The Freedom of God for Us: Karl Barth's Doctrine of Divine Aseity(T&T Clark Studies in Systematic Theology)

This volume provides an analysis of divine aseity in Karl Barth's thought and appreciates the vital role that this doctrine can play in contemporary theology. Brian D. Asbill begins by setting the general theological context, first through a broad sketch of the development of Barth's understanding of the relationship between the life of God pro nobis (pronobeity) and a se (aseity), and secondly through the examination of the basic theological convictions that guide his approach to the divine being in Church Dogmatics II/1. The second section, 'The Love and Freedom of God', turns to the dialectical pairings which guide Barth's accounts of the divine reality in his earliest dogmatic cycle (The Göttingen Dogmatics §§16-7) as well as in his most mature treatment (Church Dogmatics §§28-31). Particular attention is given to how these themes arise from revelation and relate to one another. In the final section, 'The Aseity of God', Asbill identifies this doctrine's basic features and primary functions. Divine aseity is characterized as the self-demonstration and self-movement of God's life, a trinitarian and entirely unique reality, a primarily positive and dynamic concept, and the manner and readiness of God's love for creatures. Divine aseity is said to indicate God's lordship in the act of self-binding, God's uniqueness in the act of self-revelation, and God's sufficiency in the act of self-giving.

Table of Contents:
Contents Acknowledgements Abbreviations Abstract 1 Introduction PART 1. THE REALITY OF GOD 2 Pronobeity-in-Aseity 3 Being-in-Action PART 2. THE LOVE AND FREEDOM OF GOD 4 The Teleology of God 5 Personality and Aseity 6 Love in Freedom PART3. THE ASEITY OF GOD 7 An Anatomy 8 A Paraphrase 9 Conclusion Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Brian D. Asbill received his Ph.D. from the University of Aberdeen and was used by theology departments at a variety of institutions throughout southern California. He has since joined the MBA class of 2016 at Cornell University.

Review :
An indispensable entry … to the wider field of studies concerning Barth’s doctrine of God [and] … to the most heated debates in contemporary systematic theology ‘after Barth’. In this careful and thoroughly researched work, Brian D. Asbill shows that for Barth God's "aseity" -- his full self-sufficiency in himself as the Holy Trinity -- is the depth of God's being to all eternity. For Barth, this eternal depth of being means that there is no electing God prior to the Trinity. Asbill thus adds his powerful voice to the growing chorus of interpreters who would affirm the idea, on the basis of meticulous study, that for Barth the Trinity serves as the ground of pre-temporal election, not the other way around. Divine aseity and the question of the relation between God’s own triune life and God’s act toward what is not God have been disputed in much of the Christian theological tradition, and the debate is lively to this day. Brian D. Asbill’s book, one of many fine studies produced under the guidance of John Webster, expertly traces these matters through Barth’s œuvre and presents their benefits when aseity is not reduced to a negative sort of freedom ‘from’ the world, abstracted from divine love. The result is a compelling study of Barth’s doctrine of the triune God who, in God’s overflowing love, freely binds Godself to the world. The aseitas Dei echoes throughout the halls of the Christian tradition. Barth, of course, is no exception. In this study, Dr. Asbill explores the convergence of this concept and this theologian. In doing so, he presents his readers with not so much a tour de force as a tour of the key issues. Committing to leave no stone unturned, he may prolong this most prodigious journey into the divine mysteries, but he indeed arrives at a most unmistakable destination. Some may still ask, 'why study divine aseity'? Asbill, for his part, quells such doubts with a resounding 'why not'. A seriously researched, carefully argued, and interpretatively rich work, Brian Asbill's The Freedom of God for Us is an impressive contribution to Barth studies. Close attention to the nuances of Barth's work, complemented by a laudable sense for the rhythm and cadences of the Dogmatics as a whole, guarantee this work a wide and appreciative readership.