Karl Barth in the Theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer

by Pangritz, Andreas; Rumscheidt, Martin; Rumscheidt, Barbara

• ISBN13: 9780802842817
• ISBN10: 080284281X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-01-01
• Publisher: Eerdmans Pub Co

Summary

This volume explores the complex relationship between Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Seizing on a much-discussed criticism Bonhoeffer made of Barth in his prison letters -- that Barth was guilty of a "positivism of revelation" -- Andreas Pangritz challenges scholars who have used this ambiguous statement as a wedge to separate the two theologians. Through a careful study of their correspondence while living, and of Barth's comments and revisions after Bonhoeffer's death, Pangritz shows how Bonhoeffer's criticism has been misunderstood and overemphasized.

Much more than a study of a disputed discourse in historical theology, this engaging volume raises concerns of continuing relevance regarding the role of Christian theology in our secular society.

Author Biography

Andreas Pangritz is professor of systematic theology at the University of Aachen, Germany.

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix
Abbreviations	xi
Introduction: Bonhoeffer as Prophet of the ``Post-Barthian Period''?	1	(4)
I. The Problem	5	(10)
Bonhoeffer's ``Arcane Discipline'' and Barth's ``Positivism of Revelation''	5	(2)
Lutheran or Reformed? The Search for the ``Point of Difference''	7	(4)
A Critical Movement within the Barthian Movement	11	(4)
II. Karl Barth in Bonhoeffer's Theological Development	15	(56)
The Discovery of Dialectical Theology	15	(3)
In the Undertow of the Luther Renaissance	18	(4)
The Critical Academic Discussion with Barth	22	(9)
As a ``Barthian'' in the United States of America	31	(3)
The Meeting in Bonn and Its Consequences	34	(5)
The Question of Ethical Concreteness	39	(8)
The ``Aryan Clause'' as Casus Confessionis	47	(4)
An ``Ongoing, Silent Discussion''	51	(9)
Bonhoeffer's Swiss Visits and the Ethics	60	(9)
An Interim Summation	69	(2)
III. Once Again: What Is ``Positivism of Revelation''?	71	(44)
``Positivism of Revelation'' in Luther	71	(5)
``Positivism of Revelation'' in the Confessing Church	76	(6)
Once More: ``Positivism of Revelation'' in Karl Barth?	82	(5)
Critique of Religion and ``Nonreligious'' Christianity	87	(7)
``Prayer and Righteous Action''	94	(3)
A Difference in Method?	97	(2)
``Virgin Birth, Trinity, or Anything Else''	99	(16)
IV. Proceeding on Barth's and Bonhoeffer's Way	115	(28)
Merely a Misunderstanding?	115	(3)
``Arcane Discipline'' and ``Double Predestination''	118	(14)
Barth's ``Doctrine of Lights'' as a Correction of ``Positivism of Revelation''?	132	(11)
Conclusion: Theological Liberalism Recycled?	143	(6)
Bibliography	149	(12)
Index	161