God Here and Now

"God is the wholly other," wrote Karl Barth, challenging us to understand how humanity and the divine can connect despite their vast differences.

1. Theology: Speaking About God

Theology, derived from the Greek words "theos" (God) and "legein" (to speak), is the act of humanity attempting to speak about God. Barth embraced this definition, emphasizing its importance in understanding our relationship to the divine. However, this raises a challenging question: can flawed, finite humans truly speak about a perfect, infinite God?

Barth argued that theologians often take the easy way out. On one hand, they might claim strict adherence to scripture as the sole path to understanding God; on the other, they assume humans have a natural sixth sense to perceive the divine. Both approaches, Barth believed, fail to address the real issue—understanding the infinite through our limited comprehension.

For Barth, theology must recognize that God stands apart from humanity—the wholly other who cannot be fully grasped. This gap demands humility in our attempts to talk about God and reminds us that theology begins with an acknowledgment of our human limitations.

Examples

• Dictionary definitions revealing theology as “knowledge of God.”
• Barth’s critique of orthodox claims that scripture alone explains God.
• Dismissal of the "sixth sense" theory as reversing the human-divine relationship.

2. The Enlightenment and the Rise of Skepticism

Barth was shaped by the intellectual legacy of the Enlightenment, which dislodged traditional ways of thinking about God and religion. Central to this shift was Immanuel Kant, whose ideas forever altered Protestant theology.

Kant argued that human knowledge is restricted to what can be experienced through our senses and structured by our reason. As God exists outside these boundaries, Kant concluded that we can believe in God but cannot claim to "know" him in the empirical or scientific sense. This separated faith from knowledge, challenging the foundation of theology.

Barth found both inspiration and limitation in Kant. While Kant made a compelling case against rational certainty about God, Barth criticized Kant for reducing God to a mere moral idea. For Barth, God is not a concept or metaphor; God is a living reality who interacts with humanity.

Examples

• Kant's theory that knowledge requires sensory and rational tools, barring access to God.
• Kant's assertion that belief in God aligns with moral reason, such as the Golden Rule.
• Barth’s response: faith is not just morality; it’s evidence of God interacting with humanity.

3. God as "Wholly Other"

Central to Barth's theology is the idea that God is "wholly other"—completely distinct from human understanding or existence. Unlike earthly things, God cannot be analyzed, defined, or grasped through ordinary perceptions or logic.

For Barth, earlier theologians erred by attempting to bring God into the realm of human understanding. By doing so, they either diminished God's divine nature or overestimated human capacities. Barth rejected both fantasies, insisting on the vast chasm between the Creator and creation.

However, Barth believed that God's "otherness" does not mean separation. Paradoxically, God's freedom to be "wholly other" also allows him to reveal himself and forge a bridge between the divine and human worlds.

Examples

• Barth’s critique of theologians who treat God like a scientific object to be studied.
• The idea that God’s "otherness" shows his transcendence and creativity.
• The paradox of a God who remains other yet chooses to reveal himself.

4. Schleiermacher's Religious Feeling and Barth’s Objection

Liberal theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher argued that humans possess an innate sense of the divine—a "God-consciousness" that allows us to feel God's presence. Schleiermacher believed this intuitive experience connected people to the infinite.

While Barth was impressed by Schleiermacher’s focus on religious experience, he ultimately rejected this view. For Barth, Schleiermacher made God secondary by focusing too much on human emotions and experiences. True theology, Barth insisted, must focus on God and not on human perceptions about God.

Barth argued that describing our feelings about God is like focusing on the act of seeing rather than the sunset itself. Theology should aim to talk directly about God, not merely describe human reactions to God’s presence.

Examples

• Schleiermacher’s idea of experiencing the divine through an intuitive sixth sense.
• Barth’s analogy: theologians should talk about the sunset, not just the feeling of witnessing it.
• Barth’s critique of liberal theology as making humans—not God—the center.

5. Faith Through Revelation

Barth taught that faith begins with God—not human efforts or reasoning. Revelation is God's act of making himself known to humanity. Without this divine initiative, humans remain incapable of bridging the gap to the divine.

Barth believed that revelation occurs in three distinct yet interconnected forms: Jesus Christ, scripture, and preaching. These aren't independent sources but are unified expressions of how God chooses to reveal himself.

For Barth, theology exists only because God has revealed himself. Faith in God must flow from this revelation, not from human invention or logical proofs. This revelation overturns human understanding, allowing the impossible—understanding the infinite God—to become possible.

Examples

• Barth’s focus on Jesus as the historical revelation of God to humanity.
• The Bible’s role as a witness to God’s self-revelation.
• Preaching as a continuation of God revealing himself in the present.

6. Jesus Christ: The Center of Theology

For Barth, Jesus Christ is the key to understanding everything about theology and faith. God isn’t a remote or abstract being; he has physically entered history through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Barth emphasized that Jesus’s humanity and divinity reveal the essence of God’s grace. By becoming human, God demonstrated his willingness to descend into human suffering and create a path to salvation.

Every aspect of Christian theology relates back to Christ. Scripture tells Jesus’s story, and all preaching orients believers toward experiencing God’s work in Jesus. Without Jesus, Barth argued, Christianity would lose its meaning.

Examples

• Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection as the central acts of God’s salvation.
• Barth’s argument that faith revolves around Jesus’s historical, tangible presence.
• The church as a witness to the continuing impact of Christ.

7. Scripture as Witness, Not Proof

Barth maintained that scripture isn’t the direct word of God but a human witness to divine revelation. The Bible points to God’s actions in history, especially the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Scripture is humanity's interpretation of encounters with God, shaped by particular historical and cultural contexts. Barth rejected the idea that the Bible is a scientific manual or infallible document. Instead, scripture should inspire faith through its testimony to Jesus.

Reading the Bible, then, isn't about uncovering abstract doctrines; it’s about meeting God through the stories and truths shared by those who encountered him.

Examples

• Biblical passages emphasizing God's saving acts, such as the Exodus.
• The Gospels as a testimony to Jesus’s life and work.
• Barth’s rejection of a “belief in the Bible” separate from belief in God.

8. Preaching: God’s Voice Today

Preaching, Barth taught, is another way God reveals himself in the present. Although conducted by fallible human beings, preaching is a medium for proclaiming the truth of Jesus Christ.

Through the act of preaching, God continues to speak to humanity. This helps believers connect the timeless truths of scripture with their personal, contemporary lives.

Barth urged pastors and theologians to ensure their sermons remained rooted in Jesus’s story and God’s revelation. If preaching strays from this foundation, it risks losing its divine power.

Examples

• Sermons emphasizing the relevance of Jesus’s teachings for modern issues.
• Preaching as an act of interpreting scripture for the here and now.
• Barth’s insistence that preachers focus on Christ.

9. Revelation Happens "Here and Now"

Barth ended with an uplifting message: God continues to reveal himself today, in human history and individual lives. Revelation didn't stop with Jesus or scripture; God’s voice echoes through preaching and a believer’s personal experience of faith.

Revelation, Barth argued, transforms believers. It allows them to trust in the resurrection, face life’s uncertainties, and work for justice and mercy in a fallen world.

In this revelation, God becomes accessible. Though still the wholly other, he chooses to connect with humanity—speaking directly to our hearts in moments of grace.

Examples

• Believers feeling God’s guidance during moments of prayer or worship.
• Testimonies of preaching affecting personal transformation.
• Barth’s conviction that God's revelations sustain the church across generations.

Takeaways

1. Approach theology with humility and focus on God, not human interpretations or feelings.
2. Recognize the multiple ways God reveals himself—through Jesus Christ, scripture, and preaching—and seek to experience these actively.
3. Trust in revelation as an ongoing miracle, allowing God to speak to you "here and now."