sections were super affecting. Others were weird. He gives an impressive ferverino for faith in the Cross and the mystery of grace.

[Darren Sapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not an easy read, but a great way to consume central Barthian doctrine without reading his magnum opus.

[Bob Price · Rating 3 out of 5]

There can be little doubt that Karl Barth remains one of the most, if not the most influential theologian of the 20th century. But to read his massive work Church Dogmatics is daunting at best.

Helmut Gollwitzer does the church a great service by providing this selection of writings from the Dogmatics.

Reading Barth is like running a marathon, you may hate it while you are doing it, but the effort pays off in the end. Barth's approach was unique when he began writing, since he was in between Orthodox and Liberal. The Neo-Orthodox theology which he espoused soon became mainstream in Western Churches.

Most important is Barth's approach to Scripture. While he would not be considered to be a conservative evangelical in today's circles, he was a far cry from the Liberal theologians of the late 19th and early 20th Century. He was able to develop a strand that was able to embrace modern critical scholarship but also so the Scriptures as a deposit of faith.

The limitations of Gollwitzer's work is that the selections he provides are only from the early part of the Dogmatics since later volumes had not been published yet.

Overall, this is a book for pastors and for students of theology.

Grade: B

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good introduction to Barth's Dogmatics through a presentation of selected readings categorized by theme. It's a great stepping stone to something like the study editions, as it provides an overview of Barth's theology while omitting Barth's extensive footnotes and references in the primary text. I recommend it to anyone who wants to dip their toes in Barth's theology before they jump in the deep end.

[Albert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you know who the great Yes is? God is Yes. This is such a happy and lovely book.