Barth's Doctrine Research Articles

Friendship and Being: Election and Trinitarian Freedom in Moltmann and Barth

AbstractThis article constructs two responses to Moltmann's critique of Barth's doctrine of divine freedom in Trinity and the Kingdom, a first on the basis of Barth's programmatic treatment of divine freedom in II/1 of the Church Dogmatics and a second on the basis of Bruce McCormack's reading of Barth's doctrine of election. It shows why the Barth of II/1 must dismiss Moltmann's concern for the priority of God's loving relationship to the world while Barth as interpreted by McCormack can accommodate it. Finally it observes the significance of this twofold defense for mapping Barth onto the terrain of modern theology.

On Original Sin and the Scandalous Nature of Existence

Abstract This article interprets the story of Sarah and Hagar in terms of the relative freedom of humanity in creation and the absolute freedom of God for creation. The interpretation follows the narrative flow of the story, pointing out the free decisions of the actors and God's responses to them. It is argued that the figures of Hagar and Ishmael fully represent the unfulfilled status of the promise that God will bless all nations through Abraham's offspring. Their expulsion demonstrates the scandalous nature of existence, one in which people are cast out through no fault of their own. Nonetheless, God still responds to them graciously. This theological interpretation provides a framework for a discussion concerning Augustine's doctrines of original sin and infant baptism as well as Karl Barth's doctrine of election in Christ. The interpretation of the Sarah-Hagar narrative allows one to take insights from both theologians. The article concludes with a statement regarding infant baptism and the church's current location between promise and fulfillment.

On Original Sin and the Scandalous Nature of Existence

Abstract This article interprets the story of Sarah and Hagar in terms of the relative freedom of humanity in creation and the absolute freedom of God for creation. The interpretation follows the narrative flow of the story, pointing out the free decisions of the actors and God's responses to them. It is argued that the figures of Hagar and Ishmael fully represent the unfulfilled status of the promise that God will bless all nations through Abraham's offspring. Their expulsion demonstrates the scandalous nature of existence, one in which people are cast out through no fault of their own. Nonetheless, God still responds to them graciously. This theological interpretation provides a framework for a discussion concerning Augustine's doctrines of original sin and infant baptism as well as Karl Barth's doctrine of election in Christ. The interpretation of the Sarah-Hagar narrative allows one to take insights from both theologians. The article concludes with a statement regarding infant baptism and the church's current location between promise and fulfillment.

Barth and subordinationism

AbstractThis article examines claims that Barth teaches the eternal subordination and obedience of the Son to the Father which some mainline theologians think leads Barth into the error of subordinationism. This reading of Barth has had a revival in recent times among socially and theologically conservative evangelicals who have found support in Barth for their thesis that, just as the Son is set under the authority of the Father, so too are women set under the authority of men. In reply I argue that Barth's stress on divine unity and on the full divinity of Christ and his explicit rejection of ‘every form of subordinationism’ makes this thesis untenable. When the evidence for this view is examined none of it proves the point. Rather, it highlights Barth's innovative and mind-expanding understanding of the triune God who is high and humble and of the Son who is forever both Lord and servant at one and the same time. However, this is not to say that Barth's doctrine of the Trinity is not without its problems.

Karl Barth's Doctrine of the Church: focusing on the Characteristics of the Gathering Christian Community

Karl Barth's Doctrine of the Church: focusing on the Characteristics of the Gathering Christian Community

Speculating about Divinity? God's Immanent Life and Actualistic Ontology

AbstractThis article argues that counterfactual statements concerning God's life in himself are both theologically informative and genuinely warranted by Karl Barth's notion of God's ‘being‐in‐act’ as presented in § 28.1 of the Church Dogmatics. To this end, the proposed reading aims to mitigate recent emphases on divine Entscheidung as the primary category for construing Barth's theological ontology. Without offering a resolution to alleged ‘tensions’ in Barth's doctrine of God, the author nevertheless suggests that there are good reasons to prefer certain streams of Barth's thought to others, with the notion of God's love offered as a test case.

Election and the Pattern of Exchange in Karl Barth's Doctrine of the Atonement

AbstractBruce McCormack has described Barth's doctrine of the atonement as even more forensic than the traditional Protestant account due to the role played therein by his doctrine of election. The content of this election is fleshed out by the covenant of grace. This essay gives attention to the place of one aspect of that covenant of grace—the pattern of exchange—as it is found in Barth's account of the atonement, arguing that a mutually constitutive relation of unity-in-distinction obtains between the pattern of exchange and election in Barth's treatment of the atonement, with an asymmetrical priority given to election.

Authority, Mission, and Institution: A Systematic Consideration of Matthew 28.18-20 in Karl Barth's Doctrine of Baptism

AbstractMany of Barth's most faithful and devoted interpreters have taken issue with his unapologetically non-sacramental account of baptism in CD IV/4 and his attendant rejection of infant baptism. While many questions have been raised concerning the veracity of the exegesis that Barth produces in support of his position, little attention has been paid to the way in which Matthew 28.18-20, when systematically considered, relates to his account of baptism. Taking the themes of authority, mission and institution as analytic tools, this paper examines the role played by the Matthean passage throughout the Church Dogmatics period, and considers how these themes relate to Barth's rejection of infant baptism. It is suggested in conclusion that understanding baptism as the 'sign of the gospel' allows us to move beyond Barth's rejection of infant baptism without abrogating his concern for mission.

Karl Barth's Doctrine of Church According to the Apostle Paul's Theology

Karl Barth's Doctrine of Church According to the Apostle Paul's Theology

Karl Barth on the Eternal Existence of Jesus Christ

Central to Barth's doctrine of election is the notion that Jesus Christ is the subject of election. This implies that Jesus Christ existed from all eternity. I discuss four possible interpretations of this proposition. I analyse these interpretations both in terms of their internal consistency and in terms of their consistency with Barth's overall proposal. Three of the four interpretations, defended by Emil Brunner, Cornelius Berkouwer, John Colwell and Bruce McCormack, I find wanting. With the fourth interpretation I lay my own cards on the table and argue that part of the problem lies in Barth's formulation itself. The context of Barth's saying that ‘Christ is the subject of election’ suggests that for Barth, Jesus Christ is not so much identical not with a subject, but with an act: the divine reaching out to that what is not God. This act establishes the act and object of election.

Can the Electing God be God without us? Some Implications of Bruce McCormack's Understanding of Barth's Doctrine of Election for the Doctrine of the Trinity

This article is the attempt at a dialogue with Bruce McCormack about the position he espoused The Cambridge Companion to Karl Barth concerning the relation between God's Election of grace and God's Triunity. I had criticized McCormack's position my book, Divine Freedom and the Doctrine of the Immanent Trinity (2002), but I did not elaborate on it great detail. To develop the dialogue I will: 1) consider McCormack's claim that CD II/2 Barth made Jesus Christ rather than the Eternal Logos the subject of election; 2) consider what Barth means when he speaks of Jesus Christ in the beginning; 3) compare McCormack's thesis that the Father never had regard for the Son, apart from the humanity to be assumed, with Barth's belief that we must not dispute the eternal will of God which precedes even predestination; 4) analyze detail McCormack's rejection of Barth's belief that the logos asarkos distinction from the logos incarnandus is a necessary concept trinitarian theology; 5) discuss Barth's concept of the divine will relation to the concept advanced by McCormack and suggest that McCormack has fallen into the error of Hermann Schell by thinking that God some sense takes his origin from himself, so that God would only be triune if he elected us; 6) explain why it is a problem to hold, as McCormack does, that God's self-determination to be triune and his election of us should be considered one and the same act; and finally 7) explain McCormack's confusion of time and eternity his latest article on the subject the February, 2007 issue of the Scottish Journal of Theology, and his own espousal of a kind of indeterminacy on God's part (which he theoretically rejects).

The Word of Christ and the World of Culture: Sacred and Secular through the Theology of Karl Barth

theological revolution that Karl Barth inspired was by no means a dismissive reaction to modern culture but, rather, was a dynamic and carefully nuanced encounter with the concerns of his day. This excellent new work by Paul Lewis Metzger provides an exposition and extension of Barth's engagement of culture in view of his doctrine of the Word. Metzger demonstrates that Barth endeavored to relate Christ to culture in inseparable terms while maintaining a distinction between them. Working from an intimate knowledge of all of Barth's writings, Metzger shows how Barth's doctrine of the Word provides a sound basis on which to build a theological model of culture that guards against the two extremes of either the divinization or the secularization of culture, while at the same time nurturing a healthy appreciation for the secular domain. first part of the book analyzes Barth's formative theological period, which is characterized by his engagement with culture and what is termed Protestantism. second part of the book focuses on how Barth's answer -- a dialectical model of the Word -- enabled him to offer a constructive synthesis of Christ and culture. final section of the book traces the way Barth was able to frame culture within his theological model and yet continue to champion the secular domain. The Word of Christ and the World of Culture is a superb volume that will benefit anyone studying Barth, modern theology, or the relation of Christianity and culture.

Divine Transcendence, Religious Pluralism and Barth's Doctrine of God

Abstract: Pluralists such as John Hick frequently argue that the transcendence, mystery and ineffability of ‘God’ provide the grounds on which a pluralistic interpretation of religion should be embraced. In this article the author explores the possibility that certain contemporary accounts of divine transcendence, consciously indebted to Karl Barth, may implicitly open the door to Hick's line of argument. After identifying four reasons why Barth's own account of transcendence (Church Dogmatics II/1) resists a pluralist appropriation, the author examines two contemporary proposals: William Placher's The Domestication of Transcendence and Stacy Johnson's The Mystery of God. He contends that, unlike Barth, the accounts of God's transcendence proposed by these two theologians implicitly open the door to Hick's line of argument.

The reproach of modalism: a difficulty for Karl Barth's doctrine of the trinity

Though renowned for restoring the dogma of the trinity to a place of honor in Protestant dogmatics, Karl Barth has faced widespread criticism for allegedly introducing an ancient heresy into that very doctrine: the heresy of modalism. In this paper, we analyze: (a) Barth's doctrine of the trinity as presented in his Church Dogmatics I/1; (b) the arguments Barth himself employs against modalism; and (c) those aspects of Barth's doctrine of the trinity which, is his critics' view, commit him to some form of modalism. On this basis, we argue that Barth, in spite of infelicities and even errors in his doctrine of the trinity, does not in any way endorse the heresy of modalism.

'Conversations with Karl Barth (1886–1968) ‐ A review of recent studies'

Books reviewed:John W. Hart. Karl Barth vs. Emil Brunner. The Formation and Dissolution of a Theological Alliance, 1916–1936.Terry L. Cross. Dialectic in Karl Barth's Doctrine of God.Richard E. Burnett. Karl Barth's Theological Exegesis. The Hermeneutical Principals of the Römerbrief Period.Joseph L. Mangina. Karl Barth on the Christian Life: The Practical Knowledge of God.

Review: Dialectic in Karl Barth's Doctrine of God

Review: Dialectic in Karl Barth's Doctrine of God

In Defence of Karl Barth's Doctrine of the Trinity

Two common complaints against Barth's doctrine of the Trinity are here addressed. First it is argued that Barth's adoption of the term Seinsweise, or ‘mode of being’ to refer to the trinitarian persons is not in any way a departure from the traditional doctrine. Second, the suggestion that Barth's doctrine shifts over the course of the Dogmatics is examined and refuted.

Secularization and Sanctification: A Study of Karl Barth's Doctrine of Sanctification and Its Contextual Application to the Korean Church by Jung Suck Rhee (Amsterdam: VU University Press, 1995. 324 pp.)

Secularization and Sanctification: A Study of Karl Barth's Doctrine of Sanctification and Its Contextual Application to the Korean Church by Jung Suck Rhee (Amsterdam: VU University Press, 1995. 324 pp.)

Karl Barth and the Theology of the Lord's Supper: A Systematic Investigation

This study of the Lord's Supper (which Barth did not live to write) systematically develops the implications of Karl Barth's doctrine of God for his view of the sacrament. It analyzes his conceptions of God, revelation, grace, and sacramental causality, critically comparing them to the views of Rahner, Torrance, Wainwright, Juengel, Moltmann, Pannenberg, Gunton, and others. By contrasting Barth's views with more recent theology, this study clarifies many important issues that are often neglected or misunderstood by theologians who have moved beyond Barth without grappling with the important questions he raised, especially concerning God's freedom. Sacramental controversies are explored in the context of Christology and Trinitarian theology.

Evil and theodicy in the theology of Karl Barth

In the broad arena of Barth studies there has been surprisingly little done on Barth's view of evil. This book provides a comprehensive look at the peculiar ontology of evil within Barth's theological framework including the development of the concepts of evil in his early theology. It finds that Barth's most important treatment of evil is not found in his famous section on Das Nichtige, but rather in his Doctrine of God. The book's primary focus is on demonstrating that there are four dominant motifs that provide essential insight for proper understanding of his doctrine of evil. In analysing and critiquing these motifs this study provides the reader with a clearer understanding and appreciation of Barth's doctrine of evil. This book concludes with a construction of a Barthian theodicy, and drawing out implications for Christian preaching, counseling, and ethics.