Essential Karl Barth , livre ebook

Cover
Half Title Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2019 by Keith L. Johnson
Published by Baker Academic
a division of Baker Publishing Group
PO Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakeracademic.com
Ebook edition created 2019
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-1699-8
In the introductory material and commentary, Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations labeled KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.
Dedication
To George and Bruce
Contents
Cover i
Half Title Page ii
Title Page iii
Copyright Page iv
Dedication v
Preface ix
1. Introduction: The Life of Karl Barth 1
Part 1: Barth’s Theological Development 13
2. The Epistle to the Romans 23
3. “The Word of God as the Task of Theology” 32
4. An Answer to Professor Adolf von Harnack 44
5. The Resurrection of the Dead 57
6. The Göttingen Dogmatics 63
7. “The Holy Spirit and the Christian Life” 69
8. Preface to Church Dogmatics I/1 74
9. Farewell 81
10. “The Humanity of God” 93
Part 2: Barth’s Church Dogmatics 103
11. The Task of Dogmatics 109
12. The Word of God 115
13. Revelation and Faith 120
14. The Doctrine of the Trinity 126
15. The Missions of the Son and the Spirit 137
16. The Knowledge of God 149
17. The Reality of God 167
18. The Doctrine of Election 174
19. The Election of Jesus Christ 190
20. God’s Decision for the World 200
21. Covenant and Creation 205
22. The Covenant Partner of God 211
23. God and Nothingness 224
24. God with Us 233
25. The Obedience of the Son of God 247
26. The Exaltation of the Son of Man 265
27. The Glory of the Mediator 278
28. The Scope of Salvation 287
29. Christian Community 290
Part 3: Barth’s Political Engagement 301
30. A Brief Reminiscence of the 1920s 303
31. Sermon on Romans 15:5–13 308
32. The Barmen Theological Declaration 320
33. The Role of Christians in Wartime: “A Letter to American Christians” 325
34. “The Community of Christians and the Community of Citizens” 337
Conclusion: The Tradition of Karl Barth 347
Credits 366
Index 369
Back Cover 372
Preface
T his book introduces readers to the theology of Karl Barth by presenting several of his most important writings in a single volume. The process of selecting these texts posed a challenge. Barth wrote millions of words in dozens of books, essays, sermons, and letters over many decades. This book contains approximately 100,000 of those words. Tough decisions had to be made, and I made them with two goals in mind. First, I wanted to assemble a collection that told the story of Barth’s theology from the beginning to the end of his academic career. Barth lived a dramatic life, and I chose texts that captured the drama. Second, I selected texts that will help readers grasp the essence of Barth’s theology. I wanted readers to know and understand what Barth thinks, but I also wanted them to be able to approach the rest of Barth’s writings with confidence. As I look over the collection at the end of the process, I believe that this volume accomplishes both of these goals. But I could have reworked this volume several times over with completely different sets of texts and still have accomplished these same goals. This means that there is both good news and bad news for readers. The bad news is that many incredible texts were left on the cutting-ro om floor. The good news is that this book will prepare readers to spend a lifetime exploring them.
This book is divided into three parts, along with an introduction and conclusion on Barth’s life and legacy. Part 1 provides an overview of Barth’s theological development through texts that show how Barth refined his ideas over the course of his career. Part 2 features passages from Barth’s Church Dogmatics , the work that occupied the majority of his life. Part 3 offers a sample sermon and other key texts that show how Barth responded to the threat posed by the Nazi government in Germany.
Each part opens with an essay that explains its purpose and structure. Each selection begins with an introduction that provides the context for that text and summarizes its argument. The selections also feature editorial footnotes designed to help the reader grasp Barth’s claims more clearly. I wrote these footnotes with a particular audience in mind. The world of Barth scholarship contains many resources that are rich in content but also highly technical. Far fewer resources exist to help students learn how to read Barth. With this context in mind, I tried to avoid technicalities and the debates that occupy the time and energy of Barth specialists. My commentary instead is directed toward helping new readers of Barth to understand his work. My goal was to make Barth’s thought accessible, to explain his ideas clearly, and to provoke further reading. I tried to offer the commentary I wish had been available to me when I first started reading Barth.
Memories of my initial encounter with Barth’s work were on my mind when I agreed to take on this project. I read Barth’s theology for the first time two decades ago as an undergraduate student. From the very first page, I felt like I had found a new friend. Barth put into words the theology I hoped was true. His work has often functioned in a pastoral way for me, both in my personal life and in my professional work. Academic theology is a difficult profession, and so is teaching. At key moments, reading Barth reminded me why I began studying theology in the first place. His work directs me to Jesus Christ and reminds me that Christ is for me and for the world. His confidence is reassuring when I lack my own. I am inspired by the way he grew and developed over the course of his career, especially after getting a late start. His love for his subject matter always cheers me up, and his joyous approach gives me hope as I face difficult questions.
My work on this project proved to me that, after over two decades of studying Barth, I am still only beginning to understand his theology. Some theologians are interesting for only a short time because there is little substance beneath the surface. Barth is different because he has become more interesting the longer I have studied him. Part of what makes Barth so fascinating is that he possessed a rare combination of intellect, eloquence, and courage. An initial reading of his theology reveals a passionate and engaging theologian confidently explaining his subject matter. A deep examination of these same passages shows a highly complex thinker who has constructed his theology with a level of originality, depth, and precision that has been matched only rarely in the history of theology.
Regardless of whether a reader finds the content of his claims compelling, Barth is an important theologian to study because of his significant influence on the discipline. By the coincidence of historical circumstance and the sheer force of personality, Barth changed the trajectory of the discipline of theology for both Protestantism and then, through his interpreters, Roman Catholicism. Reading his work puts readers in the middle of dozens of conversations that continue to influence the field. It also helps them understand many key movements that have shaped the last century, including liberation theology and apocalyptic theology. Even theologians who have strongly disagreed with Barth have often been affected by their encounters with his work and the challenge of opposing him. Thousands of different and diverse theologians have been forged on the anvil of Barth’s Church Dogmatics , and the discipline of theology is stronger as a result.
In light of this influence, it is important to keep Barth’s humanity in view. He struggled in many of his closest relationships, including his marriage. He had no trouble making friends, but he also had a tendency to lose friendships, including some of the most important ones in his life. His proclivity to issuing bold and definitive judgments sometimes produced unnecessary pain. For its power and eloquence, Barth’s style sometimes leaves something to be desired. He often says in a thousand words what could have been said in ten. Many of his historical judgments are a product of his time, and they stand in need of correction by more recent scholarship and a global perspective. Barth tended to read major theological figures in light of their contemporary representatives, and this approach leaves his interpretations of some historical figures off the mark. His exegesis of Scripture is sometimes brilliant and breathtaking; at other times, his interpretations strain the biblical text beyond its limits.
But even these flaws give me hope. Barth regularly pointed out how much he had grown and changed over the course of his career. He found deep joy not only in offering answers but also in being formed by the difficult process of discovering them. He saw his written theological work as part of this process rather than the end of it. As I pick up the conversation Barth started and try to make my own contribution, I hope the process will expose and refine me as much as it did him.
I am grateful for several people who assisted me during the course of this project. Jeremy Lundgren helped by transcribing texts and checking translations in the midst of his busy doctoral duties. My teaching assistants Genevieve Austin Ellsworth and Anna Erickson scanned and transcribed