Barth Review
Part 1

The main ideas of Barth’s Evangelical Theology are that it is a combination of New Testament theology and early Reformation theology. It is not meant to be confessional or denominational. Evangelical in this instance refers to the Bible—and thus it might be better to describe what Barth has written as biblical theology. Thus Barth relies on the principles of biblical theology to explain his perspective in writing his work. One should use the Bible to clarify one’s theology; one should do so impartially and without bias. He also asserts that theological exegesis is necessary, meaning that one must not attempt to discern more in the Bible than what is deduced from the standpoint of faith. This is an important idea and serves as the foundation for Barth’s approach to Evangelical theology. It is essential that readers of the Bible interpret it in good faith, not attempting to see more than what God has allowed.

The rule of biblical theology is that faith is demanded and will be confronted by the reader in the text. The spirit must animate the interaction, just as the Spirit animated the Apostles on the Pentecost. Without that spirit, there is no Church, argues Barth. It is in communion with such spirit, therefore, that evangelical theology must be approached. If it is approached critically but without a willingness to be animated by the Spirit, the fruit of the text will not be understood.

Since the Bible represents the Word of God, and the Word is the Spirit, one must think of theology as direct confrontation with the Word, i.e., the Spirit. That is main gist of what Barth imparts in the text. One should not be concerned with interpretation of the Word, for no man can interpret the Word. One must rather be open to interacting with the Word, just as the disciples were open to receiving the Spirit after Christ ascended into Heaven.

The message contained in Barth’s argument is that Word is beyond the ken of man, and therefore it is absurd or vain to think that man can understood it simply be bringing what contextual analysis he has hobbled together and applying it to the text found in the Bible.

One other important point that Barth makes is that the Word is Logos, which is to say it is the idea at the center of all time, the beginning of the Universe, the essence of the act of creation. Logos is the reason and the...…what motivates understanding.

It is understandable that Barth wants the reader or student of theology to consider the primacy of the Spirit and of Logos. It is not an illegitimate or invalid argument to make. Primacy should be given to the Spirit, to the Word, to Logos. But one also needs more direction beyond that, and it is this type of instruction that Barth seems reluctant to give. He wants the theology of freedom to be the guide; he does not want anything he says to constrict or restrict the student from exploring and discovering on his own what there is to see in his own personal interaction with the Word.

On the one hand, it is a commendable approach to theology; on the other hand, it is a difficult one to reconcile with the actual text of Scripture. For if this was all there was to theology, it is doubtful Christ would have taught so often in parables. His teachers presuppose the idea that He did have something specific to teach and that those following Him had something to learn. What then is the purpose of promoting a theology of freedom and allowing the student to wander, especially if that wandering can lead to error or illusion?

Bibliography

Anderson, Clifford…