Barth and Schleiermacher on the Doctrine of Election : A Systematic-Theological Comparison

## Abstract The book argues that the doctrine of election in Karl Barth's early theology shows a striking resemblance to the position of Friedrich Schleiermacher, and that his later christological revision of the doctrine overcomes the limitations of his earlier ‘Schleiermacherian’ position. Initially, both agree that predestination is not a pre‐temporal decision by which God has decreed once and for all who will believe and who will not believe. Instead, the outcome of the divine decision is determined when God addresses a human being here and now. Schleiermacher's concept of a single divine decree is consistent with Barth's assertion that God addresses every person in the same way, but the responses to the address are diverse. Their doctrine of election is theocentric and envisions a teleological relation between reprobation and election, in which the former always serves the purpose of the latter, without an endorsement of universalism. Whereas Schleiermacher rejects the concept of double predestination, Barth modifies it twice. In Church Dogmatics II/2 it refers no longer to the twofold possibility of faith and unbelief but to the double determination of individual human beings and God's own being. It explains that God sees every human being and also Himself in Christ. ISBN-13: 9780199203222 Contents 8 Introduction: ‘Quite close—excuse me—to Schleiermacher’ 10 1. Barth on Election 10 2. Barth on Schleiermacher 14 3. Barth and Schleiermacher 18 1. Probing the Tradition: Schleiermacher’s Revision of the Doctrine in his Essay on Election 25 1. Unconditional Grace and Predestination 27 2. Election and General Redemption through Christ 31 3. One Divine Decree 35 4. God, Sin, and Eternal Damnation 39 2. A Universal Predestination to Salvation in Christ: The Doctrine of Election in The Christian Faith 46 1. Theology, the Church, and Christianity 47 2. The Fundamental Difference between God and the World 55 3. Sin, Grace, and Redemption through Jesus 66 4. Summary and Critical Evaluation 107 3. From Reprobation to Election: Barth’s Revision of the Doctrine of Election in his Commentary on Romans 113 1. Predestination as an Act of God 114 2. Reprobation and Election 124 3. Jesus Christ and God’s Universal Faithfulness 133 4. To Believe or not to Believe: The Doctrine of Election in the Göttingen Dogmatics 143 1. The Function of the Doctrine 144 2. God’s Revelation in Hiddenness 148 3. The Teleology of God 153 4. Summary: Barth’s Earlier Doctrine of Election 165 5. Barth’s Christological Revolution 167 1. Lectures on the ‘Big Theme’ of Election in 1936 and 1937 168 2. The Revision of the Doctrine in Church Dogmatics II/2 173 3. The Changes in Barth’s Doctrine of Election 204 Conclusion: Barth and Schleiermacher on Election: A Challenge for Twenty-First-Century Theology 207 Bibliography 221 Name Index 232 A 232 B 232 C 232 D 232 E 232 F 232 G 232 H 232 J 232 K 233 L 233 M 233 N 233 O 233 P 233 R 233 R 233 S 233 T 233 V 233 W 233 Subject Index 235 A 235 B 235 C 235 D 235 E 235 F 235 G 236 H 236 I 236 J 236 L 237 M 237 O 237 P 237 R 237 S 237 T 238 U 238 # Publisher: Oxford University Press,USA # Number Of Pages: 238 # Publication Date: 2007-03-01

The first detailed comparison between the theologies of Friedrich Schleiermacher and the early dialectical theology of Karl Barth. Matthias Gockel shows that the doctrine of election in Barth's early theology bears a remarkable resemblance to the position of Schleiermacher. He challenges the conventional wisdom that these two positions - or 'liberal theology' and 'dialectical theology' - stand in irreconcilable opposition. Barth articulates a fresh assessment of the doctrine not only in Church Dogmatics II/2, but in the second edition of his Epistle to the Romans and in his first series of lectures on Systematic Theology, the so-called Göttingen Dogmatics. Hence, a resemblance between Schleiermacher and Barth is already discernible in Barth's early theology - at a time when he was writing his most virulent criticisms of Schleiermacher.

The first detailed comparison between the theologies of Friedrich Schleiermacher and the early dialectical theology of Karl Barth. Matthias Gockel shows that the doctrine of election in Barth's early theology bears a remarkable resemblance to the position of Schleiermacher. He challenges the conventional wisdom that these two positions - or `liberal theology'and `dialectical theology'- stand in irreconcilable opposition. Barth articulates a fresh assessment of the doctrine not only in Church Dogmatics II/2, but in the second edition of his Epistle to the Romans and in his first series of lectures on Systematic Theology, the so-called Göttingen Dogmatics. Hence, a resemblance between Schleiermacher and Barth is already discernible in Barth's early theology - at a time when he was writing his most virulent criticisms of Schleiermacher. Offering an interpretation of the two most important Protestant theologians in the 19th & 20th century, Friedrich Schleiermacher & Karl Barth, this work focuses on the doctrine of election or predestination, & shows that Schleiermacher's original approach to this was taken one step further by Barth Throughout the centuries, the doctrine of election has been widely attacked by Christian theologians as well as agnostics or atheists, with Augustine of Hippo and John Calvin receiving the lion's share of the blame.