Book Details
- Author: David Gibson, Daniel Strange
- Publisher: Continuum (2009)
- Category: Theology
Discerning Reader Editorial Review
Reviewed 03/26/2009 by Keith Mathison.
Recommended. Helpful material for students of theology.
When one thinks of those throughout church history who have had a profound influence on Christian theology, a few names stand out above the rest: Augustine, Anselm, Aquinas, Calvin, Schleiermacher. In the twentieth century, it is generally admitted by friends and foes alike that the most important theologian in terms of profound influence was Karl Barth. In the last decades of the twentieth century, interest in Barth seemed to wane a bit, but there has been a resurgence, and a number of recent publications have addressed his theology.
One of the most recent works on the subject is Engaging With Barth: Contemporary Evangelical Critiques, edited by David Gibson and Daniel Strange. This volume was published in the UK in late 2008 and in the US in early 2009. The various authors are evangelicals from both sides of the Atlantic. I should state right up front that this book is not light reading. The chapters in this 400-page book are academic and often highly technical. If you are looking for a lay-level evaluation of Barth’s theology, this is not the book for you. The primary audience appears to be theological scholars and seminarians.
The stated aim of the book is to engage with Barth’s questions and answers on a range of vital theological doctrines. The goal of the book, then, is to critically reevaluate from an evangelical perspective Barth’s understanding of certain key doctrines. Because Barth’s theological output is so massive and because his thought is so complex, one of the most helpful aspects of Engaging With Barth is the way each contributor summarizes Barth’s view on a particular topic before evaluating it. Many theological students will find these summaries particularly helpful, not least because Barth’s views are so often misunderstood and misstated.
As with any multi-authored book, the chapters in this volume vary in quality and helpfulness. One of the most helpful chapters is by Sebastian Rehnman. In his chapter, he deals with Barth’s understanding of logic and theology, providing an outstanding critique of Barth’s understanding of the role of non-contradiction in theology. Other very helpful chapters are those by Ryan Glomsrud on Barth and the Reformed tradition, Mark Thompson on Barth’s doctrine of Scripture, Garry Williams on Barth’s doctrine of the atonement, Donald Macleod on Barth as a “church” theologian, and Michael Horton on Barth’s legacy for evangelical theology.
As Horton notes, evangelical reaction to Barth since the mid-twentieth century has been mixed. Some have adopted many of his ideas uncritically. Some have attempted to combine aspects of Barthian theology with evangelical theology. Some have wanted nothing to do with Barth at all. Engaging With Barth goes a long way toward helping thoughtful evangelicals assess this giant of twentieth-century theology. Perhaps Donald Macleod best sums up the general conclusion of the book’s authors:
What this means for us is that we must use Barth as selectively as he used church dogmatics. We approach him in the spirit of critique, testing his language about God and checking his proclamation in the light of Christianity’s own, given, canon. Where we find it enriching our understanding of the church’s dogmas, we shall rejoice. Where we find it in accord with them, we shall be encouraged, but not complacent. And where we find it diverging from them, we shall be alert, and perhaps suspicious. But whatever our assessment, our criterion shall not be Fathers or Schoolmen, creeds or Reformers, great Doctors or general councils. Nor shall it be ‘the essence of Christianity’ or 'the Christological concentration’, as if Christ stood over and above the Scriptures ceaselessly warning against the dangers of bibliolatry. Our criterion, the Supreme Judge of both church dogmatics and Karl Barth, must be those very Scriptures, in which Christ speaks, and of which he said, ‘Scripture cannot be broken’ (John 10:35).
