The Barth-Brunner correspondence, containing 174 letters, offers a glimpse into the dynamic interactions of two of the twentieth century's greatest theological minds. The letters betray the personalities of both men as they engage in intense and explicit theological discussion, debate, and criticism. The correspondence is rife with references to other theologians and theological positions, giving a telling account of how Barth and Brunner viewed themselves in relation to Christianity and philosophy, as well as their teachers, contemporaries, and students, ultimately offering a unique glimpse into the theology and the history of the Christian church in the twentieth century. Accordingly, the letters will clearly challenge some popular conceptions.
Karl Barth was a Swiss Reformed theologian whom critics hold to be among the most important Christian thinkers of the 20th century.
Beginning with his experience as a pastor, he rejected his training in the predominant liberal theology typical of 19th-century Protestantism. Instead he embarked on a new theological path initially called dialectical theology, due to its stress on the paradoxical nature of divine truth (e.g., God's relationship to humanity embodies both grace and judgment). Other critics have referred to Barth as the father of neo-orthodoxy -- a term emphatically rejected by Barth himself. The most accurate description of his work might be "a theology of the Word." Barth's theological thought emphasized the sovereignty of God, particularly through his innovative doctrine of election.
Barth tries to recover the Doctrine of the Trinity in theology from its putative loss in liberalism. His argument follows from the idea that God is the object of God's own self-knowledge, and revelation in the Bible means the self-unveiling to humanity of the God who cannot be discovered by humanity simply through its own efforts.
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