Karl Barth on the Eternal Existence of Jesus Christ

2007 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin Chr. van Driel
Keyword(s):  
Internal Consistency ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Karl Barth ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Doctrine Of Election

Central to Barth's doctrine of election is the notion that Jesus Christ is the subject of election. This implies that Jesus Christ existed from all eternity. I discuss four possible interpretations of this proposition. I analyse these interpretations both in terms of their internal consistency and in terms of their consistency with Barth's overall proposal. Three of the four interpretations, defended by Emil Brunner, Cornelius Berkouwer, John Colwell and Bruce McCormack, I find wanting. With the fourth interpretation I lay my own cards on the table and argue that part of the problem lies in Barth's formulation itself. The context of Barth's saying that ‘Christ is the subject of election’ suggests that for Barth, Jesus Christ is not so much identical not with a subject, but with an act: the divine reaching out to that what is not God. This act establishes the act and object of election.

Seek God where he may be found: a response to Edwin Chr. van Driel

2007 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce McCormack
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Good Reason ◽  
Karl Barth ◽  
Logical Relation ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Doctrine Of Election ◽  
The One

I would like to begin by expressing gratitude to Edwin van Driel for creating the conditions which make possible a genuine debate on the issues raised by my essay in The Cambridge Companion to Karl Barth. I have, of course, long been aware of Paul Molnar's (shall we say?) rather vigorous rejection of the position I took in that essay on the question of the logical relation of election to the triunity of God in Barth's ‘mature’ theology – i.e. subsequent to publishing his revised doctrine of election in CD II/2. If I have kept silence this long, it has not been without good reason. I was unwilling to respond to Molnar for two reasons. First, in his criticisms of my views, Molnar failed to engage the one point which would have been decisive for launching a serious ‘debate’, i.e. he made no attempt to explain the meaning of Barth's thesis that Jesus Christ is the subject of election or to show how his own reading of Barth is not called into question by that thesis. He simply set it aside as (apparently) unworthy of discussion and chose instead to merely insist on his own reading. It should go without saying that no real ‘debate’ can take place when the evidence brought forth to support a new proposal is passed over in silence. Less important was the second reason.

scholarly journals ‘Jesus is victor’: passing the impasse of Barth on universalism

2007 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 196-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Greggs
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Karl Barth ◽  
Secondary Literature ◽  
Doctrine Of Election ◽  
Pass Through

This article examines the question of Karl Barth's stance on universalism. Setting the question within the wealth of contradictory accounts of Barth on this issue, it seeks to find a way through the opposing views represented in the secondary literature. Following a brief examination of the doctrine of election which is the source of the charge of universalism, Barth's response to Berkouwer's The Triumph of Grace in the Theology of Karl Barth will be considered in detail. This passage helps to place Barth's own reaction to the charge of universalism in a broader framework than that of a simple denial or acceptance, and helps to highlight what Barth does and does not reject regarding universalism. It will be argued that it is the replacement of the person of Jesus Christ with a principle, rather than any limitation of the salvific work of God, that Barth rejects in rejecting apokatastasis. Barth's denial of universalism marks a dismissal of the problematic elements associated with the word, not a denial of the ultimate friendliness of Jesus Christ. The radical newness of Barth's own approach to universalism cannot be overemphasized, and marks the means by which one may pass through the impasse of differing accounts of Barth's eschatology.

Barth and the divine perfections

2014 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 450-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Sonderegger
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Karl Barth ◽  
Church Dogmatics ◽  
Natural Knowledge ◽  
Knowledge Of God ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Divine Perfections ◽  
Radical Claim ◽  
Act And Being

AbstractColin Gunton advanced the radical claim that Christians have univocal knowledge of God. Just this, he said in Act and Being, was the fruit of Christ's ministry and passion. Now, was Gunton right to find this teaching in Karl Barth – or at least, as an implication of Barth's celebrated rejection of ‘hellenist metaphysics’? This article aims to answer this question by examining Gunton's own claim in Act and Being, followed by a closer inspection of Barth's analysis of the doctrine of analogy in a long excursus in Church Dogmatics II/1.Contrary to some readings of Barth, I find Barth to be remarkably well-informed about the sophisticated terms of contemporary Roman Catholic debate about analogy, including the work of G. Sohngen and E. Pryzwara. Barth's central objection to the doctrine of analogy in this section appears to be the doctrine's reckless division (in Barth's eyes) of the Being of God into a ‘bare’ God, the subject of natural knowledge, and the God of the Gospel, known in Jesus Christ. But such reckless abstraction cannot be laid at the feet of Roman theologians alone! Barth extensively examines, and finds wanting, J. A. Quenstedt's doctrine of analogy, and the knowledge of God it affords, all stripped, Barth charges, of the justifying grace of Jesus Christ. From these pieces, Barth builds his own ‘doctrine of similarity’, a complex and near-baroque account, which seeks to ground knowledge of God in the living act of his revelation and redemption of sinners. All this makes one tempted to say that Gunton must be wrong in his assessment either of univocal predication or of its roots in the theology of Karl Barth.But passages from the same volume of the Church Dogmatics make one second-guess that first conclusion. When Barth turns from his methodological sections in volume II/1 to the material depiction of the divine perfections, he appears to lay aside every hesitation and speak as directly, as plainly and, it seems, as ‘univocally’ as Gunton could ever desire. Some examples from the perfection of divine righteousness point to Barth's startling use of frank and direct human terms for God's own reality and his unembarrassed use of such terms to set out the very ‘heart of God’.Yet things are never quite what they seem in Barth. A brief comparison between Gunton's univocal predication and Barth's own use of christological predication reveals some fault-lines between the two, and an explanation, based on Barth's own doctrine of justification, is offered in its place.

Jesus Christ, election and nature: revising Barth during the ecological crisis

2015 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-470
Author(s):  
Adrian Langdon
Keyword(s):  
Human Nature ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Karl Barth ◽  
Ecological Crisis ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Doctrine Of God ◽  
Doctrine Of Election ◽  
The Cross ◽  
John's Gospel ◽  
Romans 8

AbstractTheologians seeking to respond to the ecological crisis seldom turn to the theology of Karl Barth as a resource. In fact, some suggest that his doctrine of God is too monarchical and leads to unnecessary hierarchies between God and humans, or between humans and the rest of nature. This article counters this trend and begins a dialogue with Barth, especially on the place of non-human nature in his thought. While agreeing with the substance of Barth's theology, it is argued a number of critical additions and revisions are appropriate, especially concerning his doctrine of election. The article first briefly outlines Barth's doctrine of election and then, second, examines various New Testament passages on election and non-human nature. This second section will examine the prologue of John's Gospel, Colossians 1:15–20 and Romans 8:18–23. As key texts in Barth's exposition, it will be noted how he passes over important connections between election and nature found in them. Guided by the green exegesis of Richard Bauckham, it will be argued that nature is not merely the stage for the drama between God and humanity but that it is also an object of God's election and thereby participates in reconciliation and redemption. The third part of the article suggests various points of commensurability, correction and addition to Barth's theology arising from the biblical material examined. This includes points concerning theological epistemology, the atonement, anthropology and the theology of nature. For example, Romans 8 suggests that creation groans in anticipation of redemption. Barth's view of the cross, especially the Son's taking up of human suffering, is extended to suggest that the cross is God's way of identifying with the suffering of nature and its anticipation of redemption, and not just human sin and salvation. The most important revision, however, is to be made to Barth's doctrine of election. It may be summarised as follows: in Jesus Christ, God elects the Christian community and individuals for salvation within the community of creation. The article concludes by suggesting areas of dialogue with other types of ecotheology, especially ecofeminist forms.

Conclusion

2019 ◽  
pp. 323-332
Author(s):  
John Behr
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Karl Barth ◽  
Christian Theology ◽  
Karl Rahner ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Phenomenological Reflection ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Separate Discipline ◽  
And Task ◽  
The Way

The Conclusion brings together the different threads spun during the course of this work to reflect on the nature and task of theology. Rather than seeing theology as the articulation of various doctrines, Trinity and Incarnation chief among them, and as a separate discipline from scriptural exegesis or phenomenological reflection, the conclusion argues that the subject of Christian theology is the Crucified and Exalted Jesus Christ, as preached by the apostles in accordance with Scripture, who, in the way in which he dies as a human being, shows us what it is to be God and human, simultaneously, so calling us to become human, as he is, and share in the life that he offers. This connection between theology and anthropology, centered in Christology, is compared to similar insights developed by Karl Barth and Karl Rahner.

Election

2019 ◽  
pp. 308-324
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Aragon Bruce
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Doctrine Of God ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Doctrine Of Election ◽  
The One

This chapter introduces and summarizes Barth’s doctrine of election. It begins with an overview of Barth’s criticism and rejection of classical Augustinian and Reformed versions of predestination. It then treats Barth’s Christological revision of the tradition by focusing on his conception of Jesus Christ as both the subject and the object of election. It shows how Barth’s doctrine of election is connected to his doctrine of God, highlighting how Barth’s understanding of ‘God as the one who loves in freedom’ serves as the key to understanding his doctrine of election. Finally, it suggests a new approach to the current debate over Barth’s doctrine of election by seeing it as a version of the classical intellectualist–voluntarist debate.

The Election of Jesus Christ

2008 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-150
Author(s):  
Oliver Crisp
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Karl Barth ◽  
Reformed Theology ◽  
Alternative Account ◽  
Popular Belief ◽  
Reformed Tradition ◽  
Doctrine Of Election

AbstractIn modern theology the election of Christ is often associated with the work of Karl Barth. In this paper, I offer an alternative account of Christ's election in dialogue with the Post-Reformation Reformed tradition. It turns out that, contrary to popular belief, there is no single 'Reformed' doctrine of election; a range of views has been tolerated in the tradition. I set out one particular construal of the election of Christ that stays within the confessional parameters of Reformed theology, while arguing, contrary to some Reformed divines, that Christ is the cause and foundation of election.

The Chinese Face of Jesus Christ

2021 ◽  
pp. 446-462
Author(s):  
Roman Malek
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Cultural Revolution ◽  
Chinese Context ◽  
The Future ◽  
Chinese Religions ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Chinese Face ◽  
Historical Nature ◽  
The Cultural Revolution

Jesus Christ has been the subject of manifold and intensive reflection in the Chinese context and has shown various faces. The essay surveys the innumerable works of biblical, apologetical, catechetical, liturgical, general theological, literary, and art-historical nature on Jesus Christ covering the periods from Tang and Yuan dynasties (seventh–ninth centuries and twelfth–fourteenth centuries) to the “Cultural Revolution” (1966–1976). The essay observes how various Chinese portraits of Jesus Christ engage with Chinese religions, and how the Chinese context limited the possibilities for the unfolding of a specific face and image of Jesus much more than other Asian and Western contexts. It raises the question of the future: Which faces and images of Jesus Christ will the Chinese context still generate? In this vast part of Asia, will he remain a vox clamantis in deserto?

The Manual of 1614

1984 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 158-172
Author(s):  
J. D. Crichton
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Religious Practice ◽  
Spiritual Life ◽  
Inner Life ◽  
Teresa Of Avila ◽  
Country Houses ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Ordinary Person ◽  
The Many

In recent years, students of recusancy have begun to turn their attention to the inner life of the Catholic community, a development much to be welcomed; and it is understandable that for the most part the centre of interest has been what is called the spiritual life. Influences coming from St. Francis of Sales and St. Teresa of Avila have been traced, and Augustine Baker has rightly been the subject of much study. What needs further investigation, I believe, is the devotional life of the ordinary person, namely the gentry and their wives and daughters in their country houses, especially in the seventeenth century. There were also those who towards the end of the century increasingly lived in London and other towns without the support of the ‘patriarchal’ life of the greater families. No doubt, many were unlettered, and even if they could read they were probably unused to handling anything but the simplest of books. It would be interesting to know what vernacular prayers they knew and said, how they managed to ‘hear Mass’, as the phrase went, what they made of the sacrament of penance, and what notions about God and Jesus Christ they entertained. Perhaps the religious practice of the unlettered is now beyond recall, but something remains of the practice of those who used the many Primers and Manuals that are still extant.

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