Descriptive Review of Church Dogmatics in Outline, Ch 1

In my Introduction to Theology class, we have to do at least one "descriptive review" paper a week. The second week was on "Church Dogmatics in Outline" by Karl Barth. This paper is on the first chapter, entitled "The Task."

Karl Barth, Dogmatics in Outline – Chapter 1

Any time a theologian attempts to convey their beliefs, one must take into consideration the context in which the beliefs were forged. Karl Barth was deeply affected (like many others) by the great wars, and especially by World War II and the rise of Nazism. That said, Barth expounds theological treatises that still hold sway in many communities, and his contribution to theology cannot and, indeed, must not be ignored or dismissed. This paper will attempt to analyze the first chapter of Barth’s book, Dogmatics in Outline, and offer an evaluation of its significance and continuing value.

Question: Barth begins very clearly in this chapter (a prolegomena of sorts) to explain to the reader to what task he has set out to accomplish. In the preceding preface, the author has already told us that these lectures are given to students at the University of Bonn immediately following the war (in 1946). Barth’s purpose in this chapter is to answer the question, “What is church dogmatics?” This is made unequivocally clear by his summary statement “dogmatics is…” (9). The rest of the sentence and this chapter attempt to finish this phrase satisfactorily for both the students and the rest of the world (both of whom were still reeling in the aftershock of WWII and the Holocaust).

Answer: Barth posits, “Christian dogmatics is an attempt … to state definite facts … and present them in the form of a doctrine” (9). He goes on to say that the subject of dogmatics (that which does the study) is the church and that the object (that which is studied) is the “proclamation of the Gospel” (9-10). According to Barth, the church alone can attempt dogmatics. Barth also clarifies that this dogma is “not a thing which has fallen from Heaven to earth” (10), which implies his acknowledgement of erroneous interpretations. Moreover, Barth insists that what we are concerned with is not simply theory, but instead is the very proclamation of the gospel: “what as Christians do we really have to say?” (11) In summary, dogmatics is the act of weighing critically the content of what the church says to the world about G-d. This leads to the next question, how must we go about this process?

Method: Barth’s method appears at surface level to be ‘sola scriptura.’ To some, Barth appears to ignore reason for an extremist view that ONLY the bible can provide truth. Barth’s background in existentialism, alongside his criticism of the so-called “German Christians,” is key here to understanding his desire to jump immediately to Scripture and Confession as the only relevant sources for critical dogmatics over against reason and philosophy. If G-d exists, Kierkegaard posited, then G-d cannot be objectively known (Grenz 7). This theologian believed that since this is true, the starting point is an individual’s “leap of faith.” Barth echoes this sentiment (and goes into greater detail in the next three chapters) along with the theology of Calvin; Barth’s foundational claim is that we cannot find G-d, only G-d can find us.
Therefore, the event of G-d’s incarnation is the only real Revelation. Furthermore, “Holy Scripture is… the document of the manifestation of the Word of God in the person of Jesus Christ” (13). Barth is offering a way of doing theology that is rooted and anchored in the line of succession from the Event of Jesus down to our present day. The fact that the world of theology is still fresh off of the first real wave of biblical criticism comes into play here; Barth’s understanding of scripture is filtered through the previous century’s attempt at understanding the bible better.

Significance: In a time of groundlessness, angst, and foolishness that had recently led to genocide and war, Barth provides an anchor – don’t just ‘feel’ your way through it, that only leads to perversions like National Socialism – instead, the church must take account of its own proclamations by the standards of scripture and confession. Barth’s statements echo down to today, when Christian doctrine is still twisted and co-opted for worldly and quite evil purposes. Don’t let your reason fool you, Barth beseeches, but trust in the revealed G-d found in Jesus.

Evaluation: Barth’s theology is good for what it is. He does not attempt to engage in certain questions, such as proving G-d’s existence. Instead, the author claims that we just can’t know objectively about G-d and therefore, once we have taken that leap of faith, then we must examine that faith against the Revelation found in Jesus Christ. My only qualms with this approach are that for one, Barth seems to trust rather completely in the scriptures’ accuracy regarding the Incarnation. Also, Barth does not seem to have a plan to address the problem of evil, which in my humble opinion, might have been a necessary task in the face of the holocaust.