In his Church Dogmatics (Vol 1. The Doctrine of the Word of God, Part 2) Karl Barth stuffs up the doctrine of revelation. Ironically, he does this by identifying revelation exclusively with Jesus Christ. But for Barth this means that the Old Testament is reduced down to being nothing more that “the witness to the genuine expectation of revelation” (70). Indeed, Barth states: “we could speak only improperly and with reservation of a revelation of God in the Old Testament.” He adds:
If we are speaking of revelation in the Old Testament, by that cannot be meant this or that attribute supposed to belong as such and in itself to the Old Testament or to the stories attested in the Old Testament… Revelation in the Old Testament is really the expectation of revelation or expected revelation. Revelation itself takes place from beyond the peculiar context and content of the Old Testament… Even in the most significant context and content of the Old Testament as measured by general historical standards we shall only recognise revelation, in so far as the significance of the Old Testament is actually aligned to this revelation. In that case it is much better not to ascribe singularity to the Old Testament in the strict sense, not to use theological emphasis, but to content ourselves with regarding it as one remarkable phenomenon among others within the world of piety in the ancient East. Exactly the same will also have to be said later about the time of the New Testament and about the New Testament itself (71).
For Barth, then, the Bible is not the revelation of God, but merely the witness to it. As such, to be fair, Barth does treat the Bible with considerable respect as the witness to revelation. However, his tragic failure to treat Scripture as God’s Word lifts off the lid of Pandora’s box. Against Barth we must insist, with Paul, that “all Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16). Indeed, the only way in which the man or woman of God can be equipped for every good work is by the inner working of God’s all-powerful Word, as it teaches, rebukes, corrects and trains in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16-17). It is his Word, yes Christ-centered Scripture, that God uses to effect his work of new creation.
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Posted December 17, 2009
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