Although students may prefer to be well acquainted with the exploits of the Simpsons or the latest episode of Star Wars, the theology student should not pass up the opportunity that is offered by these two books to meet Barth and Yoder. Both books gain significantly as introductions as they are individually authored. The reader does not find himself thrown straight into theological dispute but rather is guided sympathetically into the thinking of the subject. This sympathy of the authors, whilst remaining critical, is particularly important as both Barth and Yoder are more often misknown and misunderstood on the basis of partial readings of their work.

In the case of Barth this is understandable if only for the immense volume of his output, most famously the unfinished Church Dogmatics (CD). Webster, a leading Barth scholar, presents Barth’s work in biographical framework. The opening chapter, on Barth’s life and work, looks over his life and publications before suggesting how one should interpret Barth. This begins: ‘Reading Barth is no easy task.’ He illustrates how Barth’s theology follows a musical structure of development and recapitulation, not whimsically, but out of conviction that this was a method in keeping with the Christological anchoring of his theology. He follows this by taking key texts and opening them up to the reader in succeeding chapters. This is a highly instructive introduction. Indications of where to go beyond this introduction are clear throughout and a helpful bibliography is found at the beginning of the book.

Chapter two deals with Barth’s early career up to CD. Chapters three to six follow the outline of CD looking at the doctrine of the Word of God, the doctrine of God, the doctrine of Creation, and the incomplete doctrine of Reconciliation. Chapter seven deals with the integral place of ethics and politics in the dogmatic task and chapter eight examines ways in which Barth has been read and the possibilities his theology offers to the present life of the church.

Yoder’s best known work is the influential The Politics of Jesus. Carter sets out to show that Yoder has a lot to offer beyond this work and clearly sees his life and work as of visionary importance for the church. It is precisely in the central place of ecclesiology for Yoder that we are to see his gift as a theologian whose social ethics is tied to his orthodoxy. Carter situates Yoder within his Mennonite background whilst showing that he could be sharply critical of it, and also details the important influence of Barth, under whom Yoder studied. Yoder nevertheless sought to hold his theology up to the NT and scriptural standard before any other criteria. Carter continually engages with criticisms of Yoder’s work, particularly those accusations of sectarianism and withdrawal from the world. He shows these to be unsubstantiated with continuous reference and quotation from Yoder’s work. There was a lack of distinctive treatment of Yoder’s pacifism that was disappointing, given that Yoder may only be known for this, if at all. It is clear how important it is but it is not clear quite what it looked like for Yoder. This is a serious omission as it is one of the stumbling blocks for many who encounter Yoder through Politics. Carter is not indulging in hagiography and he is rightly aware of the limitations and problems in Yoder’s theology. His deliberate eschewal of method belies a doctrinal coherence in his work that should have been clearer. His attention on the cross left the resurrection dangerously underplayed (particularly in Politics). His emphasis on ethics was not balanced with published thought on prayer. Carter however pleads that Yoder should be understood as undertaking to address the church in those areas that would otherwise be neglected in his context. We are called to understand more what he did feel called to say, not to misunderstand because of what he didn’t say.

This is an excellent survey and a great encouragement to engage more seriously with Yoder, another helpful bibliography here too, although we suspect that many disagreements will remain and readers will read differently to Carter.

Both these books then are highly commended as reading made enjoyable by generous interpretation.

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