Karl Barth (1886-1968) was the most prolific theologian of the twentieth century. Avoiding simple paraphrasing, Dr Gorringe places the theology in its social and political context, from the First World War through to the Cold War by following Barth's intellectual development through the years that saw the rise of national socialism and the development of communism. Barth initiated a theological revolution in his two Commentaries on Romans, begun during the First World War. His attempt to deepen this during the turbulent years of the Weimar Republic made him a focus of theological resistance to Hitler after the rise to power of the Nazi party. Expelled from Germany, he continued to defy fashionable opinion by refusing to condemn communism after the Second World War. Drawing on a German debate largely ignored by Anglo-Saxon theology Dr Gorringe shows that Barth responds to the events of his time not just in his occasional writings, but in his magnum opus, the Church Dogmatics. In conclusion Dr Gorringe asks what this admittedly patriarchal author still has to contribute to contemporary theology, and in particular human liberation.
About the AuthorEditor, with Professor G. Ward, of series
ReviewsSignificant book ... Covers an extensive field, in a clear exposition. * Irish Theological Quarterly *
An exercise in contextual theology ... a detailed study ... a fine example of how contextual theology might be undertaken ... a book for any theological library and one with which all students of twentieth century theology will be glad to have wrestled. * Theological Book Review *
The author gives us a case that well deserves consideration and answer. Attention should also be called to the series in which the book appears - 'Christian Theology in Context'. * The Expository Times *
Book InformationISBN 9780198752479
Author Professor Timothy J. GorringeFormat Paperback
Page Count 328
Imprint Oxford University PressPublisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 375g
Dimensions(mm) 215mm * 136mm * 18mm