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Friend of the blog Han-luen Kantzer Komline reviews Keith Johnson's Karl Barth and the Analogia Entis . This book has previously received significant attention here at DET . Han-luen's review is exemplary and, as with everything she writes (I know, I've been her editor multiple times!), meticulously written. So be sure to surf on over and read her review of this important piece of Barth studies literature. ================================== Follow @WTravisMcMaken

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I have been re-reading Cottret in preparation for teaching a course on the Reformation that will focus on Calvin. Indeed, Cottret’s volume was the July 2012 DET Book ‘O the Month . Anyway, it is high time that I shared some more of this excellent volume with you, gentle readers. The subject for today is education, specifically, education associated with Calvin. So below are excerpts from Cottret on both the French system that Calvin went through, and the Genevan academy / college system that Calvin set up (in that order). In other words, this is another good, boring, educational post from your friends at DET. (Ed. note: the internet tells me that this image is of the Genevan academy building, but I have no way of verifying that…) Bernard Cottret, Calvin: A Biography (M. Wallace McDonald, trans.; Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000). Of the French system, specifically, the University of Paris: The faculty of arts (or faculty of letters) granted only ...

When Travis initially asked me to write for Die Evangelischen Theologen, I thought he was kidding. I'm no longer a student of any academic program other than one of my own design. Instead of being a practicing academic theologian, I'm an itinerant preacher/pastor who lives/works/struggles in the New Orleans area. I currently work as a chaplain and preach nearly every Sunday at churches across a broad theological spectrum, but I don't consider myself a serious theologian or thinker - especially one of the caliber to be writing for a theology blog with, you know, people who can read and write in German. But Travis wasn't kidding. I felt under-equipped, but he wasn't buying it. So with his encouragement, I said Yes, yes, I can do this. So this is my intro post. I read. A lot. That’s part of who I am – among many other things (e.g., Christian, white, male, educated, middle class), I am a reader. I’m ok with this. I read, but I don’t write. To be a more effective r...

I recently decided to dig back in to Sallie McFague’s “new classic” work, Metaphorical Theology . This was occasioned by my recent observation of what is, unfortunately, a pervasive phenomenon: a self-described “Barthian” attempting to make his or her bones by beating up on someone who is generally recognized as doing a different kind of theology. Now, as DET readers know, I have no problem with drawing lines . But why would one want to re-hash such thoroughly hashed (*chuckles) terrain? In any case, I had studied McFague’s book with some care before, but I had never gone cover-to-cover on it. So I decided to remedy that. Although I retain criticisms of McFague’s program, I found a good deal of salutary material within her pages. One such instance of highly salutary material is McFague’s discussion of parable. This is a rich vein that McFague mines well. Below is an extended discussion from McFague on the interrelation of parable and myth. I hope it motivates you to turn (or return...

…or, Something to keep you busy over the weekend… …or, The Past Fortnight in the Theoblogosphere. It’s time for another set of links from around the theoblogosphere for you, gentle readers, to peruse over your weekend or – perhaps – to tuck away somewhere for a furtive glance during the week. How and when you read is no concern of mine. But if you do read, consider reading the following. DET has been fairly busy since the last link post , so here are links in case you need to catch up: God’s Phallus: A guest post by Collin Cornell My most recent publication: Helmut Gollwitzer & Marxism Bultmann on Jesus, Paul, and Existential Christology New Center for Barth Studies Book Review A bit of Gollwitzer on May Day Alright, now that you’re all caught up on DET happenings, here are some posts that you’ll want to check out from across the theoblogosphere. Christ’s Mandate for Social Justice Thoughts on SST 2013 Pope Francis and the American Sisters Letter to a Chinese stu...

In celebration of International Workers' Day, I offer you this snippet from Helmut Gollwitzer. This is where I started with him; perhaps you will too. And if you find it hard to discern the rhetorical direction of his remark, I'll go ahead and let you know now that he anticipates a negative answer to the the first half and a positive answer to the second half of his closing rhetorical question. Helmut Gollwitzer, "Why I am a Christian Socialist," §4.6. The conversion to which the Christian community is called daily through God's word also includes turning away from its bond in the dominant system of privileges and active engagement for more just social structures no longer determined by social privilege. Therefore the important primary question today is the question about the relation of Christian existence and capitalism, not the question of the relation of Christianity and socialism. Can one as a Christian affirm and defend the present social system together...