Karl Barth and the Future of Evangelical Theology

The theology of Karl Barth has been a productive dialogue partner for evangelical theology. For too long however the dialogue has been dominated by questions of orthodoxy. The present volume seeks to contribute to the conversation through a creative reconfiguration of both partners in the conversation neither of whom can be rightly understood as preservers of Protestant Orthodoxy. Rather American evangelicalism is identified with the revivalist forms of Protestantism that arose in the post-Reformation era while Barth is revisited as a theologian attuned both to divine and human agency. In the ensuing conversation questions of orthodoxy are not eliminated but subordinated to a concern for the life of God and Gods people. This volume brings together seasoned Barth scholars evangelical theologians and some younger voices united by a common desire to rethink both Karl Barth and evangelical theology. By offering an alternative to the dominant constraints the book opens up new avenues for fruitful conversation on Barth and the future of evangelical theology. Evangelical orthodoxy is regenerated in this volume by a long-awaited development: an orthopraxic and orthopathic interpretation of and engagement with the legacy of Karl Barth. This constructive trajectory derives especially from a ferment of contemporary pietist Wesleyan and Pentecostal interfaces with what has been predominantly a Reformed playground. The landscape where Barth studies intersect with evangelical theology and the nature of both conversations has been permanently altered. --Amos Yong Professor of Theology & Mission Fuller Seminary Pasadena CA In this outstanding collection of essays the contours of a more hopeful and thoroughly theological approach to the evangelical tradition come clearly into view. This vision provides yet another demonstration of the rehabilitation of Karl Barth among evangelicals and the vibrancy of his thought for the future of evangelical theology and witness. --John R. Franke Professor of Missional Theology Yellowstone Theological Institute Bozeman MT Christian T. Collins Winn (PhD Drew University) is Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology and Chair of the Biblical and Theological Studies Department at Bethel University St. Paul Minnesota and an ordained minister in the American Baptist Churches (USA). He is author of Jesus Is Victor! The Significance of the Blumhardts for the Theology of Karl Barth. John L. Drury (PhD Princeton Theological Seminary) is Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology at Indiana Wesleyan University and an ordained minister in The Wesleyan Church. He is author of The Resurrected God: Karl Barths Trinitarian Theology of Easter.