Karl Barth is widely regarded as the greatest (Protestant) Christian theologian of
the twentieth century. Among a myriad of other things, Barth (1886~1968) is
often credited with saying that people should hold the Bible in one hand and
the newspaper in the other.
Barth’s Important Words
It is questionable that Barth ever spoke the words he is often quoted as
saying. But in “Barth in Retirement,” a May 1963 Time magazine article, Barth stated that 40 years ago he advised young theologians to “take
your Bible and take your newspaper, and read both.”
That article also quotes Barth as saying, “I always pray for the sick,
the poor, journalists, authorities of the state and church—in that order.
Journalists form public opinion. They hold terribly important positions.”
Now, unlike in 1963 or 40 years before that, the news and the work of the
journalists is disseminated by digital means as well as by print. So
“newspaper” needs to be interpreted as all the ways the news is reported.
And the journalists for whom Barth regularly prayed includes all of those
who seek to communicate and interpret the news by all the various forms of
public media, even when—or especially when—they are castigated as being the
“enemy of the people” by you-know-who.
The Eternal Word
Barth’s theology is often depicted as the theology of the Word of God. The Word of God comes to human beings in three “forms”:
the humanity of Christ, the words of the prophets and the apostles (i.e. the
canonical Scriptures), and the words of preachers.
Barth, thus, emphasized the Word of God in this threefold sense:
** The Incarnate Word of God
Despite the way much conservative
evangelicalism has emphasized the Bible as the Word of God, Barth first
emphasizes that primarily Jesus Christ is the Word of God. Certainly, that
emphasis is in harmony with John 1:1~18 in the New Testament. (Click here to review that
seminal passage.)
** The Written Word of God
The Bible is the record of God’s revelation through the Jewish people and
then especially through Jesus Christ, the Word of God par excellence.
** The Proclaimed Word of God
The preachers, or theologians, that Barth referred to are those who speak
not just to share their personal ideas or insights but to interpret the written
Word of God in order to know the message of and about Jesus, the incarnate Word
of God. No “job” is more demanding/challenging than that of being called to
proclaim that Word.
The Everchanging Word
Barth was born in Switzerland and always had Swiss citizenship. Most of
his higher education, however, was in Germany, and after serving for ten years
as a pastor in Switzerland, in 1921 he began teaching in Germany.
Even though he was a pastor and in 1918 the author of a commentary on the biblical book of Romans, he evidently regularly
read the everchanging word in the newspapers. Although he was not a German, in
the 1930s he became a leader of the Christian opposition to Hitler and the
Nazis.
Barth was a
leader of the Confessing Church in Germany and the chief author of the Barmen Declaration of 1934. (I wrote about this briefly in a 7/20/19 blog post.) Barth’s reading of and
preaching the eternal Word of God was balanced by his reading, and acting upon,
what he found in the everchanging words of the newspapers.
As so it should
be for us Christians today. During Holy Week this month, Pastor Laura Mayo
penned an important op/ed piece titled "For all who
seek to follow Rabbi Jesus, now is exactly the time to be political." She
doesn’t say so, but it is evident that just as Barth advocated, Pastor Laura had
been reading both the Bible and the "newspaper."
For many years
after I started my preaching ministry (at the age of 16!), I focused mainly on
the Word of God. But gradually I came to understand the importance of Barth’s
emphasis on reading both the Bible and the newspaper.
Now I wonder if
I spend too much time reading the "newspaper“ (online news articles and
opinion pieces) and not enough time reflecting on how all the "news“
should be interpreted by the Word of God.
What about you?
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I enjoyed this blog about Barth, especially the fact that he was a leader in the Christian movement against Hitler. As you mention, the "ever-changing" newspaper, I'm sure the press in Germany tended to slant the news more in the direction of Hitler being the great leader of Germany. Barth, however, could see the difference by his study of the Bible in his other hand. This is my concern about so many Americans now who seem to follow and accept T's statements, many of which are lies and insults of everyone he doesn't agree with. Surely if they have the Bible in their other hand they can see that the president is not following even decent society's standards, much less how Jesus would want us to talk and behave as his followers.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised--and happy--to see the first comments on today's new blog post was from my dear wife. (Recently, I have given her a break from proofreading my articles, so she sees them through different eyes now.)
DeleteOne of the most disturbing things about the current political situation is that those who claim to read the Bible the most, that is, conservative evangelical Christians, are the ones most supportive of DJT.
So, as I have written several times in previous posts, including that of April 15, how we read/understand the Bible is of great significance. And as I have written in my book "The Limits of Liberalism," I agree with Barth's approach to reading/understanding the Bible that was in opposition to that of the theological liberals of the time--and that was later regularly opposed/criticized by the theological conservatives.
In my view, anything "that gives light to everyone" is the Word of God (including holy texts, newspapers, secular books, etc.) as well as the heavens and the skies that "have no speech" and "use no words." (In my view, Barth's "Word of God" is far too narrow. I think he did not take seriously enough the insight that "that life was the light of all humankind.")
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments, Anton. In response let me point out that, as you know, Barth's lifework was writing "Church Dogmatics," written in a context where the vast majority of the people in Europe were at least cultural Christians and written for those who were members of, or preparing for ministry in, a Christian church.
DeleteEven as a seminary student in the 1960s, I was much more in agreement with the theology of Emil Brunner, Barth's contemporary (and fellow Swiss citizen) with whom he sometimes strongly disagreed. And then I became even more interested in the philosophical/apologetic theology of Paul Tillich, a German who had to flee Germany in 1933 because of his opposition to Hitler.
But since Barth's emphasis on the Word of God was first of all that of the eternal Word revealed through Jesus Christ, that can lead to the broad view that you espouse, Anton--especially if that Word is understood as Richard Rohr has recently expounded in his book "The Universal Christ."
Here are comments received about 45 minutes ago from Thinking Friend Eric Dollard in Chicago:
ReplyDelete"Thanks, Leroy, as always for your observations.
"The Bible and newspapers have something in common in that they both report events, although some of the events reported in Bible are non-historical (i.e., should be understood metaphorically).
"We should read about events reported in the newspaper through a moral and ethical framework, something the Bible provides, and so Barth was correct about reading newspapers and the Bible. Unfortunately, what we are seeing through this moral and ethical framework is widespread abuse of human lives and dignity. Our challenge is to do something about it."
Thanks for your comments, Eric. And in keeping with your ending statement, I was reminded of these words from the Bible: "If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,' and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead." (James 2:15~17).
DeleteYeah, I suppose, Tillich is still a favorite of mine, although process theology makes the most sense to me, and I’m attracted to liberation, black, and feminist theologies. Count me eclectic or confused, both of which are certainly true.
ReplyDeleteThis morning a local Thinking Friend, whom I will allow to remain anonymous, wrote,
ReplyDelete"I own your confession. It never occurs to me to open CNN, NBC, CBS on my iPad (as I just did before reading your blog) then juxtapose it with the Word of God (in the Barthian sense). In fact, I can’t find it relevant to try. What does it mean to do so?"
There is much I could say in response to this, but the comments of the following two people speak to this matter.
DeleteAnd then there were these pertinent comments from Thinking Friend Glenn Hinson in Kentucky:
ReplyDelete"A timely question and blog, Leroy. We could use Barth in America at this moment and a new Barmen declaration. Our democracy is in peril from Christians who have a slim grasp either of the Word or the newspaper."
Thanks, Dr. Hinson. And, yes, I think the Barmen Declaration as written and forwarded by Barth, Bonhoeffer, and other courageous Christians in Germany showed the way the Bible and the newspaper needed to be employed then and illustrate how they also need to be used at this critical time in our nation's history.
DeleteHere are comments from local Catholic Thinking Friend Marilyn Peot--and the third comment in a row from a TF older than I:
ReplyDelete"I appreciate getting to know Barth--I've always respected him as a theologian. I believe he is close to Rahner's belief that 'Christians know how to do Eucharist...they don't know how to be Eucharist.' This comes by relating the Word to the present time.
"For me, reading the news from reliable researched resources automatically challenges my interpretation of the words of Jesus and the other scripture writers. The Word is always relevant to the present time...but it takes prayer and accompanying reflection and receptivity to hear the Spirit's Voice in our time.
"I love the following quote from Arthur J. Moore: 'It is now evident to all...of spiritual discernment that healing of the world's woes will not come through this or that social or political theory; not through violent changes in government, but in the still small voice that speaks to the conscience and the heart.'
"For me, discernment comes when we are open to both the Word and the consciousness of our social/political condition of the times.
"Thanks for keeping us informed."
Thanks, Marilyn, for your substantial comments. I was not familiar with Arthur J. Moore, whom I assume was the Methodist bishop (1888~1974) I found information about on the Internet. Facing all the social/political problems of our present time, we need to be challenged constantly to seek solutions to those problems that transcend politics.
ReplyDeleteThe last two blogs have been a reminder of a question I continue to ask. “Where are today’s theologians.” Living in a post-theological age that has subcommand to a belief that theology is a relic. Where is Christianity finding a relevant theological voce? For many pastor’s today’s theological focus is from the past and Calvin (at least in the last 30 years). Most seemingly Calvin is the voice Christianity needs according to many Fundamentalist. Or theology is only a dead un -needed voice that confuses the message. An abundance theology bashing goes on in my part of the world!
ReplyDeleteBarth looked at his world and began shaping a theology that held to former truths. Seemingly, those truths had to be re-interpreted in the context of his setting in life. His own theology and his work gave himself and the Confessing Church an anchor to stand against the evil tide of the Nazis.
Theology is hard work and will guide today’s Christianity, pastor and the churches orthodoxy and practice. I have discovered in my life that I spend too much focusing on what “ought to be” and too little time focusing on making theology relevant in my own life and making Christ relevant to the world.
As the Covid-19 virus rages around the world perhaps I need to make better use of my time and impose today’s crisis on my own theology. Where is the Confessing Church of America that stands against the tide of the political-religious marriage that has occurred?
Thanks for your meaty comments, Frank.
DeleteYes, I'm afraid there are not widely influential theologians now as there have been in past decades. But there are some Christian thinkers and writers who do have some influence now. Even though they are not academic theologians, they are quite theological in what they say. I am thinking, for example, of Brian McLaren, Jim Wallis, and the Jesuit James Martin.
In the midst of Spanish language study now, I was so excited to learn that The Word in Spanish is "el verbos de vida." The Verb of Life. Yes! For all that means both in our personal lives of faith and in our interactions with society at large, for the movement of history (let's not say progression).
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments, Lydia--they made me think, and want to learn more, about the idea that "God is a verb," which is linked to Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism; it is the title of a 1997 book by David Cooper.
DeleteThanks for this post Leroy. I'd like to mention a couple of things.
ReplyDeleteFirst, according to my professor, Dr. William Hordern, who taught me systematic theology many years ago, in his book, A Layman's Guide to Protestant Theology, pages 130-131, I quote: "In 1935, having refused to take a loyalty oath to Nazism, he (i.e. Barth) had to flee from Germany. He accepted a chair of theology at Basle from which he retired in 1962."
Second, since Barth was regarded as you mention, one of (if not "the") foremost theologians of the 20th century, he attended the Second Vatican Council, and I believe served as Protestant advisor to the Council.
Thanks, friend, for your comments.
DeleteYour mentioned Hordern's book was of great interest to me as I used the Japanese translation of that book as required reading for the "Introduction to Theology" course I taught seminary students in Japan for many years.
I am returning to the metaphor of "The Bible and the Newspaper" with an odd slant, because my Sunday School class is reading Nassim Taleb's "Black Swan." I do not think he uses scriptures much, and he is really down on newspapers. Taleb warns of both Platonicity and narratives. In Platonicity, we confuse our map with our territory. The map is simplified in a variety of ways that can lead us astray. Narratives we spin for ourselves and others. Black Swans are the unexpected and unknown events that actually dominate our lives. LIke coronavirus, for instance. Except, Taleb recently wrote about the pandemic, and called it a White Swan because after SARS and MERS we had absolutely no excuse for not seeing this one coming.
ReplyDeleteTaleb also wrote "Antifragile," which is his basic strategy for living in a world dominated by Black Swans. Be open to good Black Swans, and do everything you can to avoid being crushed by bad ones. He seeks to find ways to manage our ignorance, to be ready even when the President of the United States tells us to drink bleach. Learn to test claims like a scientist, and to avoid all the nonsense and propaganda swirling around us. Predictions are usually futile. In other words, figuring out when to "open up" our economy would tax the wisdom of Solomon. Lacking the wisdom of Solomon, we might want to proceed carefully, at least as individuals, until we can see our way more clearly. "ASAP" probably should not be our mantra.
The Bible and the newspaper are giving us different kinds of information. The Bible is giving us deep information, including good advice, such as "Walk humbly before your God." (Micah 6:8) Newspapers give us the flux of current events, but not necessarily deep information. In his narrow world of finance, Taleb felt more effective following the deep information, and ignoring the confusion of the news. He claims he did not even invest to make money, he was just trading to run experiments. Apparently he made more money that way than many other traders made trying to chase the bell curve. As Christians we have a much wider goal than just making smart trades, although Jesus told plenty of parables that played off of questions of wise investments. With everything coming at us from the news, we need to find the deep wisdom (including the wisdom of our ignorance) to seek solutions. Micah's additional suggestions are to do justice and love mercy.
Thanks, as always, Craig for your erudite comments--and thanks for mentioning "Black Swan." I have that book checked out, but have not read any of it yet.
DeleteThanks also for highlighting the difference between the information of the Bible and that of the newspapers. As you say, the Bible gives us "deep information"--and that is why we need to read the Bible along with the newspapers and why it is shame when any of us settle for only the "shallow" (but necessary) information of the newspaper.