Testimony to revelation : Karl Barth's strategy of Bible interpretation in Die Kirchliche Dogmatik
This thesis examines the strategy of Bible interpretation employed by Karl Barth in Die Kirchliche Dogmatik. The guiding principle of this strategy is Barth's conviction that the Bible ought to be treated as testimony to God's self-revelation in history. ~Testimony' is understood to be capable of providing a reliable source of historical knowledge. As such, it enabled Barth to interpret the Bible in a way sensitive to the requirement that Bible interpretation be rational and historical and also capable of responding to modem insights into the nature of the Bible. Part I shows that Barth sought a strategy of interpretation that would be true to history. For him, the Christian understanding of history is dependent on the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Chapter 1). This leads to the conclusion that interpretation which is true to history is interpretation in the light of Jesus' resurrection (Chapter 2). Making use of Alisdair MacIntyre's discussion of the nature of rationality, it is shown that Barth stands in a tradition of historical enquiry that is different from, but no less rational than, that of modem secular theorists. Considering further the matter of rationality, Part II asks whether Barth's strategy provides
Smith, Mark D. J.
Philosophy
Testimony to revelation : Karl Barth's strategy of Bible interpretation in Die Kirchliche Dogmatik. This thesis examines the strategy of Bible interpretation employed by Karl Barth in Die Kirchliche Dogmatik. The guiding principle of this strategy is Barth's conviction that the Bible ought to be treated as testimony to God's self-revelation in history. ~Testimony' is understood to be capable of providing a reliable source of historical knowledge. As such, it enabled Barth to interpret the Bible in a way sensitive to the requirement that Bible interpretation be rational and historical and also capable of responding to modem insights into the nature of the Bible. Part I shows that Barth sought a strategy of interpretation that would be true to history. For him, the Christian understanding of history is dependent on the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Chapter 1). This leads to the conclusion that interpretation which is true to history is interpretation in the light of Jesus' resurrection (Chapter 2). Making use of Alisdair MacIntyre's discussion of the nature of rationality, it is shown that Barth stands in a tradition of historical enquiry that is different from, but no less rational than, that of modem secular theorists. Considering further the matter of rationality, Part II asks whether Barth's strategy provides
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