Who is this??

[MamaArcher]

I am not sure where to post this. If this is not an okay place then please move to the appropriate forum.

I was wondering if anyone can briefly tell me, who Karl Barth is and what he believes. Is he calvinistic, Dispensational or covenantal, denomination, etc??

Thanks.

 

[Zenas]

Wierd.

Just kidding. I'm honestly not overtly familiar with Barth. I have read some things about him but never anything by him.

What does stick out in my mind is something to do with arguments for/against the immanence/transcendence of God. I believe that Barth was arguing against a gross over-emphasis of the immanence of God, but in doing so formulated an argument in the opposite direction; i.e. an over-emphasis of His transcendence, which probably makes him popular among the po-mo/emergent types. Past that, someone else will have to help you. I do know he is somewhat of a "big deal" in some respects, as I have seen his name pop up in a couple of the apologetics books I have read, again, I think this relates to the po-mo/emergent groups.

 

[DTK]

I was wondering if anyone can briefly tell me, who Karl Barth is and what he believes. Is he calvinistic, Dispensational or covenantal, denomination, etc??

Thanks.

Karl Barth (1886-1968) was a neo-orthodox theologian in the Swiss Reformed tradition. He was a staunch defender of the doctrines of the virgin birth and deity of Christ. His doctrine of the inspiration of Holy Scripture was very weak and deficient. It is said that His Commentary on Paul's Epistle to the Romans (published I think in 1922) exploded like a bombshell in the playground of the theologians of his day, in which he argued that the God who revealed Himself in the person and work of Jesus Christ can have nothing to do with human cultures. He opposed the influence of Nazism on German Christianity.

But all of this information and more can easily be accessed on the web.

Blessings,
DTK

 

[MamaArcher]

thank you for the comments, I realize I can find stuff on the web. I am somewhat young in the reformed way of thinking and wanted to get some of the info from those who are reformed in their approach to things, sometimes it is hard to judge that when just searching online. Thanks for your help.

 

[DMcFadden]

in my opinion, Karl Barth hailed from a Reformed tradition within Protestantism. However, his theology was quite complex and characterized by a strong dialectical approach. I would not consider him an example of an orthodox Reformed thinker. Check out some of the comments in the PB thread Wanted: Barth volumes and the one Karl Barth for starters.

 

[MamaArcher]

thank you