Karl Barth's critical appropriation of the doctrine of the incarnation

• Main Author: Sumner, Darren O.
• Published: University of Aberdeen 2012
• Subjects: 200
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.575389

This work demonstrates the significance of Karl Barth’s Christology by analyzing it in the context of his orientation toward the classical tradition – an orientation that was both critical and sympathetic. To compare this Christology with the doctrine’s history I argue that the Chalcedonian portrait of the incarnation is conceptually vulnerable at a number of points. By recasting the doctrine in actualist terms – the history of Jesus’ lived existence as God’s fulfillment of His covenant with creatures, rather than a metaphysical uniting of ‘natures’ – Barth is able to move beyond problems inherent in the tradition. Yet, despite formal and material differences, Barth’s position coheres with the intent of the ancient councils and ought to be judged as orthodox. His great contribution to Christology is in the unapologetic affirmation of ‘the humanity of God.’