God after God: The God of the Past and the God of the Future as Seen in the Work of K

Karl Barth is recognized throughout the world as the twentieth centurys leading Protestant theologian. His thought has determined much of the shape of todays Christian thinking yet it is thoroughly misunderstood. He is a systematic theologian who writes with great complexity and in a scholastic vein. This fine and lucid study isolates Barths most specific themes and focuses on the relevance of his radically trinitarian doctrine of God to the post-religious situation. The book opens with a discussion of the death of historical religion and Barths early attempts to deal with the decline of belief in a transcendent God contrasted with contemporary views of the situation. It goes on to treat Barths further studies especially his attack on the theology of religion and there is a discussion in depth of Barths doctrine of the Trinity as a definition of God. It concludes with an analysis of the different interpretations that can be have been made of Barths theology. This scholarly work . . . is a thoroughgoing approach to Barths leading contribution to twentieth-century dialectical theology. Barths insights are shown to be far beyond their time. Especially relevant is his application of Gods transcendence to mans practical responsibilities. Readers may well ponder whether Barths Commentary on Romans may not clearly merit more than its present place on well-respected shelves of past history. -Library Journal Robert W. Jenson is a leading American Lutheran theologian. He has taught at many institutions including Luther College in Decorah Iowa the Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg and Saint Olaf College in Northfield Minnesota. With Carl Braaten he founded the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology in Northfield Minnesota. He was a Senior Scholar for Research at the Center for Theological Inquiry in Princeton New Jersey where he now resides. Among his many books are his two-volume Systematic Theology Lutheranism: The Theological Movement and Its Confessional Writings (with Eric Gritsch) and A Map of Twentieth-Century Theology (editor with Carl Braaten).