The Surprising God

This post continues a series looking at Gary Deddo's two-volume book, " Karl Barth's Theology of Relations (Trinitarian, Christological, and Human: Towards an Ethic of the Family) ." For other posts in this series, click a number: 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 . Last time in this series we noted two key points in Barth's Christological anthropology : In God we begin to see who we are (beings-in-relation, reflections of the relational, triune God) Jesus' humanity determines our humanity (in his humanity, Jesus is the true imago Dei ) Gary goes on to note five related points: 1. In the person of Jesus there is the co-incidence of act and being Ascension of Christ  by Fugel (public domain via Wikimedia Commons) A fundamental truth for Barth is that Jesus does what he is. In Christ, there is perfect unity between his being and act. Who is Jesus?---according to Barth, he is the one who has his being "by virtue of His relationship to God and in relation

Dietrich Bonhoeffer's concept of "place-sharing" was fundamental to his Christology and missiology (including his view of discipleship). To help us understand place-sharing, I offer below an extended quote from "God is a God who bears:  Bonhoeffer for a Flat World" by Gary Simpson, published in the Fall 2006 issue of "Word and World." For earlier related posts, click here , here , here ,  here  and here . Bonhoeffer In [Dietrich] Bonhoeffer’s 1927 dissertation, Sanctorum Communio , he had already laid the christological groundwork for the “bearing God”.... Bonhoeffer’s technical German word for Jesus’ bearing is Stellvertretung , translated “vicarious representative action,” or more usably translated “place-sharing.” Bonhoeffer develops his bearing, place-sharing theology of sociality by exploring Luther’s “wonderful and profound” understanding of Jesus’ “happy exchange.” According to Luther, Jesus’ own place-sharing becomes the very form of th

This post continues a series looking at Gary Deddo's two-volume book, " Karl Barth's Theology of Relations (Trinitarian, Christological, and Human: Towards an Ethic of the Family) ." For other posts in the series, click a number: 1 , 2 , 4 ,  5 . [Revised 3/6/2017] In parts one and two of this series we looked at the three primary components of Karl Barth's grammar of intra-trinitarian personal relations: Theology : the internal and eternal relations of the three Persons of the Trinity. Christology : the revelation and actualization of analogous relations with creation in and through the incarnate Son of God. Anthropology : the relation of humans to God and one another (pointing toward ethics).  Source In unpacking the meaning and implications of these three components, it will be important to keep in mind two concepts that are fundamental to Barth's thinking, particularly when it comes to his Christological anthropology and so his theological