“Revelation culminates in the existence of Jesus of Nazareth. He comes out of Israel, born of Mary the Virgin, and yet from above, and so in His glory the Revealer and Consummator of the covenant. Israel is not a sick man who was allowed to recover, but One risen from the dead. By His appearing, over against the verdict that man pronounced on himself God’s verdict comes into view, to remove all human self-contradiction. God’s faithfulness triumphs in this sea of sin and misery. He has mercy on man. He shares with His inmost Being in this man. He has never ceased to lead by cords of love this people which to His face has behaved like a whore. It remains true that this man of Israel belongs to God and again and again, not by nature but by the miracle of grace, may belong anew to God, be rescued from death, be exalted to God’s right hand.”
Taken from Karl Barth, Dogmatics in Outline (New York: Harper & Row, 1959), 80.
Speaking of Barth, if anyone wants to sell (or knows of a seller) Barth’s Dogmatics (set) for a good price, let me know! I hope to read them all sooner than later, but the price is a huge setback. For now, I’ll finish the Ante-Nicene Fathers.
shane lems
sunnyside wa
That is a provocative quotation…. CBD has the set newly organized on sale: http://www.christianbook.com/church-dogmatics-31-volumes/karl-barth/9780567022790/pd/22790X?item_code=WW&netp_id=544410&event=ESRCN&view=covers
That set is paperback. Of course if that is all you can get your hands on-but it is still not cheap(by the way, I got my hardback set some years back for $2 a volume!).
Tim: I noticed the set on CBD, but a friend of mine told me it wasn’t very well proofed/edited (i.e. there were some bad typos). I’ll just be patient – someday I may run across a deal like GLW! Nice!
shane
The typos stink, but they aren’t absolutely unbearable. Most typos are extremely minor (which is why it’s so irritating!) so the meaning of the sentence is hardly ever obscured by their presence.
If you’re planning on reading CD soon I don’t think you can beat the CBD price on the Study Guide edition (even in spite of all those annoying typos).
Having the Latin, Greek and French translated for you at the bottom of the page is a definite plus. And it’s nice to have CD divided up into smaller books that can actually be carried around!
Just my two cents.
I just saw that set (the 31 volumes) at the archives in Pasadena . . . it looks like it would be easier to manage than the thicker volumes. If I ever come across a couple hundred dollars and about 12 weeks where I have not other reading to do, that’s the set I’ll nab!!! (Until then, I’m afraid I’ll have to rely on Josh and Shane for my Barth information!)
“Dogmatics in Outline” is on the top of my list of theological books to read once I finish reading Reinhold Niebuhr’s “Irony of American History”. I can’t imagine actually being able to read Barth’s complete “Church Dogmatics”, though! It’s taken me a long time to get through “Irony of American History”, and it’s only about 160 pages long. :-) I guess I need to start devoting more of my time each day to just reading. :-)
Pat: Keep at it! Dogmatics in Outline is Barth’s “take” on the Apostle’s Creed (FYI, though you probably knew that). You may (for a shorter Barth treatment) want to check out Evangelical Theology as well. I just picked up Marsden from your pastor, by the way.
shane
Back in the late 70′s while I was a student at WTS in Phila. the library had Van Til’ personal set the big white volumes of Barth’s dogmatics in German. You could actually check these out. Practically every page had CVT’s hand written notes in the columns. I asked him one time how many times have he had read these and he said he had read through them atleast three times over the course of a couple of decades.
Hope I’m not to late to this discussion… I’ve been on a bit of a Barth kick lately and I’ve determined that reading him is like watching NASCAR- there’s lots of nuanced strategy and tactics going on but what keeps people watching is the chance of a catastrophic wipeout at any moment.
It seems to me that later Barth is much more cogent than his earlier work. I’ve listened to CVT’s lecture excoriating Barth’s ‘new modernism’, which came very early in both of their careers. What was CVT’s attitude toward Barth when you talked with him in the 70′s? I would absolutely love to read his margin notes in CD!
I’m currently reading Barth’s “God Here And Now”. I started it in a very critical mindset, expecting that ‘catastrophic wipeout’ to come at any moment, but I have to say the book has been just the opposite. His thought definitely demands one conceptual shift after another, but his doctrine of God, the church and even his doctrine of scripture have been nothing short of fascinating. I’m not sure I have my head wrapped completely around it yet, and I’d be interested in what others think of it.
The outline version of CD is very handy, especially for those of us who don’t have access to the entire 13 volume set, but I’ve noticed the selections seem somewhat sanitized. Many of Barth’s more controversial statements from CD that I’ve seen quoted in other sources- critical statements that really define his theology – are not included in the abridged version.
CW
CVT was well into his 80′s when I met him. He still considered Barth a villian. The person that really helped me with Barth was the late S.Lewis Johnson.Jr. who I served as his research assistant at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in 1983-84 when Dr. Johnson was professor of Biblical and Systematic theology. He studied under Barth at Basle in the late 50′s. He found Barth a very simulating teacher but said his exegetical efforts well often badly misguided. According to Dr. Johnson, Barth’s great strength was historical theology. He also said that based on his experience with Barth in the classroom ,the major features of CVT’s criticisms of Barth were correct.
GLW – where is the best place to get the clearest view of CVT’s critique of Barth; would it be his book “Christianity and Bartianism” or are there some other writings which give a similar critique? Thanks!
If I can cut in, Andrew, “The New Modernism” by CVT is helpful (at least for me so far).
shane
I would concur with Shane. Also John Muether’s recent bio of CVT has an extended discussion on CVT and Barth.
Very cool . . . thanks guys!