Karl Barth in Therapy
January 3, 2008 by pistolpete
Prompted by a post from my friend Nick Norelli , I took a quiz to see which Christian theologian I most closely resembled. I discovered that my best match was Karl Barth (he actually tied with Jonathan Edwards, about whom I’ll write in another post).
I know very little about Karl Barth. The professor for my Systematic Theology class (God rest his soul) assigned so much of Barth’s 14-volume set of Church Dogmatics that I gave up half way into the introduction to volume 1. Evidently, however, in spite of my academic negligence, a good bit of Barth’s spirit seeped into my soul, given that we are so closely related, sort of like theological cousins. Kin, you might say.
So, I thought it would be good to bring Karl into Necessary Therapy for some coffee and conversation. He arrived carrying a copy of the Bible in his right hand, and the New York Times in his left. I offered him a cup of coffee (which he politely refused, something about “living water” and “never thirst again”). The following is what transpired.
NT: First, thank you, Dr. Barth, for agreeing to meet with me and address some of the concerns people today have about life and faith. Such a revered theologian and, being dead yourself, you certainly have much insight to offer us on both these topics.
KB: No one can really arrive at certainty and victory. For God, from whom certainty and victory come, is one who dwells in a light which no one can approach unto, and he desires to be recognized and worshiped as such.
NT: I see. Or, I don’t, do I? Not really. I can’t. Who can, right? But, if no one can approach God, how can a person be saved?
KB: No one can be saved–in virtue of what he can do. Everyone can be saved–in virtue of what God can do.
NT: But doesn’t that make repentence rather pointless?
KB: But what is Repentance? Not the last and noblest and most refined achievement of the righteousness of men in the service of God, but the first elemental act of the righteousness of God in the service of men; the work that God has written in their hearts and which, because it is from God and not from men, occasions joy in heaven; that looking forward to God, and to Him only, which is recognized only by God and by God Himself.
NT: What about persons who reject God?
KB: Man can certainly flee from God… but he cannot escape him. He can certainly hate God and be hateful to God, but he cannot change into its opposite the eternal love of God which triumphs even in his hate.
NT: On another subject, my readers like it when I write about hell. What are your thoughts on hell?
KB: It is a serious matter to be threatened by hell, sentenced to hell, worthy of hell, and already on the road to hell. On the other hand, we must not minimize the fact that we actually know of only one certain triumph of hell - the handing-over of Jesus - and that this triumph of hell took place in order that it would never again be able to triumph over anyone. We must not deny that Jesus gave Himself up into the depths of hell not only with many others but on their behalf, in their place, in the place of all who believe in Him.
NT: How do we best express this truth to non-believers?
KB: Belief cannot argue with unbelief, it can only preach to it.
NT: I noticed before our interview you were reading The New York Times. What are your impressions of the world today?
KB: We have before us the fiendishness of business competition and the world war, passion and wrongdoing, antagonism between classes and moral depravity within them, economic tyranny above and the slave spirit below.
NT: Are things better or worse than when you lived?
KB: Men have never been good, they are not good and they never will be good.
NT: So is there any hope?
KB: To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.
NT: Well, Dr. Barth, I want to thank you again for taking time out of eternity to spend with us here on earth. I just have one more question. Do you have any fun in heaven?
KB: Laughter is the closest thing to the grace of God.
Well done.
The Pistol fires back: Thank you very much. I checked out your blog. Funny we should both be including Barth quotes on the same day. What are the chances of that?
Pistol Pete,
Greetings again & thanks for inviting us into your interview with Mr. Karl Barth. Please give Mr. Barth my thank you for his revelation on “best expressing this truth to non-believers?” as well.
“KB: Belief cannot argue with unbelief, it can only preach to it.”
Worth remembering whenever my old self wants to raise up in rebellion by trying to prove Scriptural truth instead of preaching it.
Curiosity got the best of me by the way, so I took the quiz as well; turns out that I most resemble Anselm. What are the chances of that? ; )
Grace and peace be with you.
The Pistol fires back: Funny you should resemble Anselm. I share 63% of his thought. He is scheduled to appear in Necessary Therapy this Saturday.
Is it just me? I have the urge to call Karl, “Da’ Hammer”.
The Pistol fires back: That would be Dr. “Da” Hammer, thank you very much.
I’m looking forward to your interview with Anselm on Saturday because that was my number one result and I don’t know who he was. My number two’s were Calvin and Edwards tied and Barth was last. I wish quizzes would tell us WHY we score as we do.
The Pistol fires back: I do too. I expected I would be strongly tied to Calvin, but he came in 4th, tied with Luther.
The first time through, I came up as Anselm. Then the computer crashed. So I redid it, and apparently gave different answers, because this time I was Karl Barth (87%), Edwards and Anselm (80%), Luther at 67%, and Calvin way down at 47%. Interesting …
The Pistol fires back: Maybe Barth changed his views while you were re-booting your computer.