Credo

by Karl Barth

1962
Credo, written by one of the most eminent theologians, explains the Apostles' Creed as a foundation of the Christian religion. After walking the reader through the creed phrase by phrase, Karl Barth answers questions from letters he received in an appendix that spans pages 173-203.

Genres: Theology, Religion

203 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1935

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

[James Wheeler]

I am not totally through this one but found the first few chapters to be both excellent and challenging. Barth, of course, is writing in a particular context and in conversation with the theological issues of his day. He is a dogmatic theologian so he treats the content of the creed from this perspective and it is refreshing. Barth, like Bonhoeffer do not like pietistic approaches to faith because of the many distortions they bring. Instead, he attempts to break down the creed theologically to help the modern day reader to understand its radical demand on our thoughts and lives. We can tend to devalue our intellectual approach to Christianity but Barth teaches us over and over to "take every thought captive" (2 Corinthians 10:5). I suppose for some that is a flaw in itself, and a preference or demand for practical theology comes first. Barth's challenge to think more critically and with a boldly trinitarian lens are exciting suggestions rife with practical possibilities. His book brings a wonderful order to the Christian faith.

[Luke Merrick]

Interesting thoughts throughout. I generally found Barths writing to be heavily contextual to his environment and so there were many moments of confusion for me. The most striking theological nugget was in chapter five when he notes, "Sin scorches us when it comes under the light of forgiveness, not before".

[Weber Sergio]

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[Charlie]

Barth gives not a plain historical but a dogmatic reading of the Apostle's Creed. In so doing, he models fruitful interaction between historical and constructive theology.