Karl Barth’s Theology as a Resource for a Christian Theology of Religions

This book uses Karl Barth’s theology as a resource for Christian theology of religions. For this purpose, it examines Barth’s theology under the doctrinal aspects of revelation, revelation and religion, theological anthropology and election, addressing questions such as the possibility of and context for revelation, Barth’s understanding of religion, the theological approach to the human being, and soteriology. Furthermore, Barth’s thought is put into conversation with other approaches in the field of theology of religions, notably Karl Rahner’s inclusivism and John Hick and the pluralist paradigm. It is shown that Barth’s theological system as a whole can serve as a resource for the Christian approach to and interaction with those of other faiths or no faith at all. This is achieved through maintaining a balance between the commitment to the own faith and the openness to the sovereignty of God impacting the whole of creation. Central to Barth’s approach is the challenge to the Christian community to see their presuppositions challenged in the most unexpected circumstances, while looking beyond human categories to affirm the dignity bestowed upon all of humanity through the divine Yes in the person Jesus Christ. Barth’s theology with its starting point in the person of Jesus Christ is advocated as a framework for the members of the Christian community as they live alongside those with a different faith from their own.

Sven Ensminger (PhD, Bristol University, UK) is an Adjunct Teaching Fellow at the University of St. Andrews, UK