Karl Barth’s Theology as a Resource for a Christian Theology of Religions: (T&T Clark Studies in Systematic Theology)

This book uses Karl Barth’s theology as a resource for Christian theology of religions. For this purpose, it examines Barth’s theology under the doctrinal aspects of revelation, revelation and religion, theological anthropology and election, addressing questions such as the possibility of and context for revelation, Barth’s understanding of religion, the theological approach to the human being, and soteriology. Furthermore, Barth’s thought is put into conversation with other approaches in the field of theology of religions, notably Karl Rahner’s inclusivism and John Hick and the pluralist paradigm. It is shown that Barth’s theological system as a whole can serve as a resource for the Christian approach to and interaction with those of other faiths or no faith at all. This is achieved through maintaining a balance between the commitment to the own faith and the openness to the sovereignty of God impacting the whole of creation. Central to Barth’s approach is the challenge to the Christian community to see their presuppositions challenged in the most unexpected circumstances, while looking beyond human categories to affirm the dignity bestowed upon all of humanity through the divine Yes in the person Jesus Christ. Barth’s theology with its starting point in the person of Jesus Christ is advocated as a framework for the members of the Christian community as they live alongside those with a different faith from their own.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Chapter 1 1.1 Barth’s Doctrine of Revelation 1.2 Approaching the doctrine of Revelation 1.3 The one revelation of Jesus Christ and other Revelations 1.4 Conclusion Chapter 2 2.1 Barth’s Understanding of Revelation and Religion 2.2 Approaching Barth’s Understanding of Religion 2.3 Analysis of §17 of Church Dogmatics 2.4 Revisiting Revelation in the Context of Religion 2.5 Conclusion Chapter 3 3.1 Barth’s Theological Anthropology and Doctrine of Sin 3.2 Approaching Barth’s Theological Anthropology 3.3 Barth’s Doctrine of Sin 3.4 Conclusion Chapter 4 4.1 Barth’s Doctrine of Election – The Electing God and the Elected Human Being 4.2 Approaching the Doctrine of Election 4.3 The Question of Universalism & Human Freedom 4.4 Conclusion Chapter 5 5.1 Engaging the Inclusivist Paradigm – A Conversation between Karl Rahner and Karl Barth 5.2 Outline of the Inclusivist Paradigm 5.3 Engaging the Inclusivist Paradigm 5.4 Conclusion Chapter 6 6.1 Engaging the Pluralist Paradigm – John Hick as Question and Challenge to Karl Barth 6.2 Outline of the Pluralist Paradigm 6.3 Engaging the Pluralist Paradigm 6.4 Conclusion Chapter 7: Conclusion 7.1 Karl Barth’s Theology as Resource for Christian Theology of Religions 7.2 Barth’s Theology in the Field of Christian Theology of Religions 7.3 Barth’s Theology of Religions – A New Approach 7.4 Conclusion Bibliography

About the Author :
Sven Ensminger (PhD, Bristol University, UK) is an Adjunct Teaching Fellow at the University of St. Andrews, UK

Review :
Ensminger’s extrapolations [in Karl Barth’s Theology as a Resource for a Christian Theology of Religions] provide the first steps for thinking with Barth for a theology of religions relevant for the third millennium, arguably what the Swiss theologian would have wanted the contemporary church to take up. Ensminger’s book offers much in the way of contributions to both Barth studies as a whole and the emerging conversation around Barth, religion, and non-Christian religions, in particular… Finally, one feature of Ensminger’s text that establishes it as unique in the emerging body of scholarship on Barth and religion is Ensminger’s attention to Barth as a decidedly pastoral theologian, thus locating Barth’s thinking about religion amongst pastoral, rather than purely dogmatic, concerns. Ensminger’s work is an important contribution to the theology of religions conversation. It has the potential to re-engage Barthians in the conversation while encouraging scholars in the field to re-consider Barth as a resource. A generally reliable piece of exposition. … Ensminger—and Barth—deliver handsomely. In the theology of religions Barth fell out of favour for a time. In this book Sven Ensminger helps to re-establish Barth as a key, constructive and rigorous voice. He shows that Barth is able to defend and elaborate his own complex and unique Reformed theological vision regarding revelation and the 'religions'. Ensminger also takes Barth and puts him into useful dialogue with Hick and Rahner. This book will be helpful to Barth specialists as well as those who are concerned about Christian attitudes to other religions. Sven Ensminger shows convincingly that Karl Barth’s examination of 'religion' and his qualification of the non-christian religions cannot be classified simply as 'exclusivism'. In his thorough study he outlines Barth’s multi-faceted doctrine of revelation and his understanding of religion. He takes Barth’s theological anthropology and his doctrine of election into account and relates Barth’s approach to Rahner’s 'inclusivism' and Hick’s 'pluralism'. The strength of the study lies in comprising a broad spectrum of Barth’s works and in drawing on the original German texts. This enables Ensminger to correct some misunderstandings of Barth and sheds new light on his approach as a resource for the current debate on theology of religions. Sven Ensminger has provided a valuable addition to the growing body of literature that draws upon Karl Barth’s theology as a resource for a Christian understanding of other faiths. In particular, he argues that Barth is able to combine a commitment to the uniqueness of Jesus as the self-disclosure of God with an openness to the action of God outside the Christian religion. In overcoming some standard misreadings of Barth, Ensminger offers his work as an important resource for current debates about the relationship of Jesus to the religions of the world.