1 / 8

Chapter 26

Chapter 26. Neo-orthodoxy: Karl Barth and others. Questions to be addressed in this chapter. How was existentialism a precursor to neo-orthodoxy ? Who was Karl Barth and why is he considered one of the most important theologians in history?

carl
Download Presentation

Chapter 26

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Chapter 26 Neo-orthodoxy: Karl Barth and others

  2. Questions to be addressed in this chapter • How was existentialism a precursor to neo-orthodoxy? • Who was Karl Barth and why is he considered one of the most important theologians in history? • What are the main points of Barth’s neo-orthodox theology? • What are some ways that neo-orthodoxy has had a lasting influence?

  3. SørenKierkegaard: Existentialist and forerunner to neo-orthodoxy • (1813-1855) Danish philosopher/poet who was deeply concerned about the moral laxity of the religious people of Denmark. • Christian faith is more about subjective passion than doctrine and dogma. • Dogma leads to paradox; real subjective faith confronts individuals with Christ, who must choose for or against him.

  4. Karl Barth: neo-orthodox theologian • (1886-1968) from Reformed Church in Switzerland. • Brought Europe and American theology out of the grip of rationalist Enlightenment thinking. • Pastor and professor in Switzerland.

  5. Central themes of Barth’s neo-orthodoxy • Rejection of liberalism: WW2 destroys the liberal optimism of his professors; return to Reformation principles. • God’s transcendence, human fallenness, divine revelation. • Divine election: Christ is the elected individual, and people could join into this election by following Christ.

  6. Neo-orthodoxy’s lasting influence • Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988) was an influential interpreter of Barth to Catholics. • Emil Brunner (1889-1966). • Reinhold Niebuhr (1893-1971) and his “Christian realism” continue the themes of neo-orthodoxy.

  7. H. Richard Niebuhr’s description of liberal theology of the nineteenth century “A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through a Christ without a cross” (p. 453).

  8. Summary of main points • The Christian existentialism of Søren Kierkegaard required not a rational systematic account of Christian theology, as with liberalism, but rather an authentic faith manifested in a passionate encounter with the living God in Jesus Christ—a central theme of neo-orthodoxy. • Karl Barth was a Swiss Reformed theologian who turned from liberal theology and brought about a return to orthodoxy—or what is better dubbed neo-orthodoxy or a “theology from above”—in Christian theology. • Some of the central tenets of Barth’s neo-orthodoxy are the rejection of liberal theology, the sovereignty, transcendence and the universal love and grace of God, God’s self-disclosure through the event of Scripture, and election in Christ. • The influence of Barth’s neo-orthodoxy continued throughout the twentieth century and down to our own day, impacting both Catholic and Protestant theological luminaries.

More Related