Chapter 11: Karl Barth
Most Influential 20th Century Theologian
Barth was influenced by the liberal theology movement until WW1 and its effects on the people.He read Romans and had a change of mind. He wrote “Church Dogmatics” which has been hugely influential.
Undermining Liberalism. Barth reduced liberalism to its core method and found that it was more about humans finding what we like in the Bible, not what it says.
Analogy of Being and Systems. Barth disagreed both the theology of being and systematic theology.He didn’t believe that God could be captured in a logical system of thought.
Gospel and Law. He reacted to the Lutheran’s concept of law and taught that law is grace and gospel.
Preaching. He believed that the best preaching was expelling the Bible.
The Nature and Task of Theology. While Barth believed saturation in the Bible is critical for theology, he did not believe that the bible itself is revelation. Revelation for Barth was an encounter with a crucified man. Theology had to be done as a member of a church with its creeds and confessions. It was not an abstract discipline. He treated the Bible as a literary whole, with one author. And theology had to be trinitarian.
Barth’s View of Biblical Inspiration. Barth believed that the Bible was not the word of God without the Holy Spirit making it come alive for the reader. The text itself standing alone was not the Word of God.
Barth on Election. Barth’s view of election is puzzling at best.
No Revelation in Nature? Barth was not strong on revelation of God from his creation. He seems to have softened in his later writings, but early on he did not believe that Bod was revealed in nature.
What Can We Learn from Barth?
- We can recognize a liberal theology that starts with word and ourselves.
- Christian faith is based on revelation.
- Theology is not a dirty word.
- We need to read Scripture and prayer every day.
- Christian theology starts with the trinitarian God’s self revelation in Scripture.
- We cannot understand Scripture without the Holy Spirit’s illumination.