Love him or hate him—and I think there are probably theologically justified reason for both (with “hate” in the sometimes biblical sense of “love less!”)—students of 20th century theology have to reckon with towering figure of Karl Barth. To benefit from him, or to refute him, one must first read him. But of course the problem is that his Church Dogmatics run over 9,000 pages and six million words!
For those who want to see what he said without wading through all that he wrote, Michael Allen has now edited Karl Barth’s Church Dogmatics: An Introduction and Reader (Continuum, 2012).
“Embarking on the study of Barth’s Church Dogmatics is no easy matter; this careful selection, with its perceptive introduction and commentaries, is an excellent guide to exploring one of the monumental texts of modern theology.”
—John Webster, University of Aberdeen,
“This volume is a welcome resource for both teachers and students of Karl Barth’s theology. Michael Allen’s well-chosen excerpts from the Church Dogmatics are lengthy enough to provide a feel for Barth’s sprawling theological discourse and wide-ranging enough to provide an appreciation of the full scope of his dogmatic thought. The introduction and notes locate Barth’s work within the context of classical and modern divinity and direct readers to the best English-language literature on the Basel theologian. Those who have heretofore feared the prospect of exploring Karl Barth’s massive Church Dogmatics may now take courage thanks to Allen’s able guidance.”
—Scott R. Swain, Reformed Theological Seminary,
