Barth's Dogmatics, §6, The Knowability of the Word of God

In this ongoing project, I am taking brief notes on Karl Barth’s Church Dogmatics. My folks purchased the whole English-language set for me forty years ago, and subsequently I wrote my doctoral dissertation on a portion of Vol. III, part 2. See my December 2, 2018 post for Barth's overall plan for his series.

Paragraph 6 of the Dogmatics (pp. 187-247) is “The Knowability of the Word of God.” Barth’s summary is: "The reality of Word of God in all its three forms is grounded only in itself. So, too, the knowledge of it by [human beings] can consist only in its acknowledgment, and this acknowledgment can become real only through itself and can become intelligible only in terms of itself" (187).

In his book An Introduction to Barth’s Dogmatics for Preachers (Westminster Press, 1963), Arnold B. Come writes of this and the previous paragraph: "It is, of course, [human beings] who hear and know God. But the capacity is not to have or to hold God's Word but to acknowledge him. And this capacity is given [us] in the event. God's acknowledgment of [us] empowers [us] to acknowledge him..." (90).

Acknowledgment entails knowledge, and thus knowledge entails a relation of human beings to God and God's Word, and that Word comes to us according to God's free decision. On our part, we yield to God's authority and direction, in a genuine experience of God's Word as God makes Godself known (I:1, 205ff). In this section "The Word of God and Experience" and the previous section, Barth provides fascinating discussions with Thomism, Cartesian philosophy, as well as Schleiermacher.

Barth continues this paragraph:

"If we have understood that the knowability of God's Word is really an inalienable affirmation of faith, but that precisely as such it denotes the miracle of faith, the miracle that we can only recollect and hope for, then as a final necessity we must also understand that [we] must be set side and God Himself presented as the original subject, as the primary power, as the creator of the possibility of knowledge of God's Word. Christ does not remain outside. And it is true enough that [we] must open the door (Rev: 3:20). But the fact that this takes place is quoad actum and quoad potentiam the work of the Christ who stands outside. Hence it is also unconditionally true that the risen Christ passes through closed doors (John 20:19f)" (247).

Where Your Treasure Is

Where Your Treasure Is, There Your Heart Will Be
Matthew 6: 19-24

A devotion written for our church's recent stewardship emphasis.

In our scripture from Matthew, Jesus famously teaches that our treasure should be in heaven. Earthly wealth “rusts” (the Greek word has the sense of “eaten away”), but heavenly wealth—our relationship with God, who cares for us and guides us and matures us—is not perishable. Jesus goes on to say that wealth can be an object of false worship, in the sense that we put it before God and pay it more homage than God. But if our hearts are invested in our true treasure, consequently our souls are full of light that in turn shines outward.

Of course, we need money and savings. I’ve been in the position of not having enough money, and it’s a terrible, worrying circumstance! But there is a fine balance between the normal concern about money and finding the meaning of our lives in money. We’ve all known stingy people, who won’t tip well in restaurants, who express haughty attitudes about people based on their income. They (and sometimes we) thereby miss the chance to witness to God’s own generosity.

The story of the rich young ruler (Luke 18:18-23) is not our scripture this week. But I thought about it in the context of treasures and the heart.

You could imagine the story of the rich young ruler going another way. Jesus would tell the man the same thing: “Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me” (Luke 18:22). But instead of sadness, the man would have a “eureka moment” about helping those in need. Perhaps he would ask Jesus’ advice about who was most in need, and Jesus would direct him to some persons. And the rich young man would be remembered in the hearts of those whom he helped; as with George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life, the world would’ve been a better place with him in it.

But conforming our attitudes around Jesus’ teachings is a growth in grace. We begin to find joy in possibilities of giving away some of our money. We begin to feel deeper compassion toward persons in need. It’s okay to feel uncertain with Jesus’ teachings but to want to grow. I can imagine the rich young ruler saying to Jesus, “I’m just too uncomfortable with giving away my wealth, as you say I should, but I do want to learn more from you and to draw closer to God. I want to show myself as a Jesus-follower in making other people’s lives better.”

Landscape: Piet Mondrian

Piet Mondrian (1872-1944), "Line of Trees in Marshy Landscape", 1906. 

Article: "America's Epistemic Crisis"

Interesting essay from Vox.com:

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/11/16/20964281/impeachment-hearings-trump-america-epistemic-crisis?fbclid=IwAR0hPPRTgibyOtuWFE-_8EI39Kpx8G2j26HG9OP2xa-9SLrxQx3M8wYFN7s

"The Electoral College's Racist Origins"

Critics of the Electoral College are right to denounce it for handing victory to the loser of the popular vote twice in the past two decades. They are also correct to point out that it distorts our politics, including by encouraging presidential campaigns to concentrate their efforts in a few states that are not representative of the country at large. But the disempowerment of black voters needs to be added to that list of concerns, because it is core to what the Electoral College is and what it always has been.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/11/electoral-college-racist-origins/601918/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_content=edit-promo&utm_term=2019-11-17T11%3A00%3A16&utm_campaign=the-atlantic&fbclid=IwAR2VLymSGUntbsVlyTyqk1Vx8F0aOjz9NLJofHpMf_krq5omDTxwYxn1JqE

WP Essay: Dems and Trump Voters

Interesting article!  "Why democrats can't win the respect of Trump voters." "The right has a gigantic media apparatus that is devoted to convincing people that liberals disrespect them, plus a political party whose leaders all understand that that idea is key to their political project and so join in the chorus at every opportunity...In the world Republicans have constructed, a Democrat who wants to give you health care and a higher wage is disrespectful, while a Republican who opposes those things but engages in a vigorous round of campaign race-baiting is respectful. The person who’s holding you back isn’t the politician who just voted to give a trillion-dollar tax break to the wealthy and corporations, it’s an East Coast college professor who said something condescending on Twitter."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2018/05/15/why-democrats-cant-win-the-respect-of-trump-voters/?fbclid=IwAR0mJW5M1yq8HFi2PFGyzQ9bnYOx5TJwG0Lm1c7S48Mz5h_PuVmtnBujzY0

Iran Hostage Crisis and the "Reagan Myth"

Today is the fortieth anniversary of the start of the Iran Hostage Crisis. Here's a good summary of the events:

https://www.history.com/topics/middle-east/iran-hostage-crisis?fbclid=IwAR0an15azWwuV6ngkmc5jUBuB6s3lvc348NUVtvBoXtgXhgU5OCpXYtJLEg

That was my first semester at divinity school. The situation made me quite afraid, and I dreaded hearing the morning news to learn what might have happened overnight. The events also inspired campus discussions about the religious social justice issues that should be raised in times of difficult foreign policy.

I found another article yesterday, "The Republican Myth of Ronald Reagan and the Iran Hostages, Debunked." The piece raises interesting issues about some of the contemporary comparisons of Obama and Trump, and why Trump's style is popular among some people. https://www.vox.com/2016/1/25/10826056/reagan-iran-hostage-negotiation