Barth

I argue that, although Barth’s interpretation of the Genesis passages changed between The Epistle to the Romans and the Church Dogmatics, his mature readings of Genesis 2–3 still support his overall theological critique of religion as idolatry, the self-justifying positing of false gods. Specifically, in Romans (240–57, esp. 246–51), Barth interpreted “the knowledge of good and evil” as the divine secret that humans are merely humans. The prohibition of eating from the tree of knowledge thereby concealed the creator/creature distinction and was meant to enable a direct relationship between God and humans....

(Note: Read more about my work on Barth, Bonhoeffer, and the Bible here.) I’m really looking forward to reading these two Barth (and Bonhoeffer) books coming out from Baker in 2019: Freedom under the Word: Karl Barth’s Theological Exegesis. Edited by Ben Rhodes and Martin Westerholm. Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Theologians for a Post-Christian World. By Wolf Krötke. Translated by John P. Burgess. Freedom under the Word (May 2019) According to Baker:...

Previously, I wrote about how the Scripture search tool in the Digital Karl Barth Library was broken. Thankfully, it appears to have been fixed (although it still has issues). This means I can search Barth’s “Collected Edition” (Gesamtausgabe) if needed. However, I’m now having some issues with the copy of Barth’s Church Dogmatics I purchased via Logos Bible Software. Before I complain, let me first say how grateful I am that Logos is MUCH more user-friendly than the Digital Karl Barth Library....

I recently wrote about a problem I found in Alexander Street Press’ Digital Karl Barth Library: the Scripture citation search function no longer worked! I’m happy to report that, though the DKBL is still far from user-friendly, the Bible search works again! Now we just need some angel investors and programmers to produce a user-friendly version of the Digital Karl Barth Library! 🙂 Any takers?

As I slowly make progress on my dissertation (“Scriptural but Not Religious: Karl Barth, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and a Biblical Critique of Religion”), I’m longing for the day when: Karl Barth’s Gesamtausgabe (Collected Edition) is finished. They are translated into a critical English edition. They are available within the same database/framework as Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Works in English and German (DBWE and DBW). In the meantime, the Digital Karl Barth Library, provided by Alexander Street Press is the best resource out there for searching the text of Barth’s works....

Tomorrow, I defend the proposal for my dissertation. For now, the dissertation is tentatively titled: “Scriptural, but Not Religious: Karl Barth, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and a Biblical Critique of Religion.” Here’s the “elevator pitch” for the dissertation. Feedback appreciated. Scriptural, but Not Religious: Barth, Bonhoeffer, and a Biblical Critique of Religion My project traces its origins to a single classroom discussion question in the Spring of 2015. The question was this: “In what ways is Bonhoeffer’s understanding of religion similar to, and different from, that of Barth?...

(Note: Read more about my work on Barth, Bonhoeffer, and the Bible here.) Christian theologians Karl Barth (1886-1968) and Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) inherited a particular understanding of religion. In the broadly post-Kantian milieu, nineteenth-century thinkers such as Friedrich Schleiermacher, Albrecht Ritschl, and Adolf von Harnack defined religion essentially, anthropologically, and subjectively. That is, religion has a particular essence, and is in some manner inalienable from our humanity. The emphasis of this conception is on the experience of the religious subject, instead of the knowledge of religion’s object (let alone its reality)....

ABROMEIT, Hans-Jürgen. Das Geheimnis Christi: Dietrich Bonhoeffers erfahrungsbezogene Christologie. Neukirchener Beiträge zur systemaschen Theologie 8. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1991. BEINTKER, Michael. “Kontingenz und Gegenständlichkeit: Zu Bonhoeffers Barth-Kritik in ‘Akt und Sein.’” In Krisis und Gnade: Gesammelte Studien zu Karl Barth, edited by Stefan Holtmann and Peter Zocher, 29–54. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2013. BENKTSON, Benkt-Erik. Christus Und Die Religion: Der Religionsbegriff Bei Barth, Bonhoeffer Und Tillich. Arbeiten Zur Theologie, II/9. Stuttgart: Calwer, 1967....

(Note: Read more about my work on Barth, Bonhoeffer, and the Bible here.) This semester — my final one at Beeson Divinity School — I’m doing a directed study with Piotr Malysz on the topic of “Religion” in Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The impetus for this study was a discussion question in Dr. Malysz’s Spring 2015 20th Century History and Doctrine course. On March 24, our third class period on Dietrich Bonhoeffer, our second question for discussion read as follows:...