Orthodox and Modern: Studies in the Theology of Karl Barth

by Bruce L. McCormack

In this enlightening study, Bruce McCormack reconsiders the importance of Karl Barth's theology. McCormack begins with Barth's relation to nineteenth-century theologians and then turns to critique the works of contemporary authors within postmodern circles who have attempted to reinterpret Barth to fit their categories. The later sections of McCormack's study probe more deeply into Barth's theology and consider European perspectives. As the title affirms, McCormack suggests that Barth was, in fact, both orthodox and modern in his theology.

McCormack has established a reputation as a thoughtful scholar, and his study of Barth will certainly find a broad audience in academic circles. But serious readers and clergy will also find it a helpful guide to Barth's theology and his continuing importance.

Genres: Theology

320 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2008

About the author

Bruce L. McCormack (PhD, Princeton Theological Seminary; DrTheol hc, Friedrich Schiller University) is Charles Hodge Professor of Systematic Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey. A world-renowned Barth scholar, he is a frequent writer and lecturer on topics of Reformed theology.

Reviews

[Jacob Aitken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bruce McCormack suggests that the best model for understanding Karl Barth's theology is Realdialektik--God is indirectly identical with the medium of his self-revelation. It is dialectical in the sense that it posits both a veiling and unveiling of God. God is unveiled in Jesus's flesh, but since it is in Jesus's flesh, God is in a sense veiled (McCormack 145). This is another way of using Luther's Deus absconditus. Interestingly, this dialectic solves the postmodern problem of "Presence-Absence."

What is Classical Metaphysics?

Barth's project is in many ways an attempt to overcome the limitations of classical metaphysics. Among other things, classical metaphysics (and it doesn't matter whether you have in mind Eastern and Western models) saw the essence of God as an abstract something behind all of God's acts and relations (140). This view is particularly susceptible to Heidegger's critique of "Being." It is also susceptible, particularly in its Cappadocian form, to Tillich's critique:

The Cappadocian "Solution" and Further Problem

According to the Cappadocians, the Father is both the ground of divinity and a particular hypostasis of that divinity. Taken together, we can now speak of a quaternity. Secondly, the distinctions between the relations are empty of content. What do the words "unbegotten," "begotten," and "proceeding" mean when any analogy between the divine essence and created reality is ruled illegitimate, as the Cappadocians insist (Tillich 77-78)? The Augustinian-Thomist tradition at least tried to move this forward, even if its solution was equally unsatisfactory.

Further, with regard to the Person of Christ, essentialism connotes an abstracted human nature which is acted upon (McCormack 206). Further, in essentialist forms of metaphysics the idea of a person is that which is complete in itself apart from its actions and relations (211). A wedge is now driven between essence and existence. Christologically, this means that nothing which happens in and through the human nature affects the person of the union, for the PErson is already complete anterior to these actions and relations.

Election and the Trinity

Barth navigates beyond this impasse with his now famous actualism. Rather than first positing a Trinity and then positing a decision to elect, which necessarily creates a metaphysical "gap" in the Trinity, Barth posits Jesus of Nazareth not only as the object of election (which is common to every dogmatics scheme), but also the subject of election. How can this be? How can someone be both the elector and the elected?

For Barth the Trinity is One Subject in Three Simultaneous Modes of being (218). To say that Jesus Christ is the electing God is to say that God determined to be God in a second (not being used in a temporal sense) mode of being...this lies close to the decision that [Election] constitutes an event in which God differentiates himself into three modes of being (218). Election is the event which differentiates God's modes of being...So the event in which God is triune is identical with the event in which He chooses to be God for the human race" (ibid.)

Participation, not Theosis

Barth's actualist ontology allows him to affirm the juridicalism within the Scriptures (which is markedly absent from many Eastern treatises) and the language of participating in the divine but without recourse to the theosis views so dependent on classical metaphysics.

Barth is historically-oriented, not metaphysically. The divine does not metaphysically indwell the human so as to heal the potential loss of being. Rather, the exaltation occurs in the history of Jesus Christ. "The link which joins the human and divine is not an abstract concept of being, but history" (230).

For Barth, God's ontology is the act of determining to enter human history (238). God's essence and human essence can be placed in motion--they can be actualized in history.

Exaltation, not indwelling

The terms describing Jesus's history are agreement, service, obedience--they speak of the man Jesus standing before God, not being indwelt.

Reworking the Categories

If Barth's criticisms of classical ontology hold, then a humble reworking of some categories is in order. Instead of hypostasis, Barth uses the term "identification." The identification in question is an act of love. Jesus is God, but God as self-differentiation.

This may seem obscure, but it bears great promise. Both East and West have struggled with defining "person." A good Eastern theologian will not even define it, since, as John Behr notes, you cannot give a common definition to something which is by definition not-common. Eastern Orthodox like to say how "personal" their theology is, yet ask them to define "person." The West actually does define it, but the problems aren't entirely gone. If person = relation, then how come the relations between the persons are not themselves persons, and ad infinitum all the way back to Gnosticism? Given these huge problems, we should not so quickly dismiss Barth's proposal.

[Liam Marsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a very hard to rate, since its a collection of Bruce McCormack's essays on the reflections of Karl Barth. Another set back on this book is that McCormack's rejection of actualized ontology, and his arguments for Barth's modernism cause him to conclude the election is the ontology of God, the rejection of Logos asarkos, in face making Karl Barth less of a Calvinist then perhaps Barth would want to be. Having said that, three essays stand out as important and significant- "The Significance of Karl Barth's Theological Exegesis of Philippians" offers a unique look at how Barth would exegete and prepare to teach the Scriptures. "Beyond Nonfoundational and Postmodern Readings of Barth" offers a critic of the post-modern Barthian scholarship, although I think he ultimately fails this essay outlines the major debates in Neo-Orthodox theology. Finally, "Participation in God: Yes-Deification, No-Two Modern Protestants Responses to an Ancient Question" looks at Jungel and Barth's take on Theosis. This essay stood out to me the most as thought provoking and helpful. For one reason, we see how Barth's theology and even doctrine of election still has human responsibility involved, but this essay also bridges Neo-Orthodoxy into the conversations around grasping the Great Tradition.

Anyone looking to engage in the debates around Karl Barth or study more should for sure have this, but I find McCormack's modernism results not only in perhaps misreading Barth but conclusions that can be misleading.

[Evan]

Ok I didn't read the last 50 pages or so but I think that's still sufficient for a "read" status. It's not as hard as Hunsinger to read, but a lot more provocative.