Karl Barths Theology as a Resource for a Christian Theology of Religions

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This book uses Karl Barths theology as a resource for Christian theology of religions. For this purpose, it examines Barths theology under the doctrinal aspects of revelation, revelation and religion, theological anthropology and election, addressing questions such as the possibility of and context for revelation, Barths understanding of religion, the theological approach to the human being, and soteriology. Furthermore, Barths thought is put into conversation with other approaches in the field of theology of religions, notably Karl Rahners inclusivism and John Hick and the pluralist paradigm. It is shown that Barths theological system as a whole can serve as a resource for the Christian approach to and interaction with those of other faiths or no faith at all. This is achieved through maintaining a balance between the commitment to the own faith and the openness to the sovereignty of God impacting the whole of creation. Central to Barths approach is the challenge to the Christian community to see their presuppositions challenged in the most unexpected circumstances, while looking beyond human categories to affirm the dignity bestowed upon all of humanity through the divine Yes in the person Jesus Christ. Barths theology with its starting point in the person of Jesus Christ is advocated as a framework for the members of the Christian community as they live alongside those with a different faith from their own.

Reviews

Ensmingers extrapolations [in Karl Barths Theology as a Resource for a Christian Theology of Religions] provide the first steps for thinking with Barth for a theology of religions relevant for the third millennium, arguably what the Swiss theologian would have wanted the contemporary church to take up. * Religious Studies Review *
Ensmingers book offers much in the way of contributions to both Barth studies as a whole and the emerging conversation around Barth, religion, and non-Christian religions, in particular Finally, one feature of Ensmingers text that establishes it as unique in the emerging body of scholarship on Barth and religion is Ensmingers attention to Barth as a decidedly pastoral theologian, thus locating Barths thinking about religion amongst pastoral, rather than purely dogmatic, concerns. -- Nicholas Krause * The Center for Barth Studies *
Ensmingers work is an important contribution to the theology of religions conversation. It has the potential to re-engage Barthians in the conversation while encouraging scholars in the field to re-consider Barth as a resource. * Journal of Reformed Theology *
A generally reliable piece of exposition. Ensmingerand Barthdeliver handsomely. -- W. Travis McMaken, Lindenwood University, USA * Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology *
In the theology of religions Barth fell out of favour for a time. In this book Sven Ensminger helps to re-establish Barth as a key, constructive and rigorous voice. He shows that Barth is able to defend and elaborate his own complex and unique Reformed theological vision regarding revelation and the 'religions'. Ensminger also takes Barth and puts him into useful dialogue with Hick and Rahner. This book will be helpful to Barth specialists as well as those who are concerned about Christian attitudes to other religions. * Gavin D'Costa, University of Bristol, UK *
Sven Ensminger shows convincingly that Karl Barths examination of 'religion' and his qualification of the non-christian religions cannot be classified simply as 'exclusivism'. In his thorough study he outlines Barths multi-faceted doctrine of revelation and his understanding of religion. He takes Barths theological anthropology and his doctrine of election into account and relates Barths approach to Rahners 'inclusivism' and Hicks 'pluralism'. The strength of the study lies in comprising a broad spectrum of Barths works and in drawing on the original German texts. This enables Ensminger to correct some misunderstandings of Barth and sheds new light on his approach as a resource for the current debate on theology of religions. * Reinhold Bernhardt, University of Basel, Switzerland *
Sven Ensminger has provided a valuable addition to the growing body of literature that draws upon Karl Barths theology as a resource for a Christian understanding of other faiths. In particular, he argues that Barth is able to combine a commitment to the uniqueness of Jesus as the self-disclosure of God with an openness to the action of God outside the Christian religion. In overcoming some standard misreadings of Barth, Ensminger offers his work as an important resource for current debates about the relationship of Jesus to the religions of the world. * David Fergusson, University of Edinburgh, UK *

Author Bio

Sven Ensminger (PhD, Bristol University, UK) is an Adjunct Teaching Fellow at the University of St. Andrews, UK