The Preaching of the Gospel

by Karl Barth

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94 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Protestant theologian Karl Barth, a Swiss, advocated a return to the principles of the Reformation and the teachings of the Bible; his published works include Church Dogmatics from 1932.

Critics hold Karl Barth among the most important Christian thinkers of the 20th century; Pope Pius XII described him as the most important since Saint Thomas Aquinas. Beginning with his experience as a pastor, he rejected his typical predominant liberal, especially German training of 19th century.

Instead, he embarked on a new path, initially called dialectical, due to its stress on the paradoxical nature of divine truth—for instance, God is both grace and judgment), but more accurately called a of the Word. Critics referred to this father of new orthodoxy, a pejorative term that he emphatically rejected. His thought emphasized the sovereignty of God, particularly through his innovative doctrine of election. His enormously influenced throughout Europe and America.

Reviews

[Stephen Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

There were several fascinating insights in this short book, and especially many helpful summaries of Barth's own theology in a clear and concise way. For example Barth's sentence-summary of the bible as the word of God: "The bible *becomes* the Word of God, and when it becomes this for us, then it is so." (P. 46)

Worth the short time it takes to read.