by mikestroope | January 21st, 2012 | Barth | No Comments
As compared with Church proclamation, then, dogmatics cannot wish to be an end in itself. The situation is not that God, revelation and faith are given to proclamation and then independently and in some way differently to dogmatics too. They are all given to the Church, and they are not given for contemplation but for proclamation, and only to this extent are they also given to dogmatics as the presupposition of its testing of the human work of proclamation. CD I,1 p. 84
The task of dogmatics serves a purpose but not one independent from the Church and its proclamation. Dogmatics does not “imply a higher possibility of Christian life,” (85) as its existence is one of service. In this way, proclamation and dogmatics are connected – one as the content and the other as the guide or corrective. “Church proclamation and not dogmatics is immediate to God in the Church. Proclamation is essential, dogmatics is needed only for the sake of it. Dogmatics lives by it to the extent that it lives only in the Church” (87).
For Barth, proclamation outranks dogmatics, and thus, preaching is primary, even essential. This does not denigrate dogmatics or theology but prescribes to it an appropriate place, a guiding role. In my memory, Dr. Peter James Flamming exemplifies a striking and authentic mixture of these two.
Read more…
by mikestroope | January 6th, 2012 | Barth | 1 Comment
If the question what God can do forces theology to be humble, the question what is commanded of us forces it to concrete obedience. God may speak to us through Russian Communism, a flute concerto, a blossoming shrub, or a dead dog. We do well to listen to Him if He really does. CD, I,1 p. 55.
With certainty Barth believes in the primacy of the Word of God as made known to us through preaching, the sacraments, scripture, and ultimately in Jesus Christ. And yet, he steadfastly maintains that God is free to reveal Himself however He wishes – even through a dead dog. Our concern must be that no matter how He speaks, we are to humbly listen and obey.
Revelation, if and how it comes to us, is not the crucial question. Rather, the question for you and me, whether we are a theologian, nurse, farmer, welder, or teacher, is will we or will we not obey. For most of us, we have already heard too much and obeyed too little. God speaks, and we do well to listen. And above all we do well to respond with concrete obedience to what we have heard.
By the way … at this point, Barth is only opening his discussion, and thus, we can be sure he does not leave it to a dead dog to speak the Word of God.
by mikestroope | January 1st, 2012 | Barth, Church | No Comments
Reading CD atop Pinnacle Mtn, Arkansas
Church Dogmatics, Volume 1, Part 1 is a revision of Barth’s first offer of dogmatics. The Doctrine of the Word of God, published in 1927, was the first volume of what was to be Christian Dogmatics in Outline. In the Preface of the 1932 rewrite, Barth explains why he had “to begin again at the beginning, saying the same thing, but in a very different way” (xi). He had done something of the same with his Romerbrief (1919, revised 1921), seeking to overturn nineteenth century theological liberalism. In his own estimation, the first go at dogmatics had not gone far enough and was in need of a revision based upon what he had learned “both historically and materially” (xi) in the intervening years.
Among the changes, Barth mentions … Read more…
by mikestroope | December 26th, 2011 | Barth, Church, Formation | 2 Comments
Dec. 1955, Source: Karl Barth Archive, Basel, photo by Maria Netter
As you and I anticipate a reading journey through Church Dogmatics in 2012, it would be helpful to know something of its author, Karl Barth (1886-1968). Born in Basel, Switzerland, Barth spent the majority of his childhood in Berne where his father, Fritz Barth, was Professor of Church History and New Testament Exegesis. At age 16, Barth decided to become a theologian and began his studies at Berne in 1904 (age 18). In addition to Berne, he studied in Berlin, Tübingen, and Marburg. In 1909 he served as an apprentice pastor in Geneva, and from 1911 to 1921 he was pastor of a small church in the village of Safenwil. While at Safenwil, he wrote his Epistle to the Romans (Der Römerbrief, 1919, rev. 1921) marking a decisive departure from the thought of his teachers (Adolf von Harnack, Wilhelm Herrmann) and German Protestant Liberal theology of the day. As Professor of theology in Göttingen (1921-25), Münster (1925-30), and Bonn (1930-35), Barth offered an alternative theological vision for the church. Because he was an outspoken critic of the Nazi party and refused to swear allegiance to Adolf Hitler, he was forced to leave Germany in 1935. The Barmen Declaration (1934) of the German Confessing Church was chiefly the work of Barth. Leaving Germany, he returned to Switzerland and became Professor in Basel (1935–62). Barth married Nelly Hoffmann in 1913 and had five children (four sons and a daughter). He died in Basel on December 10, 1968. Read more…
by mikestroope | December 18th, 2011 | Formation | 2 Comments
A young female student tilts her head toward me, looks me in the eyes, and asks, “Who am I to stand before a congregation and preach, or to stand in a hospital room and pray for the sick or bereaved, or to sit with the confused and abused and speak words of hope, or to touch a broken and hurting sister on the arm, or to embrace and offer love to a lost or homeless child? I am only a mildly gifted person who deals with loads of insecurity, guilt and self-doubt. Who am I to act as though I bring a word, a touch, or a presence that will guide, heal, and give hope?”
I lean toward her and confess. “And who am I to teach a seminary class? Who am I to act as though I am an example of Christian service, witness or piety? Who am I to offer advice concerning marriage, ministry, missions, or life situations? The answer to your questions and mine is the Spirit.” Read more…
by mikestroope | December 7th, 2011 | Formation, Resources | 3 Comments
Why not spend a year with Karl Barth? Why not! I am feeling the need to revisit this ‘church father’ and rethink what he has to say about theology, church, mission and life, especially for the 21st century. I will begin in January with Church Dogmatics, I/1, “The Doctrine of the Word of God” and read as far as I am able in the next 12 months. He should provide plenty of quotes and ample fodder for posts in the coming days.
Will you join me in this journey? Reading schedules for the Dogmatics exist (e.g., jrdkirk.com). I like the suggestion of reading 15 pages a day. At this rate, one can work their way through all 14 volumes in two years. But even this leisurely pace sounds a bit too regimented. I want to read everyday but only as much I want or need to read without a page number that might be too much or too little for a particular day, or that might interrupt Barth in the middle so some long and complicated section. My plan is to read everyday (first thing in the morning) as far as I want. I will log distance by the week rather than the day. My goal is to get through about 125 pages a week. (I do have other things to do!)
So, I invite you to join me. Hopefully by making my intentions public and having some of you join me, I (we) will actually stay the course over the next 12 months. By the way, a reprinted edition of Church Dogmatics is on sale for $129 at ChristianBook.com. What a nice Christmas gift!
by mikestroope | September 19th, 2011 | Uncategorized | No Comments
“Language, like tobacco, is habit forming. Some patterns of writing and speaking are addictive and may damage both the user and others who breathe the same linguistic atmosphere.”
-Brian Wren, What Language Shall I Borrow? (London: SCM, 1989), 83, cited in J. Sørensen, Missiological Mutilations (Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 2007), 29.
by mikestroope | June 26th, 2011 | Church, Hope, Mission | 1 Comment
On April 5, 2009, Giampaolo Giuliani, a researcher attached to Italy’s National Institute of Nuclear Physics, announced that an earthquake was imminent. Emissions of higher than usual amounts of radon gas detected at four meters he had placed around his hometown of L’Aquila convinced him that an earthquake of at least a 4.0 magnitude would occur within 48 hours. Naturally he began warning the people of L’Aquila through the Internet. Authorities decided he was a contentious crackpot causing unnecessary panic, so they placed him under an injunction that prevented him from issuing public alerts. Authorities even removed notices he posted on the Internet and threatened him with imprisonment if he reposted or made public announcements. Restricted in what he could do, Giuliani went house-to-house warning neighbors, friends and family. Once night came, he, with his immediate family, went to bed fully dressed, prepared to escape the anticipated earthquake and to help those who would survive. Just before daylight he awoke to a series of violent quakes that were not a 4.0 magnitude but 7.0. By the end of the day, a total of 308 people had died and 80,000 were left without shelter.[i]
To the inhabitants of L’Aquila, life had appeared stable and safe, calm and certain, and yet forces in the depths of the earth were shifting in opposing directions and tension that had been building for some time suddenly erupted into a massive earthquake. Surely they thought, ‘How could such a cataclysmic event happen in our town?’ Read more…
by mikestroope | March 26th, 2011 | Church, Events, Formation | No Comments
For those of us who are ministers and leaders in the local church, there is a long list of things that we do. Included are activities such as preaching and teaching, praying for the distressed and sick, visiting people in the hospital, providing activities for children and students, planning worship, dealing with personnel matters, creating opportunities for fellowship, managing finances, and the list goes on and on. While good, worthy, and necessary, these ‘must do’s’ can at times become ends in themselves, unless broader and ultimate purposes are kept clearly in view. Read more…
by mikestroope | February 7th, 2011 | Church, Mission | No Comments
Conversations concerning the church seem to be increasing, especially when they are about her nature or essence. This growing discussion, centered on what the church is in herself and what constitutes her nature, evidences an awareness that how the church imagines herself determines most everything else about her – how she acts and reacts, spends her money, organizes her corporate life, interfaces with the wider culture, etc. So, whether the church defines herself as house, organic, emergent, or aqua does makes a difference. Read more…
