Abstract
Fifty years after his death, interest in Karl Barth’s theology shows no sign of abating, while debate as to its enduring significance has not resulted in consensus. One factor here is the sheer volume of his writings. Another is that he addressed many of the issues that continue to be critical for theology today, and yet it is not a straightforward matter to locate his position on a grid determined by coordinates that are not his own.
The question set by the title of this collection illustrates this well. From the 1930s onwards, Barth was deeply engaged with the question of how to articulate Christian doctrine so as to resist the evil of anti-Semitism, whose grip on German society and beyond led to the Holocaust. He refuted at length the idea that the Church has replaced Israel in the purposes of God, anticipating the rejection of ‘supersessionism’ that has become integral to self-identifying ‘post-Holocaust’ theology since the 1970s. At the same time, his account of Israel’s continuing election pivots on the notion of Israel witnessing specifically to God’s judgement in the volume of the Church Dogmatics where he gives this subject his most sustained treatment. That hardly seems like a constructive basis for the kind of dialogue with contemporary Judaism that post-Holocaust theology aims to enable, and arguably nourishes the anti-Jewish imagery of Christian tradition it strives to overcome.
None of the varied voices in this volume argue that Barth’s work is of no value to contemporary theology in this area. There is, however, something of a spectrum between the view that a fuller appreciation of Barth’s texts on Church and Israel can guide us to greater understanding, and the view that critical engagement with Barth’s writings elsewhere may best illuminate our current concerns. The chapter by Eberhard Busch is furthest towards the former end of the spectrum and the chapter by Paul Chung perhaps nearest the latter. Lindsay, Bodley-Dangelo, Woodard-Lehman and Demson are somewhere between, David Demson’s essay being especially remarkable for finding the key to the recovery of Barth’s sustained exegesis of Romans 9––11 (on which so much hinges) in a better exegesis of this passage.
The remaining three articles are somewhat different. Michael Owen provides a translation of an Advent sermon preached by Barth in 1933, with a careful historical introduction. Philip Rosato and Rudy Koshar offer surveys of Barth’s reception – Rosato in Roman Catholic theology, and Koshar in twentieth-century intellectual history. While both deal with Barth on Church and Israel, they do so as part of a broader analysis that is of interest beyond the issue of his significance for post-Holocaust theology.
Six of the nine articles included here have previously appeared in scholarly journals. The three presumably commissioned specially do not comment directly on them, while the editor’s introduction consists of only three brief paragraphs aside from summaries of the chapters. Nonetheless, this will be a rich resource for participants in the continuing debate about Barth’s legacy, as well as for those wanting to think theologically post-Holocaust.