Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics: A Selection with Introduction

Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics: A Selection with Introduction. Edited by Helmut Gollwitzer. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1994, 262 pp., $14.99 paper.

Westminster/John Knox Press has done all teachers of theology and all who might in any way be curious about the theological, Christocentric thinking of K. Barth a great service in reissuing Gollwitzer's selections from the ponderous Church Dogmatics. As helpful as, say, Evangelical Theology or Dogmatics in Outline are as texts for courses related to modern trends in theology, there is nothing like the Dogmatics themselves for theological depth and for stirring, enlightening, surprising and sometimes aggravating argumentation. While one might wish that Gollwitzer include more on this or that issue, a thorough reading of the whole will lead not just to general satisfaction with Gollwitzer's overall format but to amazement at his sensitivity to Barth's own thinking and to Barth's own developing concerns. But Gollwitzer has given yet more. His introductory essay, which presents Barth's desire to "follow after" the Word in its historical context, is most helpful.

With Gollwitzer's introduction, most of the first half of the volume is rightly given over to Barth's interrelated and ultimately unitary emphases on the revelation of God and Jesus Christ. Gollwitzer's selections for and under each theological topic are taken from throughout the Dogmatics, and they do not necessarily follow the sequence given therein. Gollwitzer skillfully pieces together what inevitably results in a masterful development of Barth's thought. The same applies to sections on "Creation as Benefit," "The Determination of Man," and "Agape and Eros" among others. But for me the inclusion of Barth's (rarely recognized) formative section on "Nothingness," a topic more at the heart of his theological purpose than most realize, is the final positive selling point of this volume.

The effectiveness of this text for appropriate theology classes is obvious. Gollwitzer's multileveled contribution, through and with Barth's own theological expression, has given us, against all odds, a very useful and high recommended book.

John D. Morrison

Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA

Copyright Evangelical Theological Society Dec 1998
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