Durham E-Theses The objective existence of evil in the early theology of Karl Barth Peat, David James How to cite: Peat, David James (1992) The objective existence of evil in the early theology of Karl Barth, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/5807/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk THE OBJECTIVE EXISTENCE OF EVIL IN THE EARLY THEOLOGY OF KARL BARTH by DAVID JAMES PEAT ABSTRACT This thesis is concerned with the early theology of Karl Barth. That means all the material published between 1911 and 1931. Any work outside this period is referred to only in order to clarify a point under discussion. This is not an historical study, although reference is made to Barth's changing circumstances when appropriate. Primarily this thesis aims to be a discussion in systematic theology. It addresses the problem of theological objectivity, that is, how can the theologian when speaking of God say "this is the case". The thesis concentrates upon Barth's understanding of ontology as it fuelled his thinking during the early years. It highlights the way in which Barth's growing awareness of God's freedom, sovereignty and subjectivity formed the foundation of a theological approach. The thesis is selective in the material on which draws. Strong emphasis is placed upon the influences of Holy Scripture, the writings of Christoph Blumhardt and Franz Overbeck, along with the debates in which Barth engaged with the thinking of Schleiermacher and Harnack. Finally attention is drawn to the way in which Barth's study of the works of Anselm helped him overcome the weaknesses of his early thinking and move towards his Dogmatic approach. 1 EXISTENCE OF EVIL IN nrnrH E EARLY THEOLOGY F KARL BARTH David James Peat The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. Master ot Arts Department of Theology 199: DEC 1992 TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface. p4 1. The Basis of Discussion. p5 2. The Beginning. plO 3. The Debate with Harnack. p47 4. Dialectic Theology. p79 5. Early Weaknesses. pl03 6. Fides Quaerens Intellectum. pi 15 7. Conclusion. pi32 References. pi 38 Bibliography. pi 50 3 PREFACE Some years ago I found myself, through a complicated series of events, working in one of this country's largest cities. Through my experiences of people and circumstances I became aware in the most frightening way of the existence and presence of evil. I say frightening because while the exact details of events have faded with the years the memory of dread and fear has not. I still remember with disturbing clarity the ferocious and malicious force involved in those events, a force driven by a mind both malignant and cunning. The events themselves have no baring upon this thesis. However, my own sense of theological inadequacy at the time most certainly does. As a theology graduate I began to think as deeply as I could about the nature of my experiences. I tried to make sense of them in relation to my own understanding of the Christian Gospel. I found this frustrating and difficult. At the time I had two primary theological sources on which to draw. One was the foundation laid as an undergraduate in a self-confessed 'liberal' theology department. The other was the whole theology of charismatic renewal with which I was involved at that time. Both were of only limited help in my search for a clearer theological perspective. Some years later, while training to be ordained in the Church of England, I vowed to discover a more helpful understanding of the nature of objective evil. In this I was greatly helped by Professor Daniel W. Hardy, then teaching at Durham University. It was he who first introduced me to the thinking of Karl Barth. Initially I read sections from the "Church Dogmatics" and was immediately gripped by the power and intensity of his writing. But before long I realised that Barth had based his approach on a set of theological premises which had been laid down many years before. I also came to understand that specific questions surrounding the objective existence of evil could not be separated from broader issues concerning the whole basis and possibility of Christian theology. So it was that I found myself, with the help of Professor Hardy, drawn into a debate which began some fifty one years before I was born and has as yet reached no satisfactory conclusion. Studying Barth has been difficult, disturbing and hugely rewarding. I hope that this thesis, while it brings no profound new insight to the arena of debate, might at least encourage those who read it to study for themselves a man who has for me been an inspiration and whose vision I will most certainly carry with me for the rest of my life. 4 THE BASIS OF DISCUSSION The aim of this thesis is to explore some of the theological problems surrounding the objective existence of evil. To this end all of the issues discussed will be drawn from, and illustrated by, the early theology of Karl Barth. Barth has been chosen for a number of reasons. It is clear from the most cursory examination of his theology that he treats the existence of evil, and the occurrence of human sin, with the utmost seriousness.1 These two themes are never far from the forefront of his thinking. However, he presents them as part of a broader 'scheme', which is itself built upon both subtle and yet substantial theological foundations. This fact should not be obscured by the powerful polemic which provided the form for so much of his early theology. From first to last Barth is struggling with weighty theological problems. It is now a matter of historical fact that European theology experienced a period of upheaval at the turn of the twentieth century. It is also true that Barth stood at the centre of that disturbance. While the outbreak of the First World War provided the necessary force to start the intellectual avalanche that followed, the roots of the disturbance lay in the theological and social developments of the nineteenth century.2 Barth's great attack upon the theology of that period was never purely partisan, although figures such as Schleiermacher and Harnack suffered particular 5 The Basis of Discussion criticism. Barth's great concern always remained the nature of theology itself, the 'problem' of theology, the 'possibility' of theology, the 'necessity' of theology.3 As someone who brooded "alternatively over the newspaper and New Testament"4 Barth can only be understood correctly within the larger context of world history. He saw himself not as the founder of a particular 'school', but as both a player and observer in the great quest of humanity; that is, the search for 'truth'. Eberhard Jiingel said of Barth, When a serious illness forced him to face his own death, he gave it the same sideways glance that he had given theologically to the powers of darkness. The light which shines in the darkness interested him more than the darkness. He thought it more important to dwell on the riches of the eternal God than on the sombre dominion of death.5 It is indeed true, as will be shown, that Barth allowed evil only a "sideways glance". The greater drama draws his attention. The would-be student of Barth cannot help but be drawn into the self-same drama, or else run the risk of losing the only realistic perspective upon Barth's theology. It was to the greater "vision"6 that he felt called in the early years of the twentieth century and to which his students must also give their minds. The partisan, standing as he might upon any single point of the theological spectrum, will surely fail to grasp the breadth and scope of Barth's theology. It can be said of Barth, as he himself said of Schleiermacher, that we can grant... what even the most negative judgement upon the theological content of his work must grant... the 6 The Basis of Discussion trouble he took to safeguard the specifically theological quality of his theology.7 What this means in practice is that the scope of this thesis must be broader than its title might suggest. While it will indeed concern itself with the nature of evil, and in particular that which has a direction and existence all its own, it will do so only from a particular perspective. The interest behind what follows is not primarily historical. Obviously Barth's theology was influenced by the events of his day, but these events in themselves cannot explain what Barth thought and a simple retelling of the story will not suffice. Therefore, what follows is an exploration of Barth's approach to a fundamental theological problem; the nature of 'objective truth'.