In
September 1919, less than a year after the German defeat in World War 1, Swiss
theologian Karl Barth (1886-1968) gave an address, “The Christian’s Place in
Society,” at a conference on Religion and Social Relations in the central
German town of Tambach. Through it, he reminds us today that, as Jesus moves in
our lives, his truth constantly frees us from all other authorities to test
whether they are strengthening in us his gifts of love and life and to challenge them if they are not.
(1) Jesus Christ sets us on the path of freedom which is based on truth and leads through love to eternal life. (2) Yet false gods continue to enthrall us with the path of power which is based on falsehood and leads through indifference to death. (3) Even Christians have fallen under their spell. (4) But Jesus is calling us to join him as prophetic witnesses in breaking their spell beginning with his Church. (5) Use this website to strengthen your witness to Jesus for our good and his glory.
Saturday, April 3, 2021
Friday, April 2, 2021
Barth and Schleiemacher: Two Roads Diverge
In
September 1922, Swiss-born Karl Barth (1886-1968) gave an address, “The Problem
of Ethics Today,” to a group of pastors in the western German city of Wiesbaden.
In it, he mentioned Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834) who, like Barth, was a
Reformed theologian but who, unlike Barth, was a significant contributor to modern
liberal theology. Barth summarized Schleiemacher’s contribution in this way:
Thursday, April 1, 2021
Barth on Calvin on Hope
In July 1922, Karl Barth gave an address, “The Need and Promise of Christian Preaching,” to a group of Reformed pastors. He chose to close his remarks with “a confession of hope”:
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