The Threefold Coming of Jesus Christ: Karl Barth on the Past, Present and Future Resurrection (November 16, 2018)

Many Christians believes that there will be a future general resurrection of all people at the end of time, and this event will be initiated by the "Second Coming" of Jesus Christ. Karl Barth argues that the future resurrection is not a second coming of Jesus, because there is only one coming […]

Related: CD IV/3, CD IV/3.1, Church Dogmatics IV/3, Church Dogmatics IV/3.1, Coming of Jesus, Futurist Eschatology, general resurrection, Karl Barth, Resurrection, Rudolf Bultmann, Second Coming

How to Preach a Sermon like the Apostles (featuring C. H. Dodd) (September 12, 2018)

The art of preaching is called homiletics, and it is mostly bad art. I've heard so many bad sermons in my life that at times I wish the sermon was abolished. When the terrible sermons are finally over, I remember that the proclamation of the church (even in its worst form), […]

Related: Apostolic, Apostolic Preaching, Apostolic Preaching and Its Developments, C.H. Dodd, Charles Harold Dodd, Karl Barth, kerygma, poem, Preaching

Jürgen Moltmann: Universalism of the Kingdom of God is only demonstrated through one-sided identification with the exploited, despised and persecuted. (September 11, 2018)

Jürgen Moltmann frequently writes about liberation theology, often drawing upon his experience working in Nicaragua in Latin America (the birth place of liberation theology) and within the critical context of his theology of hope. In Hope for the Church: Moltmann in Dialogue with Practical Theology, Moltmann contributes two remarkable essays within […]

Related: Hope for the Church, James H. Cone, Jürgen Moltmann, Karl Barth, Kingdom of God, Liberation Theology, poor, Signs of the Spirit in the Fellowship Community of Christ, The Diaconal Church in the Context of the Kingdom of God

J. Gresham Machen’s racist 1913 letter and agenda (and a defense of Karl Barth) (September 5, 2018)

The revelation of J Gresham Machen's 1913 racist letter to his mother and agenda at Princeton Seminary has caused defenders of Machen to justify Machen by making personal attacks on Karl Barth. I'd like to share a brief response. The original source of J. Gresham Machen's racist comments and agenda […]

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Karl Barth’s Doctrine of the Word of God in Threefold Form (August 20, 2018)

Updated: May 15th, 2019 Is the Bible the Word of God? Karl Barth answered No! because "the Bible is not in itself and as such God’s past revelation" [1] and that "we thus do the Bible poor and unwelcome honour if we equate it directly with this other, with revelation itself." […]

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Ernst Käsemann on why the gospels are ahistorical and unauthentic (August 3, 2018)

Ernst Käsemann argues that all four gospels are almost entirely ahistorical and unauthentic! It's a shocking conclusion, supported with a sound argument. It's shocking because are are obsessed with historical events, as if history may only be known through verifiable brute facts. The New Testament was not formed in the same […]

Related: Ernst Käsemann, facticity, Gospels, Historical Criticism, Karl Barth, Käsemann, Kassmann, Rudolf Bultmann, The Quest of the Historical Jesus

Karl Barth and Romans 13: To obey the Laws of the Government or Revolt? (July 16, 2018)

Jeff Sessions recently cited Romans 13 to justify President Trump's immigration policy to separate children from their families at the US Border. Does Paul's statement in Romans 13 "let every person be subject to the governing authorities" command unbridled allegiance to evil governing authorities? No! Sadly Romans 13 has become […]

Related: Der Romerbrief, Epistle to the Romans, Government, Jeff Sessions, Karl Barth, Laws

Jesus and his disciples did not write any of the New Testament (feat. Karl Barth and Martin Luther) (July 5, 2018)

Karl Barth argues in the Church Dogmatics I/1 that the Bible is not the Word of God, but the Bible becomes the Word of God when it is preached by the Church. Karl Barth's theology of the threefold Word of God maintains this important distinction, because the Word of God […]

Related: bible, Karl Barth, Martin Luther, threefold word of god, Word of God, Word of God in Threefold Form

Karl Barth says Suicide is Self-Murder but not an Unforgivable Sin (June 11, 2018)

Karl Barth speaks a decisive No! to suicide in the Church Dogmatics III/4. In the last week, after the suicide of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, there have been many positive and negative responses, so it is an appropriate time to discuss the ethics of suicide. Karl Barth argues that suicide is […]

Related: anthony bourdain, Assisted Suicide, CD III/4, Church Dogmatics III/4, Death, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, John Calvin, Karl Barth, Kate Spade, killing, murder, suicide

The Life of Karl Barth: Protesting in Nazi Germany 1930-1935 (Part 4) (June 8, 2018)

Karl Barth moved to Bonn, Germany in 1930 to be the chair of systematic theology. In Bonn, Barth would witness firsthand the rise to power of Nazi Germany, write the first volume of his Church Dogmatics (CD I/1), draft the Barmen Declaration, and finally be forced to leave Nazi Germany because […]

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