Confessional Theology? The significance of the theology of Karl Barth in dealing with the confessional quagmire of the Reformed Church

Abstract

Since his induction into ‘academic theology’ Barth had come to appreciate the fact that Christian confessions were much more than mere statements of faith. His renewed appreciation for Christian confessions would later characterise the manner in which he dealt with his later theology. In his theological reflections about a confession, he discovered that a confession is always a serious act of faith. While firmly maintaining this view, he equally stressed that a confessional act should also be treated as a game. Viewed in this paradoxical manner, Barth argued that the strength of a confession is contained in its weakness. This paradoxical understanding of a confession is furthermore consolidated by what Barth believes to be our obligation to speak about God because we are Christian, as well as the inability to do so because we are human beings and are therefore unable to speak about God as if God is entirely known to us. Emphasising this quagmire, confessional theology is a theology that consists of five characteristics; the primacy of the Word of God, the church, its context, public witness to Jesus Christ as well as ethics. All these taken together constitute the confessional theology of Barth. When his theology is observed, it becomes evident that Barth never disregarded the essence of the socio-economic, cultural and political context when reflecting about theology.