| Karl Barth Page |
| My persoanl interest in Karl Barth has been that his Church Dogmatics is a 12 volume work that many theologians consider the best theological work of the 20th century. The theologian most influential for me has been Wolfart Pannenberg. On December 15, 2006, at 2:30 pm, I finished Church Dogmatics. I started in the Fall of 2004. I have been on a self-directed reading plan for philosophy and theology reading since 2000, the last year that my last child graduated from High School. I am glad that I had the background of leading many Bible studies as a pastor, as well as the philosophical background. I had the privilege of talking with Dr. Bill Placher, professor at Wabash College, during lunch after I read each volume. The only way I have found to work through the thought of someone like Karl Barth is to take notes. I present, for anyone interested, a shorter, simpler church dogmatics, based upon my notes. |
| Prolegomena - Doctrine of the Word of God, where Barth explains the task of dogmatics and his view of the Word of God as the person of Jesus Christ, the biblical text, and the proclamation of the church Doctrine of God - Barth deals with the knowledge and reality of God, divine election, and ethics as the command of God. Doctrine of Creation - Barth deals with the work of creation, the creator, the creature, and the relationship of covenant between creator and creature, the presence of "nothingness" in creation, and ethics as the command of God in the context of creation, focusing upon freedom before God, in fellowship with other human beings, and the limits of human life. Doctrine of Reconciliation - Barth develops the reconciling work of God, bringing together some of the following elements. First, the traditional offices of Christ as priest, king, and prophet. Second, the human problem dealt with in each case is pride, sloth, and lying. The human response God looks for in each case is faith, love, and hope. In each case, we find the work of the Spirit showing itself in gathering people into the church, building them up in the church, and sending them into the world. Please note that I have added here the notes from his lecture fragments on ethics, which would have completed this volume on reconciliation. He views faithfulness as the center of an ethics rooted in God's reconciling work, beginning with the ethical implications of baptism, an exposition of the Lord's Prayer as the heart of Christian life, and the offering of thanksgiving in the Eucharist as the summation of Christian life. Further incomplete of course, is the final volume, the Doctrine of Redemption. However, from other resources, I have provided material from Barth that suggests directions he was headed. |