Karl Barth: Theologian of Freedom

by Karl Barth

Ranked by many among the great theologians of church history, Karl Barth was the leading European theologian in the first half of this century. His 1919 Romans signaled the end of the nineteenth century liberal theology, and his Church Dogmatics reconstructed Christian doctrine in a way that was both classical and modern. A champion of the freedom of the Christian community, Barth's theology links "the Bible and the newspaper," Christian doctrine with the ethical issues of politics and economics, justice and peace. This volume concentrates on the key texts and ideas in Barth's thought. It presents the essential Barth for students and the general reader. Clifford Green's introductory essay and comments on the selected texts set Barth in his historical context, chart the development of his thought and indicate the significance of his theology in the development of Christian theology as a whole. Substantial selections from Barth's work illustrate key Barth's critique of liberal theology The Roman s commentary and the Anselm study Revelation and biblical theology versus natural theology Christology, election, creation, reconciliation, the church Christian ethics; the church and public life Socialism; resistance to Nazism; the church as peacemaker

Genres: Theology, Christianity, Biography, Religion

348 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1988

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

[Adam Shields]

I finally gave up on this. It is one of the worst kindle conversions that I have read. I have just read the first chapter (a long introductory chapter on Barth before getting to Barth's own writing.) But this chapter had at least one typo on virtually every page. Most pages had several. I am not a good copy editor, but if I can read and submitted somewhere between 50 and 100 corrections to the kindle edition on a book that has been out for a while, then either no one is reading it, or no one at the company is paying attention.

I picked it up on sale last year. But I have a hard time recommending it even though I think it is pretty good content. It is just annoying to have to work through what the text is supposed to mean several times a page.

[Ben De Bono · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first introduction to Karl Barth and I thoroughly enjoyed both his writing and this extremely well put together anthology. This volume covers a wide range of topics giving an overview of Barth's thought not just on theology but also with politics and aesthetics. For anyone who, like me, is looking to begin exploring Barth's work, this is an excellent place to start.

[Thom Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ascribe to Barth's theology. Excellent read if you want to know more about the greatest theologian of the 20th century.

[Richard Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

This curated selection of Barth's writings is intended to give readers an introduction to this prolific and important theologian. Some of the selections were truly weird in an introduction, for example, the essay on Schleiermacher, which in large didn't make much sense anyway. I'm often perturbed at theologians who write such opaque prose. It is possible to be rigorous and clear. It is also possible to write paragraphs shorter than 3 pages. In the end, while Barth was clearly an important theological voice, this volume was only mediocre in quality.

[Mikedinnen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only read the first 100 pages, but this book offers a good introduction to the theology of Karl Barth. It also provides a brief overview of his life and theology.

[Dave Miller]

Great insight into this important figure