"For far too long, Karl Barth has not been adequately appreciated as a biblical exegete, nor has he been brought into sustained conversation with biblical scholars. The work of Shannon Nicole Smythe thus comes as a breath of fresh air. Displaying a thorough knowledge of both Barth's theology and the field of Pauline scholarship, Smythe argues that Barth develops a forensic apocalyptic doctrine of justification. She shows that Barth is able to remain in creative continuity with the theology of the Reformers while also doing more justice to the apocalyptic theology of the apostle Paul. Smythe's lucid analysis is a fresh approach not only to the work of Karl Barth but also to the doctrine of justification, which has fallen on hard times. One can only hope that it signals the start of a new appreciation for the legacy of the Reformation."
Forensic Apocalyptic Theology: Karl Barth and the Doctrine of Justification
Concerned by the ever-widening chasm between Paul and Reformation theology, Forensic Apocalyptic Theology is a thorough and innovative examination of the mature work of Karl Barth in relationship to the question of Paul and the Protestant doctrine of justification. Shannon Nicole Smythe argues that the basis of Barth's revised doctrine of justification is located in his mature Christology, which is both deeply apocalyptic and thoroughly forensic. Closely analyzing Barth's exegetical work, Smythe discovers in Barth what she terms a "forensic-apocalyptic" approach, which allows him to formulate a doctrine of justification with stronger ties not only to the Reformation doctrine but also to Pauline apocalyptic.
The result is that Barth's doctrine of justification is not susceptible to the same criticisms commonly brought against a judicial (forensic) reading, while his soteriology becomes more consistently forensic than that of the Reformation and points toward a different approach to the relationship between justification in Paul and the Protestant doctrine.
- Publisher Fortress Press
- Format Hardcover
- ISBN 9781506410555
- eBook ISBN 9781506410296
- Dimensions 6 x 9
- Pages 264
- Publication Date May 1, 2016
Samples
Endorsements
David W. Congdon | author of "The Mission of Demythologizing: Rudolf Bultmann's Dialectical Theology"