Zugl.: Überarb. und erweiterte Diss. theol. Bern, 1974. / Diss. urspr. unter dem Titel erschienen: Der junge Karl Barth im Kreuzfeuer der Kritik.

Texte remanié de: Diss.--Théol.--Louvain--Université catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve, 2003. / Bibliogr. p. 521-537. Index.

Habilitationsschrift--Erlangen. / Bibliography: p. [272]-276.

Diss. Univ. Jena, 2005/2006.

Zugl.: Bochum, Universiẗat, veränd. Diss.

In this thesis I present a critical explication of Barth’s doctrine of providence in Church Dogmatics III.3. I argue that Karl Barth’s doctrine of providence developed throughout CD III.3 represents a ‘personalist’ revision of Reformed orthodoxy which can only be understood through his ad hoc use of philosophical resources. I claim that critics and supporters alike have missed the depth of Barth’s revision of Reformed providence by failing to perceive his ad hoc use of contemporaneous philosophical tools of the personal. Barth’s doctrine of providence remains theology proper, and not philosophy, but cannot be understood without philosophy. By setting Barth in conversation with three philosophical theologians, Vincent Brümmer, John Macmurray and Austin Farrer, I attempt to show how far Barth is from pre-modern understandings in his articulation of the doctrine of providence. These conversations equip the reader to discern continuities and discontinuities of Barth’s thought with 20th century personal, relational philosophy, thereby making sense of many of Barth’s counterintuitive claims. For Barth, human life is the continual double-agency of human self-determination and divine determination. This life in covenant before God (coram Deo) constitutes the Godgiven opportunity of human personhood. Seen in dialogue with personalist philosophical thinkers, Barth’s doctrine of providence overcomes problematic aspects of traditional Reformed views and grants limited time and space for personal development. Providence sheds light on Barth’s ‘eternalizing’ eschatology in that election establishes the objective reality of salvation for all creatures, while providence explicates God’s active lordship in the human’s self-determination of personal identity in history (the subjective formation of the person who is objectively saved). Election describes God’s salvific work on behalf of creation solely in the work of Jesus Christ. Providence determines the identity of those creatures in relation with the personal God. The conversations I propose with philosophical theologians enable the reader to discern a greater philosophical coherence in Barth’s doctrine of providence. Through contrast with the philosophical theologians, Barth’s christocentric and Trinitarian articulation gains clarity and significance. Building on these philosophical comparisons, I attempt to assess Barth’s elaborations on entrenched debates concerning history as determined by divine action, human freedom under divine providence, and the problem of evil in world-occurrence. I argue that Barth’s ‘personalist’ post-Enlightenment providence as seen in the whole of III.3 points to absolute confidence in God’s determination of all world-occurrence, limited human autonomy of action under God’s universal providence, and an explication of evil that strengthens the Christian in the face of suffering and injustice.

Diss. : Katholisch-theologische Fakultät : Bonn : 1977. - Bibliogr. p. 271-283. -

Texte remanié de: Diss.--Fachbereich Evangelische Theologie--Mainz--Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, 1995. / Bibliogr. p. [404]-417. Index.

Proefschrift--Godgeleerdheid--Utrecht, 1982. / Bibliogr. p. 234-240. Résumé en allemand. Index.

This thesis is an analysis of Karl Barth's theological method as it appears in his treatment of three divine perfections - unity, constancy, and eternity - in Church Dogmatics, II/l, chapter VI. In order to discern the method by which Barth reaches his doctrinal conclusions, the thesis examines the respective roles of Scripture, tradition and reason-the 'threefold cord'-in this portion of his Church Dogmatics. The conclusion reached in the thesis is that, within Barth's treatment of God's unity, constancy and eternity, Scripture functions as the authoritative source and basis for theological critique and construction, and tradition and reason are functionally subordinate to Scripture. That said, Barth employs a predominantly indirect way of relating Scripture and theological proposals, a way in which tradition and reason play important 'mediatory' roles. The thesis defends these claims in the following manner. Chapter 1 surveys recent scholarship relevant to the thesis and shows how this thesis will make a distinctive contribution to scholarly discussion of Barth's theology. Chapter 2 sets up the exposition of Barth's theological method that is provided in the remaining chapters by providing a 'conceptual framework'- an orderly arrangement of definitions and conceptual categories. Chapter 3 provides an overview of the main features of Barth's Doctrine of God as whole, as it appears in Church Dogmatics, with a special emphasis on the roles of Scripture, tradition and reason within those doctrines. Chapters 4-6 are an expository analysis of Barth's treatments of divine unity, constancy and eternity respectively, and form the primary basis for the claims of the thesis. Chapter 7, the conclusion, summarises the argument and makes some final observations.