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Deliverance to the Captives
This book takes us behind prison bars--to hear powerful, simple, direct sermons by the man widely known as the twentieth century's most influential theologian. Originally delivered to inmates of the prison in Basel, Switzerland, these sermons shine with Karl Barth's thought and exaltation of the living Christ. Including sermons on the great feasts of the Christian year such as Christmas and Easter, Deliverance to the Captives offers new hope powerfully phrased, and a wide entry into the thought of a supreme theologian.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1959
About the author
Karl Barth
479 books268 followersProtestant 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 17, 2011
Karl Barth's Deliverance to the Captives is a collection of sermons, most of which were preached at a prison in Basel, Switzerland, near the end of Barth's lifetime. This alone makes the book remarkable. The contrast of imagining Barth, the towering theologian, preaching to common prisoners is exciting in itself. Barth's preaching takes it one step further.
There is no question about what the most distinctive aspect of Barth's preaching is. Each and every sermon has as its center Jesus Christ. It is clear from the book that the main concern Barth had in his own preaching was the communication of the gospel message as revealed in Jesus Christ. Whether his text is from Deuteronomy, Psalms or the gospels, the text is ultimately related to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Barth is able to do this in a skillful manner which I am certain was not perceived as awkward or artificial by his auditors.
Barth's preaching follows a well-established form. He opens with a prayer and closes with a prayer. The opening prayer serves as a "preview" of the sermon, but like a good movie preview serves to stimulate interest in the sermon while not giving away the "plot" of what's going to be said. The closing prayer sums up what was said in the sermon and usually connects solidly to the daily lives of the hearers. Both of these prayers contain frequent references to current events of the time as well as the nitty gritty of daily life. The Lord's prayer is included in one of the prayers, usually at the end of the opening prayer. Barth generally begins by reading a selection from scripture. He then begins his sermon with the phrase "My dear brothers and sisters." This is followed with an "attention grabber" which is usually something one would not expect a prominent theologian to say. He then exegetes the text and develops the sermon from that point.
Barth rarely preaches on more than a sentence or two of Biblical text. He develops his sermon in conjunction with the sentence or phrase literally a word at a time. For the phrase, "I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people", Barth spends roughly a page and a half of the sermon on the first phrase alone. He devotes a paragraph to "walk" and another paragraph to "among you", etc. Much of his points involve linguistic plays which serve to illustrate his point and bring out the richness of the text. One of Barth's favorite models is the "Not this... or this... or this ... but this."
His preaching is geared toward the audience. In the sermons which are preached in prison, Barth utilizes the context to preach sermons which are more powerful given the setting. He does this by taking the prison environment head on and by choosing texts which involve criminals or images which correspond to prison. The best example of this is the sermon, "The Criminals With Him." Barth's consideration of the criminals crucified with Jesus takes on a dimension of power which simply would not be possibly in a village church. He preaches about criminals to people who are themselves criminals. He uses this tension in unexpected ways to bring the gospel message to the congregation. One such way he accomplishes this is by asserting that the criminals and Jesus constituted the first Christian community. This must have been a jolt to the audience, but probably allowed them to understand in a new way that the gospel is for them, even though they may have done things which are wrong. Another way is Barth's assertion that bondage to sin is much worse than being in prison. Barth speaks in terms that allowed the Christian prisoners to feel sorry for the poor people in the outside world who were physically free, but in terrible bondage to sin! Again, this is an unexpected, but remarkably effective use of the context to deliver the gospel proclamation.
A further device used by Barth is his method of self-reference. One consistent aspect which runs throughout the book is his total identification with his audience. Barth rarely uses the word "you" to refer to his congregation, virtually always using the word "we". When he does use the word "you", he always follows with the assertion that he is not to be excluded. Barth occasionally acknowledges his status as a scholar, but it is always to contrast the "knowledge" of humanity with the truth of the gospel. He will use phrases such as "I know a thing or two about scholars", but never "pulls rank" as an academic to claim authority for his message. Rather, he consistently refers to the scriptures as the authority for his preaching.
Barth immerses himself in the world of his hearers. He is much more interested in the real life situation of his hearers than in lofty theological concepts. One might expect the sermons to be at least sprinkled with theological words and phrases, but aside from a passing reference to Sartre and Camus in a sermon preached at a university, there are none to be found. In fact Barth is remarkably down to earth in ways that are relevant and even humorous. After a Christmas reading, Barth seems quite in tune with how people heard the scripture. He conjectures that some received it sentimentally, some with questions and maybe even some were distracted and didn't even hear the reading. His sermons contain frequent references to the history which was occurring around them, from the Cold War to Sputnik. Everyday life and emotions are referred to regularly.
Barth's preaching seems to succeed largely because of his use of contrast and paradox, and in that manner parallels his notions of theology. The sermons follow a set form, but the form is varied and changed for effect. Standard Christian notions of piety, faith and Biblical interpretation are set forth as expected, but are usually counterbalanced by the unexpected. Scholarly ideas are present, as expected, but always in language which anyone walking in off the street could understand. Barth is willing to immerse himself in the world of his hearers to the point of identification, but having done so uses surprise and paradox to communicate the truth of the gospel in new and unexpected ways.
There is no question about what the most distinctive aspect of Barth's preaching is. Each and every sermon has as its center Jesus Christ. It is clear from the book that the main concern Barth had in his own preaching was the communication of the gospel message as revealed in Jesus Christ. Whether his text is from Deuteronomy, Psalms or the gospels, the text is ultimately related to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Barth is able to do this in a skillful manner which I am certain was not perceived as awkward or artificial by his auditors.
Barth's preaching follows a well-established form. He opens with a prayer and closes with a prayer. The opening prayer serves as a "preview" of the sermon, but like a good movie preview serves to stimulate interest in the sermon while not giving away the "plot" of what's going to be said. The closing prayer sums up what was said in the sermon and usually connects solidly to the daily lives of the hearers. Both of these prayers contain frequent references to current events of the time as well as the nitty gritty of daily life. The Lord's prayer is included in one of the prayers, usually at the end of the opening prayer. Barth generally begins by reading a selection from scripture. He then begins his sermon with the phrase "My dear brothers and sisters." This is followed with an "attention grabber" which is usually something one would not expect a prominent theologian to say. He then exegetes the text and develops the sermon from that point.
Barth rarely preaches on more than a sentence or two of Biblical text. He develops his sermon in conjunction with the sentence or phrase literally a word at a time. For the phrase, "I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people", Barth spends roughly a page and a half of the sermon on the first phrase alone. He devotes a paragraph to "walk" and another paragraph to "among you", etc. Much of his points involve linguistic plays which serve to illustrate his point and bring out the richness of the text. One of Barth's favorite models is the "Not this... or this... or this ... but this."
His preaching is geared toward the audience. In the sermons which are preached in prison, Barth utilizes the context to preach sermons which are more powerful given the setting. He does this by taking the prison environment head on and by choosing texts which involve criminals or images which correspond to prison. The best example of this is the sermon, "The Criminals With Him." Barth's consideration of the criminals crucified with Jesus takes on a dimension of power which simply would not be possibly in a village church. He preaches about criminals to people who are themselves criminals. He uses this tension in unexpected ways to bring the gospel message to the congregation. One such way he accomplishes this is by asserting that the criminals and Jesus constituted the first Christian community. This must have been a jolt to the audience, but probably allowed them to understand in a new way that the gospel is for them, even though they may have done things which are wrong. Another way is Barth's assertion that bondage to sin is much worse than being in prison. Barth speaks in terms that allowed the Christian prisoners to feel sorry for the poor people in the outside world who were physically free, but in terrible bondage to sin! Again, this is an unexpected, but remarkably effective use of the context to deliver the gospel proclamation.
A further device used by Barth is his method of self-reference. One consistent aspect which runs throughout the book is his total identification with his audience. Barth rarely uses the word "you" to refer to his congregation, virtually always using the word "we". When he does use the word "you", he always follows with the assertion that he is not to be excluded. Barth occasionally acknowledges his status as a scholar, but it is always to contrast the "knowledge" of humanity with the truth of the gospel. He will use phrases such as "I know a thing or two about scholars", but never "pulls rank" as an academic to claim authority for his message. Rather, he consistently refers to the scriptures as the authority for his preaching.
Barth immerses himself in the world of his hearers. He is much more interested in the real life situation of his hearers than in lofty theological concepts. One might expect the sermons to be at least sprinkled with theological words and phrases, but aside from a passing reference to Sartre and Camus in a sermon preached at a university, there are none to be found. In fact Barth is remarkably down to earth in ways that are relevant and even humorous. After a Christmas reading, Barth seems quite in tune with how people heard the scripture. He conjectures that some received it sentimentally, some with questions and maybe even some were distracted and didn't even hear the reading. His sermons contain frequent references to the history which was occurring around them, from the Cold War to Sputnik. Everyday life and emotions are referred to regularly.
Barth's preaching seems to succeed largely because of his use of contrast and paradox, and in that manner parallels his notions of theology. The sermons follow a set form, but the form is varied and changed for effect. Standard Christian notions of piety, faith and Biblical interpretation are set forth as expected, but are usually counterbalanced by the unexpected. Scholarly ideas are present, as expected, but always in language which anyone walking in off the street could understand. Barth is willing to immerse himself in the world of his hearers to the point of identification, but having done so uses surprise and paradox to communicate the truth of the gospel in new and unexpected ways.
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May 16, 2021I read these sermons both devotionally and sort of as supplimentary material while reading Barth's Romans commentary. Reading the notoriously dense and cerebral Römerbrief often begs the questions "How does this apply? And how could any of this possibly preach??" Deliverance to the Captives answers both questions quite well.
July 26, 2022
Good book. The language is a little dated. Karl Barth was a big influence on Eugene Peterson in trying to make the Scriptures accessible to all people.
The book deserves a re-fresh for modern english.
Made me really appreciate The Message!
The book deserves a re-fresh for modern english.
Made me really appreciate The Message!
August 27, 2024
A collection of sermons delivered by Karl Barth, one of the twentieth century's great theologians, mostly in the prison of Basel, Switzerland. Each sermon is short and easy to read but deeply profound and Biblically sound. This is a book worth reading again and again.
October 17, 2024
A pleasant collection of sermons preached by Barth, mostly to incarcerated folks. They clearly demonstrate that Barth’s christocentric theology was never a strictly academic endeavor but one that was for the church—a theology that could (and does) preach!
June 22, 2018
A great collection of sermons that gives a glimpse into Barth's theology and how it can apply to our everyday lives.
January 29, 2021
One of the things I appreciated about this book were the prayers of Barth. He exhibits a rich and missional prayer life
December 28, 2024
Found myself grinning at several points. What a joyful book!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews