Addressed by the Word The Practical, Pastoral, and Eschatological Anthropology of Eduard Thurneysen By Jordan Redding A doctoral thesis through the University of Otago Submitted 31 January 2020 Student ID: 594623 97,143 Words 1 “Ein Mann des Gesprächs” Image painted by the author, 2019 2 3 Preface About four hours’ drive from where I live in the far south of New Zealand there is a Mt. Calvin. It stands resolute and unmoving in the Southern Alps beside an equally formidable Mt. Barth.1 Karl Barth, who owed much to John Calvin, was arguably the most significant theologian of the twentieth century.2 In between the two giants of Mt. Calvin and Mt. Barth, though, there is one further curiosity: snaking down from the peak of Mt. Barth is a certain Thurneysen Glacier. Named after Karl Barth’s close friend and colleague, Eduard Thurneysen, it was a respectful nod, I think, to the importance of Thurneysen’s own work, particularly in the field of practical theology and pastoral care, and to his significance for Barth’s development. He erected no “mountain” of theology, no Church Dogmatics or Institutes of the Christian Religion (though his theological corpus is nonetheless impressive!). He was first and foremost a pastor. Undeniably influenced by Barth’s theology, Thurneysen’s primary concern was different. Unlike a mountain which is unmoving and formidable, a glacier ebbs and flows. It is sensitive to the changing climate. It runs down into the valleys and the lakes — a helpful image for Thurneysen, the pastor, who always did theology from the Existenzgrund of the church. As a recently ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand, I am interested in theology from the church and for the church. For this reason, Eduard Thurneysen holds particular appeal. His biographer, Rudolf Bohren, describes him as a theologian before practitioner, but a pastor before theoretician.3 He asked theological questions of human nature from the messiness of pastoral ministry. I am thankful for journeying with him over these last three years and hope my thesis will help others to rediscover him and benefit from his “glacial” wisdom as I have. With deep gratitude I acknowledge Knox College, Dunedin, where I resided as Ross Fellow for three years while I undertook this project. I am also thankful to the Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership, the Trust Board of Saint Kentigern College, and the University of Otago for their generous financial support. Finally, I am indebted to my supervisor, Professor Murray Rae for his gentle wisdom, to my father, who cultivated my wonder in worship from a young age, and to my mother, for her constant care and support. Jordan Redding January 2020 1 I have heard anecdotally that these mountains were not named by Reformed Presbyterians, as one might expect in the South of New Zealand, with its Scottish colonial heritage, but by a group of mountaineering Baptists! 2 In Hans Urs von Balthasar’s estimation, Barth has done for Protestant theology in modern times what Thomas Aquinas did for medieval theology. Thomas F. Torrance, Karl Barth: An Introduction to His Early Theology 1910-1931, 2nd edition ed. (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2000; repr., 2000), 30. Quoting: Hans Urs von Balthasar, Karl Barth. Darstellung Und Deutung Seiner Theologie (Köln: J. Hegner, 1951). 3 Rudolf Bohren, Phrophetie Und Seelsorge: Eduard Thurneysen (Neukirchen, Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1982), 218. 4 Contents Preface 4 Introduction 6 Part One Eduard Thurneysen on Being Human Chapter one: Strong impressions and inspirations 15 Formation 1888-1913 Chapter two: The human being crying out for life 39 Leutwil-Dürrenäsch 1913-1920 Chapter three: The human being and the wisdom of death 65 Bruggen 1920-1927 Chapter four: The human being claimed by Christ the Lord 99 Basel 1927-1939 Chapter five: The human being under the judgment of the cross 130 Basel 1939-1945 Chapter six: The human being as personal Ganzheit under the claim of God 150 Basel 1946-1974 Part Two Theological Anthropology in New Orientations Chapter seven: Theological anthropology as practical task 188 In conversation with Ray Anderson Chapter eight: Theological anthropology as pastoral task 216 In conversation with John Swinton Chapter nine: Theological anthropology in the horizon of hope 246 In conversation with Jürgen Moltmann Conclusion 274 Bibliography 283 5 Introduction Rediscovering Eduard Thurneysen Today Eduard Thurneysen (1888-1974) was a Swiss Reformed minister and theologian. He is most known for his contributions to the theology of pastoral care, advocating in particular a form of what is often called kerygmatic pastoral care, which emphasises pastoral care as proclamation. Three publications are of decisive importance with regard to his theology of pastoral care: Rechtfertigung und Seelsorge (1928), Die Lehre von der Seelsorge (1946) and Seelsorge im Vollzug (1968). In these three publications, he comes the closest to what one could call a “systematic theology” of pastoral care. But he was no systematician. Most of his theological works were articles, sermons, devotions, and columns that amount to almost five hundred entries in his bibliography.i His theology was more responsive and occasional and must be understood in the context of Thurneysen’s pastoral ministry. Beside his prominence in the field of pastoral theology, Thurneysen is also known as one of the founders of dialectical theology and the colleague of Karl Barth. Together, Barth and Thurneysen developed their “Theology of the Word” while ministering in neighbouring parishes in rural Switzerland. Over the next two decades, they shared a remarkably productive collegial output including three sermon volumes and the establishment of the Zwischen den Zeiten journal, the hallmark publication of dialectical theology. Thurneysen became one of the “Olympians” of dialectical theology,1 his name often mentioned in an impressive list that includes Karl and Heinrich Barth, Emil Brunner, Rudolf Bultmann, and Friedrich Gogarten. Within this venerable crowd, he brought a practical emphasis on the 1 Christoph Ramstein, "Dietrich Bonhoeffer and His Relations with Clergy in Basel," in International Bonhoefferkongress (Basel2016), 10. 6 church community, choosing to reflect especially on the nature of the church, preaching, community, and Christian education.2 More than a colleague, however, Thurneysen was also one of Barth’s closest friends and confidants, keeping almost constant correspondence over two decades and reading and editing much of Barth’s work. Because of Barth’s undoubted brilliance and the lasting significance of his works for theology, Thurneysen has often been eclipsed, receding into Barth’s shadow. But this is not to say that Thurneysen had nothing important to offer, nor that he did not differ theologically from Barth in a number of respects, nor that he was not an active, contributing partner in the relationship. Recent scholarship, particularly in the germanophone world, is beginning to acknowledge this with a number of works in the last thirty years re-engaging with Thurneysen’s theology. We can point to three broad areas of current Thurneysenian reception: historical research on Thurneysen’s contribution to the development of dialectical theology, particularly through engagement with his short work, Dostojewski;3 systematic research on Thurneysen’s Theology of the Word;4 and practical research on Thurneysen’s kerygmatic pastoral care.5 Reijer Jan de Vries offers a helpful summary of the history of Thurneysen reception, pointing to four main phases: approval in the 1950s and 1960s; criticism in the 1960s and 1970s; synthesis in the 1970s and 1980s; and reconstruction from the mid-1990s until today.6 The 2 Paul Althaus reviewed Thurneysen’s 1927 collection of essays, Das Wort Gottes und die Kirche, with the statement: “Besonders sei hervorgehoben, als in der «dialektischen Theologie» bisher nicht allzu häufig, die nachdrückliche Würdigung der Kirche als Gemeinschaft.” Paul Althaus, "Thurneysen, Eduard: Das Wort Gottes Und Die Kirche," ThLZ 53 (1928). 3 Sönke Lorberg-Fehring, Thurneysen — Neu Gesehen: Biografie Und Theologie Des Großen Seelsorgers Bis 1927 (Marburg: Tectum, 2006). And: Paul Brazier, Barth and Dostoevsky: A Study of the Influence of the Russian Writer Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky on the Development of the Swiss Theologian Karl Barth, 1915-1922 (Milton Keynes; Colorado Springs: Paternoster, 2007). And: Hermann Götz Göckeritz, Friedrich Gogartens Briefwechsel Mit Karl Barth, Eduard Thurneysen Und Emil Brunner (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2009). And: Katya Tolstaya, Kaleidoscope: F.M. Dostoevsky and Early Dialectical Theology, trans. Anthony Runia (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2013). And: Hong Liang, Leben Vor Den Letzten Dingen: Die Dostojewski-Rezeption Im Frühen Werk Von Karl Barth Und Eduard Thurneysen (1915-1923) (Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Theologie, 2016). And: Thomas K. Kuhn, Paul Wernle Und Eduard Thurneysen: Briefwechsel 1909-1934, ed. Thomas K. Kuhn (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 2016). And: Paul Brazier, Dostoevsky: A Theological Engagement (Eugene, Oregon: Pickwick Publications, 2016). And: Sigurd Baark, The Affirmations of Reason: On Karl Barth's Speculative Theology (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018). 4 Gol Rim, Gottes Wort, Verkündigung Und Kirche : Die Systematisch-Theologischen Grundlagen Der Theologie Eduard Thurneysens (Münster: Lit, 2000). And: Reijer Jan de Vries, Gods Woord Verandert Mensen (Gorinchem: Narratio, 2008). And: Philip G. Ziegler, "`Not to Abolish,