What do you think?
Rate this book
God With Us: A Theological Introduction to the Old Testament
methodological and interpretive questions concerning Old Testament theology remain vexing and unresolved. Happily Professor Barth does not linger over these formidable issues and does not permit them to obstruct his address of the core, substantive issues
Hardcover
First published December 19, 1991
19 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 26, 2020
Christoph Barth (son of Karl Barth) served in Indonesia for many years teaching the bible and the Old Testament to Indonesians. As a summary of that teaching career, he wrote a four volume work on the bible in Indonesian. This is the English translation and condensation of his four volume work.
God With Us is Barth's overview of the Old Testament. He opts for an overview of the Old Testament based up nine mighty acts of God. He does not claim these are exhaustive, nor that he has good biblical rationale for choosing these nine above all others. He does see them as themes repeated in Israel's historical creeds and summaries, and the acts chosen are all important. The choices made, particularly the omissions (e.g., the return from exile) are interesting, but I was far more impressed with how much he was able to fit into these nine acts. The nine acts are:
I. God created heaven and earth
II. God chose the Fathers of Israel
III. God brought Israel out of Egypt
IV. God led His people through the wilderness
V. God revealed Himself at Sinai
VI. God granted Israel the Land of Canaan
VII. God raised up kings in Israel
VIII. God chose Jerusalem
IX. God sent His prophets
I am far from an Old Testament scholar, and as such I am not the most qualified to pronounce on the relative merit of this book compared to other Old Testament books. But I found little to disagree with and much material which was encouraging, insightful, and Christ-centered. I learned a lot from reading this book, and I can see myself coming back to the this book in the future.
One of the aspects which struck out to me while reading God With Us was the amount of continuity between the Old and New Testament. The God who acts mightily in the Old Testament is the God I know and worship in the New Testament. While I did not doubt this before, Barth showed this reality clearly and repeatedly throughout his book.
Another aspect which stuck out was Barth's repeated emphasis on the freedom of God. Israel's election was by God's free choice; God choose Jerusalem freely, not under compulsion; God accepted Israel's sacrifices freely, not because He was bound to; God was not bound to guide Israel through the wilderness or to protect Israel. God freely chose to do these things. While I have read little Karl Barth, I believe the freedom of God is a central point for Karl Barth. This emphasis is a point Christoph took from his father.
Overall, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to read this book. The book is too dense to be read quickly, but the material is not easily broken down into individual biblical books. I am not sure how to read this book with the bible. It seems a tremendous resource to learn about the Old Testament, and I hope I am able to return to my reading with new ways of seeing how God is acting, but I am unsure how the average person would read this book well with the bible. I am not sure if this is a criticism of the book or my own failings as a reader.
God With Us is Barth's overview of the Old Testament. He opts for an overview of the Old Testament based up nine mighty acts of God. He does not claim these are exhaustive, nor that he has good biblical rationale for choosing these nine above all others. He does see them as themes repeated in Israel's historical creeds and summaries, and the acts chosen are all important. The choices made, particularly the omissions (e.g., the return from exile) are interesting, but I was far more impressed with how much he was able to fit into these nine acts. The nine acts are:
I. God created heaven and earth
II. God chose the Fathers of Israel
III. God brought Israel out of Egypt
IV. God led His people through the wilderness
V. God revealed Himself at Sinai
VI. God granted Israel the Land of Canaan
VII. God raised up kings in Israel
VIII. God chose Jerusalem
IX. God sent His prophets
I am far from an Old Testament scholar, and as such I am not the most qualified to pronounce on the relative merit of this book compared to other Old Testament books. But I found little to disagree with and much material which was encouraging, insightful, and Christ-centered. I learned a lot from reading this book, and I can see myself coming back to the this book in the future.
One of the aspects which struck out to me while reading God With Us was the amount of continuity between the Old and New Testament. The God who acts mightily in the Old Testament is the God I know and worship in the New Testament. While I did not doubt this before, Barth showed this reality clearly and repeatedly throughout his book.
Another aspect which stuck out was Barth's repeated emphasis on the freedom of God. Israel's election was by God's free choice; God choose Jerusalem freely, not under compulsion; God accepted Israel's sacrifices freely, not because He was bound to; God was not bound to guide Israel through the wilderness or to protect Israel. God freely chose to do these things. While I have read little Karl Barth, I believe the freedom of God is a central point for Karl Barth. This emphasis is a point Christoph took from his father.
Overall, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to read this book. The book is too dense to be read quickly, but the material is not easily broken down into individual biblical books. I am not sure how to read this book with the bible. It seems a tremendous resource to learn about the Old Testament, and I hope I am able to return to my reading with new ways of seeing how God is acting, but I am unsure how the average person would read this book well with the bible. I am not sure if this is a criticism of the book or my own failings as a reader.
Displaying 1 of 1 review