Karl Barth spoke of the centrality and unparalleled significance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ for his theological understanding. This book seeks to draw out the theological substance and systematic implications of Barth's thinking on this theme.
Karl Barth repeatedly spoke of the centrality and unparalleled significance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ for his theological understanding, yet a clear grasp of its nature and scope in Barth continues to find little expression in scholarly literature. This book seeks to draw out the theological substance and systematic implications of Barth's thinking on this theme. Barth's mature understanding of the resurrection concentrates upon the transition from the objective achievement of reconciliation culminating in the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ to its subjective appropriation in the life of the believer, all within a thoroughly christological context.
'Many, perhaps most, of the major advances in the interpretation of Barth's work have stemmed from close reading of the texts, attending both to their scope and to their details, and alert to their place in the overall shape of Barth's account of the Christian faith. What follows offers just this kind of account... As he grew older, Barth was increasingly captivated by one single fact, namely that, by virtue of his resurrection, Jesus Christ is utterly alive, utterly real and limitlessly present: 'He is the reality!' This lent an air of cheerfulness, confidence and calm to what he had to say, as well as a pastoral and spiritual helpfulness which no reader ought to miss. Dawson certainly doesn't miss these things, and not the least of the virtues of his study is its pervasive sense that, in the domain of the resurrection, theology is the most joyful of all the sciences.' From the Foreword by Professor John Webster 'How does what happened a long, long time ago in Jesus become real for me? Many modern theologians have answered this question by reflecting on human selfhood. For Karl Barth, it becomes an occasion for a profound series of meditations on the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Dale Dawson draws us into the very heart of Barth's thinking on resurrection. The result is a fresh and insightful account of a rich theme.' Joseph L. Mangina, Wycliffe College, Toronto School of Theology '... a solid and workmanlike interpretation of a prominent aspect of Barth's thought, and it fills an important lacuna in the study of Barth's dogmatics...' Faith and Theology 'R. Dale Dawson, pastor and seminary lecturer in Toronto, Ontario, has done the theological community a service through his patient exposition of Karl Barth's dogmatic account of the resurrection... this text will benefit the understanding of the history of twentieth century theology by making Barth's dogmatic account of the resurrection crystal clear.' Canadian Evangelical Review
