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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?

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Chapter 26

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  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.

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