No Other Name

Again in Church Dogmatics The Doctrine of the Word of God, Volume 1, Part 2: The Revelation of God; Holy Scripture: The Proclamation of the Church , Barth teases out the “negative” consequences of the confession that God has revealed himself in Jesus. If, Barth argues, Jesus tells us . . . . Continue Reading »

Facts, Interpretations, and Jesus

At the beginning of Church Dogmatics The Doctrine of the Word of God, Volume 1, Part 2: The Revelation of God; Holy Scripture: The Proclamation of the Church , Barth insists that the actuality of Jesus is prior to the question of the possibility of incarnation. One cannot move from a general . . . . Continue Reading »

Jesus and Christ

The fundamental Christology of the New Testament, Barth insists ( The Doctrine of the Word of God (Church Dogmatics, vol. 1, pt. 2) , pp. 15-7), is that “God’s Son is called Jesus of Nazareth, and Jesus of Nazareth is God’s Son.” But this cannot be understood in the sense . . . . Continue Reading »

Radicalism and Compromise

Bonhoeffer ( Ethics ) condemns both radicalism and compromise. Radicalism sees only the ultimate and dismisses and judges the penultimate; “everything penultimate is enmity towards Christ” (p. 127). Compromise ensures that the penultimate retains its rights and is not threatened by the . . . . Continue Reading »

Finite and Infinite

Several friends have objected to this statement of mine from a recent post on natures and substances: “‘The finite cannot contain the infinite’ was an axiom of Greek philosophy. But the incarnation says the opposite.” My friends have said (nicely) that this statement was at . . . . Continue Reading »

Exhortation

We steal because we think we don’t have something we need or should have. We don’t have enough money, the right kind of electronic device or blouse, our favorite candy. We steal because we believe good things are scarce. Sometimes we steal intangible things. Our co-worker or friend has . . . . Continue Reading »

Von Mises’ Christology

In Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis (pp. 415-6), von Mises argues that there is a link between Jesus’ announcement of “God’s own reorganization” of the world and Bolshevism. Both are “utterly negative.” Jesus “rejects everything that exists . . . . Continue Reading »

Exhortation, Easter Sunday

Christ is Risen! With those words, we enter a new season of the church calendar. We move from the preparatory, penitential season of Lent to the festive celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. The transition is real, but we can easily misunderstand it. We misunderstand Lent if we think that Lent . . . . Continue Reading »