TH013-812 - Reading Karl Barth in Context

  • 2,976 Standard Tuition Fee
  • 12
    Credit Points
  • 0.125 EFT 
  • 8
    AQF level
  • Category developing unit
    B
  • theologyUnit Discipline

Exclusions

Prior to 2020, this unit content was delivered under the unit code TH703-6.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will

A. Know and understand

1. Demonstrate Advanced knowledge and understanding of, and the research underlying, the theology of Karl Barth in its historical, social, political, intellectual, and theological contexts

B. Be able to

1. Examine recent scholarship on the theology of Karl Barth in its historical, social, political and theological contexts

2. Demonstrate skill in utilising diverse scholarship in investigating the theology of Karl Barth in its historical, social, political and theological contexts

3. Present Research-Aware evidence-based perspectives on the theology of Karl Barth in its historical, social, political and theological contexts
 

C. Be in a position to

1. Applying Advanced perspectives and skills from ‘Karl Barth in Context’ to ministry practice and Christian living as a reflective practitioner

Content

Given the scope of Barth’s theological output, choices must be made concerning what to include in the unit, and what to leave out. The following outline of content is intended as indicative of the kinds of materials that could reasonably be included in a Unit of Study on Karl Barth’s theology.

  1. A brief overview of Barth’s life, theological development, and legacy, including discussion of the historical, social, political, and theological contexts in which he worked.
  2. A brief sampling of interpretive approaches to Barth’s work.
  3. A guide for reading Karl Barth, especially the Church Dogmatics.
  4. Barth’s theological method.
  5. A study of various theological loci as presented by Karl Barth, such as his doctrines of the trinity, God, Christology, pneumatology, humanity, election, reconciliation, ecclesiology, ethics, etc.
  6. Detailed study of various works from different periods from Barth’s career such as his early lectures, Romans commentaries, pamphlets and other occasional documents from the German Church conflict period, sections of the Church Dogmatics, etc.

It is envisaged that the unit will focus especially on point 6 above, so that students read, interpret and discuss substantial sections of Barth’s work. A seminar format is ideal for accomplishing this purpose. Teachers may choose a survey approach to Barth’s oeuvre, dealing with a different topic each week, or may choose to spend most of the unit exploring two or three specific topics in greater depth. If the second option is chosen, teachers are also encouraged to engage Barth’s work at different periods of his career.

Set Readings

Prescribed:

Allen, R. Michael (ed). Karl Barth’s Church Dogmatics: An Introduction & Reader. (London: T. & T. Clark, 2012); or,

Johnson, Keith L., The Essential Karl Barth: A Reader and Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2019).

Barth, Karl, Church Dogmatics 14 vols. (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1936-1975).
Note: the newer 31-volume Study Edition of Barth’s Church Dogmatics may also be used. This has the advantage of translations of foreign language citations in the text.

The use of a selection of primary texts from other Barth works is also recommended. E.g. Barth’s Epistle to the Romans, Theology and the Word of God, Dogmatics in Outline, Ethics, Evangelical Theology: An Introduction, his sermons and correspondence, etc.

 

Recommended:

The secondary literature on Barth and his theology is voluminous, including hundreds of monographs and thousands of journal articles on particular topics in Barth studies. The references supplied here include overviews, introductions, and classic treatments of his work.

Bromiley, Geoffrey W. Introduction to the Theology of Karl Barth (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1979).

Burnett, R. (ed). The Westminster Handbook to Karl Barth (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2013).

Busch, Eberhard. The Great Passion: An Introduction to Karl Barth’s Theology. Trans. G. W. Bromiley (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004).

Gibson, David & Daniel Strange, eds. Engaging with Barth: Contemporary Evangelical Critiques (Nottingham: IVP, 2008).

Gorringe, Timothy J. Karl Barth: Against Hegemony (Oxford: OUP, 1999).

Hunsinger, George. Disruptive Grace: Studies in the Theology of Karl Barth (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000).

Hunsinger, George & Keith l. Johnson (Eds.), Wiley Blackwell Companion to Karl Barth Two volumes (Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell, 2020).

Jones, Paul D. & Paul T. Nimmo (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Karl Barth (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020).

McCormack, Bruce L. Orthodox and Modern: Studies in the Theology of Karl Barth. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008).

O’Neil, Michael D., Church as Moral Community: Karl Barth’s Vision of Christian Life, 1915-1922 (Milton Keynes: Paternoster, 2013).

Webster, John, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Karl Barth (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000).

Webster, John. Karl Barth (New York: Continuum, 2000).

 

 

Classics

Balthasar, Hans Urs von. The Theology of Karl Barth. Translated by Edward T. Oakes (San Francisco: Ignatius, 1992).

Berkouwer, G. C. The Triumph of Grace in the Theology of Karl Barth. Translated by H. R. Boer (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1956).

Busch, Eberhard. Karl Barth: His Life from Letters and Autobiographical Texts. Translated by J. Bowden (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1976).

Hunsinger, George. How to Read Karl Barth: The Shape of his Theology (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991).

Jüngel, Eberhard. Karl Barth: A Theological Legacy. Translated by G. E. Paul (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1986).

McCormack, Bruce L. Karl Barth’s Critically Realistic Dialectical Theology: Its Genesis and Development 1909-1936 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995).

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