Karl Barth on Holy Scripture’s Capacity for Error (July 24, 2019)

The Origin of the Dictation Theory of Inspiration In the Post-Reformation era, a century after the deaths of Martin Luther, John Calvin and the first and second generation reformers, the doctrine of inspiration of the Scriptures evolved into a dictation theory of inspiration, in which the biblical writers were the very […]

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Karl Barth’s Doctrine of Baptism and Rejection of Infant Baptism (July 18, 2019)

Karl Barth's rejection of infant baptism (paedobaptism) in his doctrine of baptism (CD IV/4) is infamous. Barth was a professor and pastor within the Swiss Reformed church, and the Reformed tradition has strongly affirmed the baptism of infants from its earliest days (c.f John Calvin's Institutes 4.16), and had persecuted […]

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Karl Barth on Capital Punishment: “For from the point of view of the Gospel there is nothing to be said for its institution, and everything against it.” (May 24, 2019)

How may any Christian support capital punishment, with the knowledge that Jesus Christ had died for their sins? (1 Corinthians 15:3) Karl Barth argues that it is an astonishing fact that the Church has not unilaterally opposed the death penalty worldwide, and that after two millennia of Church history and […]

Related: Capital Punishment, CD III/4, Church Dogmatics, Church Dogmatics III/4, death penalty, Karl Barth

Ten Reasons Why There Is No Afterlife (feat. Karl Barth) (May 13, 2019)

Karl Barth famously argued that the Christian hope is for eternal life and not for afterlife because afterlife is a "pagan dream of good times after death" like the vikings who longed to drink ale and feast in the halls of Valhalla with Odin and the norse gods forever. If the […]

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Karl Barth on Good Friday: the criminals crucified with Jesus formed the first Christian community (April 17, 2019)

On Good Friday in 1957, Karl Barth preached to the Basel prisoners (as he often did) a sermon he titled "Criminals with Him" based on Luke 23:33: "They crucified him with the criminals, one on either side of him." I've heard many Good Friday sermons that either focus on the […]

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Helmut Gollwitzer on the Tower of Babel: How to Preach the Old Testament by Example (April 11, 2019)

The Way to Life: Sermons in a Time of World Crisis is a collection of sermons by Helmut Gollwitzer (an assistant of Karl Barth), and one of which is an excellent exposition of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9) that exemplifies how to preach etiological saga in the Old Testament […]

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The Life of Karl Barth: Trip to America in 1962 (Part 8) (April 7, 2019)

Trip to America in 1962 In 1962 and at the age of 75, Karl Barth was Coming to America at last! Barth had recently retired from the University of Basel and decided to take a seven week trip to lecture throughout the United States. [1]. Barth's trip to America introduced him […]

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The Life of Karl Barth: Church Dogmatics Vol III: The Doctrine of Creation 1945-1951 (Part 6) (April 4, 2019)

The Church Dogmatics, Vol III: Doctrine of Creation After World War II ended, Karl Barth's participation in the Confessing Church diminished. His academic work at the University of Basel allowed Barth to continue his magnum opus the Church Dogmatics that he had begun in 1932. In this Part 6, I will discuss […]

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Does the Devil (or Satan) Exist? Friedrich Schleiermacher debates John Calvin (March 22, 2019)

John Calvin's proof for existence of Satan In the Institutes of the Christian Religion I.14.17, John Calvin argues that the devil (or satan) and demons must exist in the world, because there must exist an agent that mediates between the goodness of god and the evil happenings in the world, such […]

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The Life of Karl Barth: Professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Basel during World War II 1935-1946 (Part 5) (February 21, 2019)

After March 26th, 1935 Karl Barth was deported from Nazi Germany via police escort to Switzerland because he refused to sign the Nazi "Oath of Loyalty" without modification to Adolf Hitler (also known as "Hitler's Oath"). After arriving in Switzerland, Barth became the Professor of Systematic Theology at the University […]

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