The Theology of Karl Barth
Department of Theology
Tyndale Seminary
Fall 2004
Instructor: Professor V. Shepherd
Office Hours as Posted
Tuesdays at 8:30 a.m.
Tel. 416 226 6380 (6726) or 905 821 0587
E-mail: vshepherd@tyndale.ca or victor.shepherd@sympatico.ca  

Prerequisite: THEO 0531 and THEO 0532 or THEO 0530

Description: The course endeavours to acquaint students with a major tract of the most significant theologian since the Sixteenth Century Reformation.  It presupposes theological zeal and a willingness to read closely and consistently material that is admittedly dense yet equally rich.

Objectives: to have students

[1] understand the “Copernican Revolution” in Barth’s theology with respect to his understanding of revelation: God alone is both the subject and object of revelation even as he remains Lord of it;

[2] appreciate Barth’s theological background: the anthropocentric liberalism articulated most eloquently by Friedrich Schleiermacher;

[3] see that Barth stands in the Reformational tradition yet also moves beyond it (e.g., the doctrine of election);

[4] probe specific items in Barth that have rendered him notorious; e.g., revelation as the “abolition of religion”;

[5] understand how Barth combines simultaneously faithfulness to the logic of scripture and self-exposure to contemporaneity;

[6] appreciate how Barth has informed two recent, major theologians of the Reformed tradition in both the English-speaking and German-speaking theatres: Thomas Torrance and Eberhard Juengel;

[7] assess Barth’s fruitfulness for subsequent theological work.

Requirements:

[1] Ten (10) 400-word papers reflecting the student’s theological engagement with the reading of the day.

   Note 1: The paper may articulate the student’s critical appreciation of a theological point in Barth or in
                Barth’s reading of the history of doctrine, or disagreement with same.  It may also articulate a
                comparison between Barth and another single major thinker; e.g., Augustine, Anselm,
               Aquinas, Luther, Zwingli, Bucer, Calvin, Bullinger, Melanchthon, Flaccius, Turretin, Heppe,
               etc.

   Note 2:  Since one purpose of the paper is to ensure that the student has read the material assigned for
                class, this paper must be submitted at the commencement of the class; it may not be submitted
                any time thereafter.

[2] A final examination.

Texts: Karl Barth, Church Dogmatic: Part IV Volume 1: (“The Doctrine of Reconciliation”)  ( Edinburgh : T.&T. Clark.)  This book is required.

           John Webster, Barth ( New York : Continuum, 2000) ISBN: 0 8264 5079 2

                                             This book is recommended.

Evaluation:

Class participation                                       10%

Eleven 400-word papers                              55%

Examination                                                  35%

                                                                         100%