Dogmatics after Barth: Facing Challenges in Church, Society and the Academy - Paperback

by Guenter Thomas (Editor), Rinse H. Reeling Brouwer (Editor), Bruce McCormack (Editor)

In this illuminating collection of essays, 15 scholars, with perspectives as diverse as their countries of origin, read Karl Barth's theology against the backdrop of the complex and evolving relationships between the church, society and the academy. The time and context in and for which Barth wrote is no longer our own. Our today is pregnant with a perplexing mixture of near cultural diversity and distant globalized homogeneity. Far from a mere hagiographical retelling, critical attention to the ongoing reception and creative transformation of Barth's theology within this today characterizes the collection. This includes a renewed appreciation for Barth's methodology and the specifically theological manner in which it inspires new conversations across disciplinary boundaries. Though diverse in voice, read together, the texts present a vision of how dogmatic theology can both appreciate Barth's basic insights and do constructive theology "after Barth".

Author Biography

Prof. Dr. Dr. Günter Thomas is professor of systematic theology and ethics in the faculty of Protestant Theology, Ruhr-University, Bochum, Germany. He is the author of: Medien - Ritual - Reli¬gion (1998); Neue Schöpfung. Theologische Untersuchungen zum 'Leben der kommenden Welt' (2009); Was geschieht in der Taufe? Das Taufgeschehen - zwischen Schöpfungsdank und Inanspruchnahme für das Reich Gottes (2011). He has also edited: (with I. Karle) Krankheitsdeutung in der postsäkularen Gesellschaft. Theologische Ansätze im interdisziplinären Gespräch (2009); (with A. Schüle) Who is Jesus Christ For Us Today? Pathways to Contemporary Christology (2009); (with M. Höfner) Endliches Leben. Interdisziplinäre Zugänge zum Phänomen der Krankheit (2010). He is co-editor of the Zeitschrift für Dialektische Theologie and chairs the annual "Karl Barth Conference" held in Leuenberg/Switzerland. Prof. Dr. Rinse H. Reeling Brouwer is lecturer of the History of Christian Doctrine and Symbolics and Miskotte/Breukelman Professor for Biblical Hermeneutics at the Protestant Theological University, Amsterdam and Groningen, the Netherlands. He is the author of: Over kerkelijke dogmatiek en marxistische filosofie: Karl Barth vergelijkenderwijs gelezen (1988), De God van Spinoza (1998); De handzame Calvijn (2004) and Grondvormen van Theologische Systematiek (2009). He has edited with Frans H. Breukelman, The Structure of Sacred Doctrine in Calvin's Theology (2010). He is also a member of the Committee for the Advancement of the Study of Dialectical Theology, chairs the annual "Karl Barth Conference" in Doorn, the Netherlands, and is the senior editor of the "Zeitschrift für dialektische Theologie". Prof. Dr. Bruce L. McCormack is Charles Hodge Professor of Systematic Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, NJ, USA. He is the author of: Karl Barth's Critically Realistic Dialectical Theology: Its Genesis and Development 1909-1936 (1997); Orthodox and Modern: Studies in the Theology of Karl Barth (2008). He has edited: Justification in Perspective: Historical Developments and Contemporary Challenges (2006); Engaging the Doctrine of God: Contem¬porary Protestant Perspectives (2008); (with C. Andersen) Karl Barth and American Evangelicalism (2011). He is also a member of the Karl Barth Stiftung in Basel, Switzerland, and the North American co-editor of the "Zeitschrift für Dialektische Theologie".