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Dealing With Towering Germans PDF Print E-mail
Engaging the Culture - Book Review
Written by Douglas Wilson   
Monday, 03 March 2008 03:04

I just recently got my copy of Engaging With Barth, and read the contribution by David Gibson (on Barth's doctrine of election). This volume looks like a fantastic resource for pastors, a resource that is very much needed. For various reasons, Barth has not really gone away and it is important for evangelicals to work out an appropriate response to the challenge of his theology.

Carl Trueman well described this challenge in the Foreword. "Given all these issues, and the fact that Barth looks set to remain a polarizing factor in evangelical thought and politics, it is a pleasure to commend the following chapters. The authors have all resisted the temptation to become infatuated with Barth, but have also avoided the kind of caricaturing that serves to do nothing other than to break the Ninth Commandment" (p. 15). That is counsel that ought to be followed generally in theological disputes, and not just in disputes with towering, monumental Germans.

If you have read this far, this collection of essays (from men like Michael Ovey, Garry Williams, Michael Horton, Paul Helm, and others) really belongs on your shelf.

 



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Last Updated on Monday, 03 March 2008 03:04
 
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Tim Prussic  Monday, March 03, 2008 4:25 am
I was amazed that all the interaction with Barth I got in seminary was that which I went out of my way to get myself. I think that is too many conservative, American, Reformed/Presbyterian circles, Barth is simply ignored... to our detriment. It seems that we have a lot to learn from him both positively and negatively. I'd LOVE to see some discussion on this volume. Whaddya say, Pastor? New Topic: Barth (not Simpson) - or - New Topic: Larger-then-life Germans (not Hitler)
Nick Holloway  Monday, March 03, 2008 5:55 am
I took one class on Barth in seminary. That class was one of the richest I had while there. And that was only the tip of the iceberg that is his writings. My overall impression then was that most evangelicals misunderstood him. Like Tim indicated, Barth has both his positive and negatives, but we do have much we can learn from him. I have to ask, can he really be sorted out, analyzed, and categorized? One wag commented that even the angels didn't have enough time to read all he wrote.