The Resurrection of the Dead

by Karl Barth, H.J. Stenning (Translator), R. Dale Dawson (Introduction)

Karl Barth saw Chapter 15 as the center of 1st Corinthians, arguing that a misunderstanding of the resurrection underlies all the problems in Corinth. In this volume, he develops his view of biblical eschatology, asserting that Chapter 15 is key to understanding the testimony of the New Testament. Barth understood the last things not as an end to history but as an end-history with which any period is faced. "He only speaks of last things who would speak of the end of all things, of their end understood plainly and fundamentally, of a reality so radically superior to all things that the existence of all things would be utterly and entirely based upon it alone, and thus, in speaking of their end, he would in truth be speaking of nothing else than their beginning" Page 104

Genres: Theology

236 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

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

[John Pawlik · Rating 4 out of 5]

barth’s 1 Corinthians commentary. A lot of great one liners in this thing! And some really interesting ways of thinking through various concepts in the letter. I personally liked this a lot more than his Romans commentary, I thought it was more succinct and mature in its feel.
I think Barth still reads like James Cone to me, he takes an over-arching lens of his own choosing and ruthlessly strains scripture through it. You can still see moments where he is scared of reason or rationality of any kind in the text, and it hurts his reading. I think his lens feels more naturally close to some of our own, and indeed critiques them helpfully at a lot of places, but the way he reads is really limited to me in a lot of ways.

Oh that there would be more readers of Barth and less Barthians.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

A new favorite!

[Wyatt Houtz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first two thirds are a synopsis of 1 Corinthians 1-14 and the last third is a commentary on 1 Corinthians 15.