Far Too Intelligent for Religion

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Reminiscences of Karl Barth

On our Facebook page this week, we've been featuring quotes from John Godsey's article "Reminiscences of Karl Barth" published in the Princeton Seminary Bulletin Volume XXIII (2002). You can find the whole article here. Otherwise you can read here on for a number of key passages worth noting. The year was 1953. It was summertime when …

And then I said …

We recently held a caption contest on our Facebook page and here were the five most popular responses: And then I said ... ...  I have a meme! ...  I'm sorry, you must have mistaken me for a different Martin Luther. ...  Karl, you may have wrote about God's words and actions, but I lived …

We are of the cross

Modern Day Sadducee Confirms: We Live on in our Children

[Please note: the following is a work of fiction. Only the names have been changed to confirm what I said the first time: this is a work of fiction. May contain traces of nuts and satire.] Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to interview Dr David Petrie, whose PhD dissertation proves unequivocally that the …

The Place of Election

"A place for everything and everything in its place." In the third subsection of his doctrine of election Barth argues for its proper place in the scheme of his theology. Barth places it within his doctrine of God. God is the electing God, the God who chooses. He reveals himself as he really is precisely …

Book Review – Karl Barth in Plain English

(Disclaimer - I received an advance copy of the book for review purposes. I have been a Facebook friend with the author for a few years. Plus, I've organized a promotional contest with the author, with signed copies of the book as a prize. On the other hand, the author has managed to do in …

The Foundation of Grace

(We continue our examination of Karl Barth's doctrine of election. Click here for part one. Click here for part 2.) The foundation we lay for a building determines the kind of structure we build. If the foundation is made of poor materials, the building will collapse. If the foundation is too small, the building cannot be any larger. …

Here be Dragons!

"Here be dragons". This phrase refers to the practice of medieval map makers of drawing dragons and sea serpents in the uncharted areas at the edge of the map. For many people this is where the doctrine of election belongs on the theological map: on the edge, in the unexplored areas where dangerous terms like …

Barth’s Doctrine of Election – an orientation

  We begin a series of eleven (eleven?!) articles on Barth's doctrine of grace with this short orientation to his approach. Barth articulates his view in chapter 7 of his Church Dogmatics (found in the second part volume of the second volume) titled "The Election of God." A few introductory remarks should be made: 1. …