Karl Barth Page

My personal 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 the first time. I started in the Fall of 2004. 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. I have also had extensive conversation with a colleague, Glenn Knepp, now in Indiana. Here is my blog on this topic.

https://karlbarthchurchdogmatics.blogspot.com/

The book i have written would be well worth reading on its own, exposing the reader to one of the great theologians of the 20th century. If one wants to read Church Dogmatics, this book would be a helpful companion.

Here are the topics Barth discusses:

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.

Doctrine of Redemption - Barth never completed this volume. However, he left clues in other writings as to the direction of his thought.