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Title: Karl Barth’s Concept of Nothingness

Karl Barth’s Concept of Nothingness

A Critical Evaluation

by Layne Wallace (Author)
©2020 Monographs X, 218 Pages
Theology & Philosophy

Summary

Karl Barth’s Concept of Nothingness: A Critical Evaluation is an examination of Barth’s discussion of the problem of evil in the Church Dogmatics. It provides a thorough exegesis of Barth’s thinking on the origin of evil and the nature of the "shadow side" of creation in dialogue with John Hick and David Bentley Hart. The book’s primary focus is in demonstrating the logical difficulties in Barth’s thinking on the problem of evil. Further, it proposes a way forward that is beneficial to the pastor and provides hope and comfort to those in the midst of suffering and evil.

Table Of Contents

  • Cover
  • Title
  • Copyright
  • About the author
  • About the book
  • This eBook can be cited
  • Contents
  • Preface
  • Introduction: Theodicy and Its Importance for Today’s Christian Witness
  • Why Study Evil
  • Leibniz and Constructing Theodicies
  • The Apparent Absence of a Full Theodicy in the Bible
  • The Possibility of Theodicy
  • The Necessity of Theodicy
  • Karl Barth
  • Chapter 1 A Historical Investigation into Theodicies
  • Organizing the Material and the Augustinian/Irenaean Typology
  • First Term Theodicies
  • Second Term Theodicies
  • Non-Theodicies
  • Chapter 2 Nothingness in Dialogue
  • Understanding Barth’s View of Evil
  • Church Dogmatics 3.3 Paragraph 50 Nothingness
  • Church Dogmatics 3.1 Paragraph 42 Creation and Chaos
  • Church Dogmatics 4.1 Paragraph 60 Sin
  • Barth, Augustine, and Calvin
  • John Hick and Karl Barth
  • Irenaeus
  • Hick and the Purpose of Suffering
  • The Purpose of Suffering in Barth
  • The Demonic in Hick and Barth
  • In Summation
  • Chapter 3 Shadowy Vestiges or Absolute Nothingness?
  • To See Shadows
  • Barth’s Shadow Side of Creation
  • Barth’s Use of Job
  • David Bentley Hart
  • The Grandeur of God and the Absolute Nothingness of Evil
  • The Inability to See God’s Purposes
  • The World as Fallen
  • The Rejection of the Question
  • The Only Acceptable Statement of the Problem of Evil: Dostoevsky
  • The Commonality Between Barth and Hart
  • Is Theodicy Possible
  • Chapter 4 Why Barth is Insufficient
  • A Broader Outlook
  • Barth’s Weaknesses
  • How to Proceed
  • Five Thesis
  • Appendix: Manifesto of the 93 German Intellectuals
  • Index

cover

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Control Number: 2019057331

 

Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.

Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the “Deutsche

Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data are available

on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de/.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ISBN 978-1-4331-7066-9 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-4331-7067-6 (ebook pdf)

ISBN 978-1-4331-7068-3 (epub)

ISBN 978-1-4331-7069-0 (mobi)

DOI 10.3726/b15772

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

© 2020 Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., New York

29 Broadway, 18th floor, New York, NY 10006

www.peterlang.com

 

All rights reserved.

Reprint or reproduction, even partially, in all forms such as microfilm,

xerography, microfiche, microcard, and offset strictly prohibited.

About the author

Layne Wallace is the Senior Pastor of Rosemary Baptist Church in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. He earned his M. Div. from Campbell University, his D. Min. from Truett Theological Seminary, and his Ph.D. from B. H. Carroll Theological Institute. He has authored several articles on biblical interpretation and congregational life.

About the book

Karl Barth’s Concept of Nothingness: A Critical Evaluation is an examination of Barth’s discussion of the problem of evil in the Church Dogmatics. It provides a thorough exegesis of Barth’s thinking on the origin of evil and the nature of the “shadow side” of creation in dialogue with John Hick and David Bentley Hart. The book’s primary focus is in demonstrating the logical difficulties in Barth’s thinking on the problem of evil. Further, it proposes a way forward that is beneficial to the pastor and provides hope and comfort to those in the midst of suffering and evil.

“Theological students with a passing acquaintance with Barth likely know he had little use for the enterprise of apologetics, and to the extent that they associate theodicy with apologetics, they may likewise assume that Barth does not offer a substantial treatment of the problem of evil. Wallace contends that while evil was indeed a significant locus in Barth’s theology, it was inadequately developed. This book gestures toward a more robust theology of evil by bringing Barth’s thought into dialogue with other proposals that lead Wallace to offer pastorally oriented correctives to these shortcomings.”

—Steven R. Harmon, Professor of Historical Theology,
Gardner-Webb University School of Divinity

This eBook can be cited

This edition of the eBook can be cited. To enable this we have marked the start and end of a page. In cases where a word straddles a page break, the marker is placed inside the word at exactly the same position as in the physical book. This means that occasionally a word might be bifurcated by this marker.

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PREFACE

The decision to study the problem of evil was born out of personal pain. After the loss of my sister Jenni to complications from cancer treatments, I had many questions about God and God’s goodness. It was navigating through the problem of evil and thinking through the goodness of God that I found peace.

To all of those who suffer, to all of those who have buried a child, to all of those whose prayers for healing have not been answered, to all of those who carry the sorrow of an evil suffered, to all who wonder about the goodness of God in light of human experience, I hope that you find the peace of God. I trust that the God of all comfort will remind you of the hope of the Gospel.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Details

Pages
X, 218
Publication Year
2020
ISBN (PDF)
9781433170676
ISBN (ePUB)
9781433170683
ISBN (MOBI)
9781433170690
ISBN (Hardcover)
9781433170669
DOI
10.3726/b15772
Language
English
Publication date
2020 (October)
Published
New York, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Oxford, Wien, 2020. X, 218 pp.
Product Safety
Peter Lang Group AG

Biographical notes

Layne Wallace (Author)

Layne Wallace is the Senior Pastor of Rosemary Baptist Church in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. He earned his M. Div. from Campbell University, his D. Min. from Truett Theological Seminary, and his Ph.D. from B. H. Carroll Theological Institute. He has authored several articles on biblical interpretation and congregational life.

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Title: Karl Barth’s Concept of Nothingness