The Church Dogmatics, Vol III: Doctrine of Creation

After World War II ended, Karl Barth's participation in the Confessing Church diminished. His academic work at the University of Basel allowed Barth to continue his magnum opus the Church Dogmatics that he had begun in 1932. In this Part 6, I will discuss Barth's writing of the Doctrine of Creation (CD III/1-4) in the Church Dogmatics from 1945-1951.

Karl Barth's "Doctrine of Creation" (CD III/1-4) is a tome contained in the Church Dogmatics, Vol. III, weighing-in around 2,500 pages and printed in four parts. In Part 5, I summarized Barth's "Doctrine of the Word of God" (CD I/1-2) and "Doctrine of God" (CD II/1-2), now I will summarize Barth's "Doctrine of Creation" (CD III/1-4) in the Church Dogmatics.



Church Dogmatics III/1

The first part-volume of the Church Dogmatics Vol III (CD I/1) was published in October 1945 (right after World War II ended). Although this volume was published after the war, it was written during the war, so it demarcates a transitional time, as Barth settled in at Basle and committed himself to continuing the Church Dogmatics.

In the preface to CD III/1, Karl Barth writes:

A final admission is demanded. Voluntary and involuntary involvement in the general events of the past years has contributed to a greater enrichment, but also a greater alteration and postponement, of my original programme than I could have desired. I am not the only one to-day who wishes that he could run his trains on two or more parallel tracks. Since this is impossible even on a Christian doctrine of creation, I can only crave indulgence and promise to press on as quickly as possible with the continuation of the Dogmatics. Basel, October 1945. [1]

CD III/1 includes Barth's chapter on "The Work of Creation" §40-42 that surveys Barth's "Doctrine of Creation" through a commentary on the biblical creation stories (Genesis 1-3) formulated under Barth's famous twofold statement: "Creation is the external basis of the covenant. Covenant is the internal basis of the creation." (I previously discussed this part-volume in Part 5). Barth also defines Saga as the genre of the Biblical creation stories (and many other scriptures too such as the twelve spies of Canaan). CD III/1 also features a reappraisal of the heresiarch Marcion of Sinope.

Church Dogmatics III/2

The second part-volume (CD III/2) contains Barth's chapter on "The Creature" §43-47 and is one of the best volumes in the entire Church Dogmatics and contains many eye-popping discussions. CD III/2 was publication was delayed until 1948 because Barth was preoccupied with teaching in Bonn from 1946-1947, but also because Barth made a significant shift in his theology starting with CD III/2.

In the preface to CD III/2, Barth writes on May 10, 1948:

The outward cause of delay is that the summer terms of 1946 and 1947—very busy times in other respects—were spent in Bonn, where I could not continue this work. The inward cause is that the theme involved a constant collecting, assessing and shaping of material before I dared publish the results. The reader will soon realise that at this point the exposition deviates even more widely from dogmatic tradition than in the doctrine of predestination in II, 2. [2]

CD III/2 begins with Barth's anthropology, by answering the question "What is Man?" by pointing to Jesus Christ with the "prodigious index finger" of John the Baptist depicted in the Isenheim altarpiece. Barth defines Jesus as the true human for other people, and contrasts the Crucified One to Dionysius (i. e. like Nietzsche's Übermensch who was an isolated man for himself alone.) Barth also explains his general anthropology as a dialectic between soul and body: a human being is defined as "the soul of my body and the body of my soul" and explains what truly distinguishes humanity from beasts.

This part-volume also concludes many [in]famous eschatological sections, including Barth's demythologizing the empty tomb (and ascension), his rejection of afterlife, and argument Barth's rejection of afterlife. The discussion of Jesus as the Lord of Time (especially the subsection on ending time), is the most challenging sections of the entire Church Dogmatics. It is not the final word (because Barth never completed his final CD V on eschatology), but it is a powerful word.

Church Dogmatics III/3

The third part-volume (CD III/3) was published in 1950 and contains the chapter "The Creator and His Creature" (§48-51) that includes Barth's Doctrine of Providence (which is an extension of his famous Doctrine of Election in CD II/2. It ends with Barth's Doctrine of Angels (and Demons!)

In a revealing comment in the preface of CD III/3, Barth puts in writing his disassociation with Rudolf Bultmann and rejects the label of "Neo-Orthodoxy" that critics of Barth label him to this day. Additional, Karl Barth admits that Charlotte von Kirschbaum has been the co-author of the Church Dogmatics all along. It is a tragedy that she is not listed as a co-author of the entire Church Dogmatics.

As I see it, Evangelical Germany will sooner or later have to see another dividing and regrouping directed no less against Bultmann than Communism; and it may be—but who can say?—that the Church Dogmatics will have some part to play in this respect. At any rate, if it is read with understanding it will not contribute either in Germany or elsewhere to the formation of a “Neo-Orthodoxy.” I should not like to conclude this Preface without expressly drawing the attention of readers of these seven volumes to what they and I owe to the twenty years of work quietly accomplished at my side by Charlotte von Kirschbaum. She has devoted no less of her life and powers to the growth of this work than I have myself. Without her co-operation it could not have been advanced from day to day, and I should hardly dare contemplate the future which may yet remain to me. I know what it really means to have a helper. [3]

Church Dogmatics III/4

The final part-volume (CD III/4), "The Command of God the Creator" §52-56 is an ethic of creation. It explains how the theology of Barth's Doctrine of Creation may be applied to life here and now and discusses many ethical loci including Barth's perspective on Marriage, Parenting, Self-Defense, Capital Punishment, Suicide, Vocation, and many other topics.

To be continued . . .

The Life of Karl Barth series:

Sources:

1. Barth, K., Bromiley, G. W., & Torrance, T. F. (2004). Church dogmatics: The doctrine of creation, Part 1 (Vol. 3, p. x). London; New York: T&T Clark.

2. Barth, K., Bromiley, G. W., & Torrance, T. F. (2004). Church dogmatics: The doctrine of creation, Part 2 (Vol. 3, p. ix). London; New York: T&T Clark.

3. Barth, K., Bromiley, G. W., & Torrance, T. F. (2004). Church dogmatics: The doctrine of creation, Part 3 (3rd ed., Vol. 3, pp. xii–xiii). London; New York: T&T Clark.