Description
Karl Barth was the most influential theologian of the twentieth century, and his work continues to inspire both fresh theological thinking and critical debate. This volume covers lectures and shorter works from 1905-1909.
The period covered by the volumes in this series–1905 to 1933–saw Barth emerge from his training under such theological giants as Adolph von Harnack and Wilhelm Herrmann; assert his rejection of liberal Protestant theology in his towering commentary on Romans; and work through an earlier uncertainty to become a critic on theological grounds of the rise of Nazism. These volumes contain essays, lectures, academic papers, correspondences, editorials, and other writings that were not previously translated into English and that provide insight into the development of Barth’s theology during this crucial period of his life.
Reviews
“The latest fruit of the collective labor of an industrious and committed group of skilled translators, this volume will provide English-language readers with new and direct insight into the very beginnings of Karl Barth’s theological existence. This is another fine and welcome contribution to theological scholarship from Westminster John Knox Press.”
—Philip G. Ziegler, University of Aberdeen
“This translation of Barth’s earliest works is to be welcomed. These lectures and essays provide, for the first time in English, a window into Barth’s earliest academic labors and theological formation. In light of all that would come, they bear witness not only to the beginning of his theological travels, but reveal how very far those travels would take him from the religious reflections and nascent convictions of these early years.”
—Kimlyn J. Bender, Professor of Christian Theology, George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University
“Even as a student Barth wrote lengthy texts which show his theologically-pugnacious nature. It will be of great importance for English-speaking Barth-scholarship that these earliest documents of his theological development are now available in English translation.”
—Christiane Tietz, Professor of Systematic Theology and Co-Director of the Institute for Hermeneutics and Philosophy of Religion, University of Zurich
“The English translation of the Gesamtausgabe is the most significant development in the study of Karl Barth's theology since the English translation of the Church Dogmatics. These works from the earliest period of Barth’s theological formation are invaluable. They add texture to what we already know and reveal new insights into the development of his theological thought. We encounter the student Barth tackling–in essays, reviews, short lectures, seminar papers, and journal articles–a fascinatingly rich range of theological topics: from St Francis’ stigmata to the Lord’s Prayer to proofs for the existence of God.
-—Ashley Cocksworth, Senior Lecturer in Theology and Practice at the University of Roehampton