Today’s post on Karl Barth is from Matthew Wilcoxen. Matt is a PhD student at Charles Sturt University, focusing on Barth and the concept of time. He is a graduate of Biola University and Talbot School of Theology.
The term classic is applied to a work with lasting influence—a singular exemplar of a new mode of thought, one that leads to widespread imitation and sharp critique. A classic of Christian theology must also, of course, be an attempt to say afresh the message of the Bible. As the dust settles on the life of Karl Barth, it becomes increasingly clear that his magnum opus, the Church Dogmatics, deserves a place on this top shelf of Christian intellectual history, where it sits rightfully alongside the works of Augustine, Aquinas, and Calvin.
Karl Barth the Professor
The son of a Reformed minister, Barth (1886–1968) was himself stimulated to study theology through a confirmation class he took as an adolescent. He went on to study at Bern, Berlin, Tübingen, and then Marburg, receiving a thorough initiation into the liberal Protestant theology regnant on the continent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. During WWI, Barth was busy studying the Epistle to the Romans. This would lead to multiple editions of a landmark commentary. In the words of one contemporary, the important second edition published in 1922 was a “bomb that fell on the playground of the theologians.” This book was so revolutionary that it catapulted Barth to the top rungs of the German academy, landing him a professorship in Göttingen. From here he would go on to teach at Münster, Bonn, and—after being expelled from Germany by the Nazis—Basel, where he would spend the rest of his career and write the bulk of the nearly-9,000-page Church Dogmatics.
Karl Barth’s Church Dogmatics
The Church Dogmatics unfolds the same insight as the commentary on Romans—that revelation, the sovereign act of God, occurs outside of and in spite of all human possibilities. Through the study of, in particular, Luther, Reformed Christology, and Anselm’s Proslogion, Barth found the tools at his disposal to build a theological system on the objective reality of God in the incarnate Christ. Thus “in Christ”—applied to both God and human beings—is the method and the content of the 13 part-volumes of the Church Dogmatics. So not only due to his contemporary influence, but because Barth refuses to take as given anything other than Immanuel, “God for us,” Barth’s theology is continually solidifying its status as a classic.
This method of building a theological system engages Barth in lengthy scriptural exegesis, engagement with all strands of Western Christian theology, and critical interactions with modern philosophy. And since Barth sees true human existence in Jesus Christ, ethics is never treated as ancillary to theological reflection; in the Church Dogmatics, themes like prayer, sanctification, and other issues central to Christian discipleship figure quite prominently. There is something here for everyone—the student, the preacher, or even the accomplished scholar.
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As part of our Back to School Sale, you can pick up a copy of Barth’s classic Church Dogmatics for just $379.95 (with coupon code B2SBarth). Check out Barth and all the other amazing deals we have on sale for our Back to School Sale.
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In a 2005–06 survey of 1050 pastors, more than 70% said they felt burned out and depressed. Leadership is a difficult, and often thankless, job. We need to be diligent and intentional about making sure that our leaders know that we hold them in the highest regard. Although it’s important to honor our shepherds year-round, October has become the recognized month for paying our clergy special tribute.
On October 26, 2012, Logos will drop support for Windows XP and OS X 10.5 “Leopard.”
3 Reasons Logos Resources Are So Valuable
I talked to someone recently who pointed out that some Logos resources are public domain. His question to me was, “Why should I pay for books I could possibly find for free?”
This was a great question, and I was able to quickly rattle off three features that make Logos books invaluable.
1. Networked Resources
Every book in a normal library (whether physical or electronic) operates independently; the value of each book is primarily the information it carries. Your Logos resources, however, are linked together, building a vast network of information. When Logos creates an electronic book, we tag the contents by word, phrase, topic, and reference, making the whole of your library exponentially more valuable than the sum of its parts.
Logos senior vice president Dale Pritchett communicated this multiplying value in a fantastic 2010 blog post entitled “The ‘Network Effect.’”
Not only do Logos books create an extensive network of information—they make up a growing ecosystem of platforms tying Bible study together. You can use your Logos library for study, discuss rich passages with your Faithlife Community, or easily share quotes and passages with your congregation via Proclaim.
What makes networked resources so amazing is that they’re completely searchable—in seconds! Imagine opening the 86-volume Baker Academic Biblical Studies Bundle and pulling up every one of the collection’s references to John 17 in moments. Now imagine that with thousands of resources.
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That’s not all! You can also read your books on any browser through Biblia.com or while connected with your friends and church on the Faithlife Community apps.*
3. Your Resources Are Updated for Free
We shared some updates to the Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary in a blog post back in May. These included fixes to typos, bibliographic milestones, links to nearly 40,000 bibliographic citations, and thousands of references to new data types. All these updates happened behind the scenes without you having to lift a finger.
A customer recently commented in the forums how pleased he was to find his Oxford Bible Commentary updated—this is a product we haven’t sold in many years.
These are just a couple of reasons why Logos books are the most valuable electronic resources available. If you’re looking to start your own Logos library, make sure to check out our base packages. You’ll get tons of resources at pennies on the dollar, as well as fantastic features for Bible study!
*If you haven’t downloaded the Faithlife Study Bible, it’s free through March 2014 with the coupon code FREE. Once you have the study Bible, you’ll be guided to the Faithlife Community iPhone and Android apps.