Karl Barth and the Analogia Entis (T&T Clark Studies in Systematic Theology, 6) - Softcover

Johnson, Keith L.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0567344630 ISBN 13: 9780567344632

Publisher: T&T Clark, 2011

Synopsis

A fascinating new study challenging the classical view of Karl Barth's rejection of the Roman Catholic understanding of analogia entis.

About this title

About the Author

Keith L. Johnson (Ph.D., Princeton Theological Seminary) is an Associate Professor of Theology at Wheaton College.

Review

'KeithJohnson's "Karl Barth and the analogiaentis" is perhaps the best work on this demanding topic ever to havebeen written. It contributes not only tothe field of Barth studies but also to modern theology in general. It approaches this vexing question withpainstaking care, erudition and sophistication.In the process it makes a vital contribution to contemporary ecumenicaldiscussion among Protestant and Roman Catholic theologies. I believe it will become a standard point ofreference and that it will be widely read and cited.' — George Hunsinger,Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, NJ, USA
'Giventhat metaphysics seems to be making a comeback in American Protestant theology,Keith Johnson's fine study of the debate between Karl Barth and Roman Catholictheologians with respect to the so-called "analogy of being" couldnot be more timely. The verdict of thelast generation on this debate was that it rested on a misunderstanding onBarth's side. Johnson gives us amplereason to question this verdict - and even more reason to take Barth'scriticisms seriously. This is ecumenicaltheology at its best - sober and penetrating but unfailingly courteous. This book will be much-discussed.' — Bruce L.McCormack, Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, NJ, USA
'KeithJohnson's forcefully argued and elegantly written book is the best we have onthe theological substance and historical development of Karl Barth's treatmentof the analogia entis. Following von Balthasar, most have assumedthat Barth's resistance to the analogiaentis of Przywara and Söhngen was misplaced, that he never reallyunderstood their efforts, and that he eventually, and on the sly, allowed aversion of the idea to form his mature account of divine and human relations.Johnson shows the mistake in each of these assumptions. Barth's resistance never wavered. It followed directly from the Protestantcommitments that he spent his career reviving and explicating, and he understoodthe analogia entis well enough to seeits incompatibility with the Reformation's understanding of justification (inPrzywara's case) and with its insistence upon the ever sinful nature of thenevertheless justified (in Söhngen's).Along the way, Johnson tells a fascinating story of theologicalcross-fertilization. Przywara's accountof the analogy of being generated Kantian anxieties in Barth, anxieties aboutthe knowing subject's access to its intended object. This encouraged Barth to make explicit theProtestant substance of his theological commitments. It compelled him to locate his account ofrevelation, not in the doctrine of creation, but in Christology and,ultimately, in the doctrine of justification.This, in turn, pushed Söhngen and von Balthasar to recast theirinterpretations of Aquinas on natural knowledge of God and situate the analogia entis within an analogia fidei. This concession enabled Barth to admit thathis earlier anxieties did not apply here and at the same time to insist thatfundamental differences nevertheless remained.For Barth, grace yields an analogy of being only as fallen nature isopposed and overcome, not as it is perfected and assumed. So the story ends. The fallout is both a defense of Barth'sresistance to the positions staked out by his Catholic conversation partners,and, more importantly, a deeper understanding of the history and issuesinvolved. Throughout, Johnson's masteryof Barth's theology, its continuities and its developments, its nuances anddepths, is flawless. He helps us seewhat a truly Protestant theology of grace looked like for Karl Barth, and hehelps us imagine what such a theology might look like for us now.' — John Bowlin,Princeton Theological Seminary
'KeithJohnson's study of the debate between Karl Barth and Roman Catholicism over theissue of analogia entis is first-ratehistorical theology. Carefullyresearched, balanced in judgment, and clearly written, it helps fill a gap in scholarlyliterature on Barth's remarkable relationship with Roman Catholic theology andopens numerous doors for future research.' — Daniel L. Migliore, PrincetonTheological Seminary, Princeton, NJ, USA
'Johnson has written an excellent book, offering a lucid analysis of Barth's lifelong engagement with the /analogia entis/, an engagement often referenced but seldom understood. In the course of this work, he carefully exposits and evaluates not only Barth's approach to the topic, but also its relation to the approaches of his key conversation partners - Przywara, Söhngen, and Balthasar. The result is at once fascinating and compelling, and establishes Johnson as a theologian of the first order.' — Paul T. Nimmo, Meldrum Lecturer in Theology, New College, University of Edinburgh, UK

'Careful historical research, a stimulating and well-defined interpretative agenda, and a willingness to venture bold, yet nuanced, theological judgments distinguish this timely and impressive book. Scholars interested in the development of Barth's thought and the difficult question of Barth's relationship to twentieth-century Roman Catholic theology will gain much from it.' - Paul Dafydd Jones, Department of Religious Studies, University of Virginia, USA

'KeithJohnson's "Karl Barth and the analogiaentis" is perhaps the best work on this demanding topic ever to havebeen written.  It contributes not only tothe field of Barth studies but also to modern theology in general.  It approaches this vexing question withpainstaking care, erudition and sophistication. In the process it makes a vital contribution to contemporary ecumenicaldiscussion among Protestant and Roman Catholic theologies.  I believe it will become a standard point ofreference and that it will be widely read and cited.’ – George Hunsinger,Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, NJ, USA

'Giventhat metaphysics seems to be making a comeback in American Protestant theology,Keith Johnson's fine study of the debate between Karl Barth and Roman Catholictheologians with respect to the so-called "analogy of being" couldnot be more timely.  The verdict of thelast generation on this debate was that it rested on a misunderstanding onBarth's side.  Johnson gives us amplereason to question this verdict - and even more reason to take Barth'scriticisms seriously.  This is ecumenicaltheology at its best - sober and penetrating but unfailingly courteous.  This book will be much-discussed.’ – Bruce L.McCormack, Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, NJ, USA
'KeithJohnson’s forcefully argued and elegantly written book is the best we have onthe theological substance and historical development of Karl Barth’s treatmentof the analogia entis.  Following von Balthasar, most have assumedthat Barth’s resistance to the analogiaentis of Przywara and Söhngen was misplaced, that he never reallyunderstood their efforts, and that he eventually, and on the sly, allowed aversion of the idea to form his mature account of divine and human relations.Johnson shows the mistake in each of these assumptions.  Barth’s resistance never wavered.  It followed directly from the Protestantcommitments that he spent his career reviving and explicating, and he understoodthe analogia entis well enough to seeits incompatibility with the Reformation’s understanding of justification (inPrzywara’s case) and with its insistence upon the ever sinful nature of thenevertheless justified (in Söhngen’s). Along the way, Johnson tells a fascinating story of theologicalcross-fertilization.  Przywara’s accountof the analogy of being generated Kantian anxieties in Barth, anxieties aboutthe knowing subject’s access to its intended object.  This encouraged Barth to make explicit theProtestant substance of his theological commitments.  It compelled him to locate his account ofrevelation, not in the doctrine of creation, but in Christology and,ultimately, in the doctrine of justification. This, in turn, pushed Söhngen and von Balthasar to recast theirinterpretations of Aquinas on natural knowledge of God and situate the analogia entis within an analogia fidei.  This concession enabled Barth to admit thathis earlier anxieties did not apply here and at the same time to insist thatfundamental differences nevertheless remained. For Barth, grace yields an analogy of being only as fallen nature isopposed and overcome, not as it is perfected and assumed.  So the story ends.  The fallout is both a defense of Barth’sresistance to the positions staked out by his Catholic conversation partners,and, more importantly, a deeper understanding of the history and issuesinvolved.  Throughout, Johnson’s masteryof Barth’s theology, its continuities and its developments, its nuances anddepths, is flawless.  He helps us seewhat a truly Protestant theology of grace looked like for Karl Barth, and hehelps us imagine what such a theology might look like for us now.’ – John Bowlin,Princeton Theological Seminary
'KeithJohnson’s study of the debate between Karl Barth and Roman Catholicism over theissue of analogia entis is first-ratehistorical theology.  Carefullyresearched, balanced in judgment, and clearly written, it helps fill a gap in scholarlyliterature on Barth’s remarkable relationship with Roman Catholic theology andopens numerous doors for future research.’ – Daniel L. Migliore, PrincetonTheological Seminary, Princeton, NJ, USA

Edition details

• Publisher: T&T Clark
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0567344630
• ISBN 13: 9780567344632
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 256