Bruce L. McCormack

`McCormack is master of this voluminous material. He is scrupulously at home in the intricate, dramatic background of Swiss socialist politics ...The result is a masterly study, often as compelling as its theme.' George Steiner, Times Literary Supplement `This meticulous and definitive study ... supersedes most previous interpretations.' Colin Gunton, Theological Book Review `it should quickly attain classic status. It is an exceptionally fine and erudite piece of work....The results of this painstaking attention to detail are truly ground-breaking. This is a major intellectual achievement, an interpretative act of great courage, and Barth studies will never look the same.' Graham Ward, Expository Times This book is a new, major intellectual biography of perhaps the most influential theologian of the twentieth century, Karl Barth. It offers the first full-scale revision of the well-known theologian Hans Urs Balthasar's seminal interpretation of Barth, which was first published in 1951. Drawing on a wealth of material, much of it unpublished during Barth's lifetime, as well as a thorough acquaintance with the best of recent German scholarship, Professor McCormack demonstrates that the fundamental decision which would control the whole of Barth's development - the turn to a new, critically realistic form of theological objectivism - was already made during the years in which Barth was at work on his first commentary on Romans. Professor McCormack further argues that the most significant subsequent decisions - both material and methodological - were made in Barth's Gottingen Dogmatics of 1924/5, and not later in the 1931 book on Anselm, as has often been alleged. Finally, he seeks to show that von Balthasar's description of a turn from dialectic to analogy, which provided the foundation for the neo-orthodox reading of Barth in the English-speaking world, fails to take seriously enough the extent to which dialectic remained a constitutive feature of Barth's outlook in the Church Dogmatics. This unique and important work provides not simply a fresh interpretation of Barth's development, but also a new paradigm for understanding the whole of Barth's theology.

Die Studien des nordamerikanischen Theologen Bruce L. McCormack zu theologiegeschichtlichen, systematischen und biblisch-theologischen Themen sind bisher nur vereinzelt bersetzt worden. Der vorliegende Band f llt diese L cke und bietet damit deutschsprachigen Leser/-innen nun einen hervorragenden Zugang zu dessen wichtigen theologischen Neuentw rfen. Der erste Teil enth lt Beitr ge zur Debatte ber die Erw hlungslehre Barths sowie einen exklusiv f r diesen Band verfassten R ckblick auf die Debatte. Der zweite Teil bietet biblisch-theologische Studien. Er diskutiert Deutungen der Theologie des Paulus in apokalyptischer Perspektive, fragt nach dem Verst ndnis Jesu als "Sohn Gottes" im Hebr erbrief und interpretiert Jesu "Schrei der Gottverlassenheit" (Mk 15,34). Der dritte Teil enth lt theologiegeschichtliche Studien in systematischer Absicht zum Verh ltnis von K. Barth und F. Schleiermacher, zur Barth-Deutung E. J ngels und zur Revision der sogenannten Zweinaturenlehre bei K. Barth und P. Tillich. Der vierte Teil bietet systematisch-konstruktive Studien und erg nzt McCormacks 2021 erschienenen Entwurf zur Christologie. Es geht um die Rechtfertigungslehre, Soteriologie und Christologie sowie um das Leiden Gottes. Bruce L. McCormack wurde vor allem durch seine Monografie zur Entwicklung der Theologie Karl Barths bekannt, die 2006 auf Deutsch erschien.

This textbook offers a fresh approach to modern theology by approaching the field thematically, covering classic topics in Christian theology over the last two hundred years. The editors, leading authorities on the history of nineteenth- and twentieth-century theology, have assembled a respected team of international scholars to offer substantive treatment of important doctrines and key debates in modern theology. Contributors include Kevin Vanhoozer, John Webster, Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, and Michael Horton. The volume enables readers to trace how key doctrinal questions were discussed, where the main debates lie, and how ideas developed. Topics covered include the Trinity, divine attributes, creation, the atonement, ethics, practical theology, and ecclesiology.

In this enlightening study, Bruce McCormack reconsiders the importance of Karl Barth's theology. McCormack begins with Barth's relation to nineteenth-century theologians and then turns to critique the works of contemporary authors within postmodern circles who have attempted to reinterpret Barth to fit their categories. The later sections of McCormack's study probe more deeply into Barth's theology and consider European perspectives. As the title affirms, McCormack suggests that Barth was, in fact, both orthodox and modern in his theology.McCormack has established a reputation as a thoughtful scholar, and his study of Barth will certainly find a broad audience in academic circles. But serious readers and clergy will also find it a helpful guide to Barth's theology and his continuing importance.