Barth
In the nineteen-thirties, Nazi Germany tried to shape their churches into a propaganda machine by paying homage to Hitler in Christian literature. They also did not allow anyone of Jewish decent to serve as a Christian minister. German theologians agreed to cooperate with the Nazis as just another step in the churches need to adapt itself to modern culture. The "step" was the continuation of liberal commentators who tried to organize part of the Bible, which reflected the author’s own ideas or reflections of his or her culture. Liberal Protestants tried to erase memories of earlier culture, replacing them with modern ideas. Karl Barth, one of the greatest Protestant theologians of the twentieth century, believed that knowledge of God begins only with Jesus Christ, not with "human nature" or "modern civilization." Barth opposed the idea of a Nazi Christian Church, which was brought forth by German theologians, and his hard stand captured the image of man in the early twentieth century.
In disagreement with the German theologians, a small group called the Confessing Church formed which included Karl Barth, who helped to draft their manifesto called the Barmen Declaration of 1934. In it he wrote:
"Jesus Christ is the one word of God. We repudiate the false teaching that the church can and must recognize other happenings and powers, images and truths as divine revelation. We repudiate the false teachings that there are areas of our life in which we belong not to Jesus Christ but to another lord. We repudiate the false teaching that the church can turn over the form of her message and ordinances will or according to some dominant ideological and political convictions."
(HCT: 294)
Barth also wrote the well publicized Church Dogmatics, a thirteen volume, unfinished work of church writings where he attacked all "natural theology," and all human efforts to understand God.
Karl Barth disagreed with many of the beliefs of liberal thinkers such as Harnack and Schleiermacher. Liberal Protestants believed religion originates and centers around the self-individual and experiences. Barth disagreed with the human experience belief because he felt, "revelation is God’s self offering and self manifestation." He also felt without revelation we would not know God, and to know God we must manifest. He wanted society to stay away from creating a God they were comfortable with, but instead listen to what God says in the Bible and how He reveals himself in it.
John Calvin and Karl Barth: I feel that these two theologians cannot be separated since they both have greatly impacted my Christian faith. While attending Northwestern College, I took multiple Calvin
Some of his musings involved disparaging remarks made about the church itself. He considered the church to be corrupt and exploitative...
Barth’s opening thesis is a view that everything that can be known with confidence about God or divine things is known only or primarily by faith, as opposed to a coherent or cognitive. In addition, existential, in the sense that Barth affirms that scripture has an objective significance, even before considering it through faith and reason. According to Barth, “This circumstance is the simple fact that in the congregation of Jesus Christ, the Bible has specific authority and significance” (p. 56) and without the congregation it becomes only historical. It becomes important to uphold and defend the Bible’s authority and the power does not come from any simple measure employed by us individually. It is up to the congregation to openly confess the analytical propositions without fear and become actively engaged in the faith and obedience of which it asks (p. 56).
Karl Rahner’s life was dedicated to his writings and teachings. From a young age he knew his calling for religion and until his death in nineteen eighty-four he did not stop doing what he loved. Because of his devotion to work and the many years he spent studying, he was able to be inspired by several different philosophers and theologians. Putting together the knowledge from both of these realms we have the modernist philosopher and the Catholic theologian Karl Rahner. His philosophical influence changed the Catholic church of the twentieth century and continues to have an influence on modern Christian thought.
(Ellis, Marc H. “Hitler and the Holocaust, Christian Anti-Semitism", Baylor University Center for American and Jewish Studies, spring 2004, slide 14)
We should live by this truth and meditate on it day and night. The Creed is based on Scripture. The One who the truth points to is the Almighty God. God is omnipotent and He does whatsoever He rightly and justly will. He created us in His image. Yet we fell into sin and corrupted our lives. The wages of sin is death. Because of this, God sent His Perfect Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us as a way to pay all our debt. The Father and the Son both have divine nature. Both are God, and both are Holy. There is only one God, and He is a Triune God. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one God in one Divine Nature. God does not change, He does not grow or learn, He is almighty and never-changing. Jesus Christ became humble and low by becoming human. He came down to earth and exemplified servant hood. He suffered, was crucified, dead, and buried for sinners. Nevertheless, the eternal son of God has always existed, similar to the eternal Father. There was no beginning to God. Augustine explained that Jesus showed us in the cross what we have to endure, and He showed us in the resurrection what we have to hope. Job teaches us that God will give and take away. God is the ultimate leader of our lives and we, as humans, are sinful followers of Him. Sometimes God causes us to learn through suffering, trials and tribulations. We should be very thankful because Jesus died for us, which allows
John Calvin produced the first defined the presentation on Protestantism, which was titled 'Institutes of the Christian Religion'. Sometime in 1522-1534, John had what he called a 'sudden conversion' and accepted Protestantism. The Town Council also accepted Calvin's Ecclesiastical Ordinances, which set up a theocracy in Geneva; a government based on Church rule. Calvin mainly believed in the absolute sovereignty of God, and the person's complete inability to contribute anything towards their own salvation. That second point is known as pre-destination.
The history of Christianity throughout the world encompasses a significant number of differing theological interpretations. These theological differences gave way to many movements that are a part of the transcending history of the Christian Faith. A sector of these theologically driven movements is the Protestant reform. As a movement, Protestant Reform represents the protest of the traditionally widely practiced religion of the time which was Catholicism. There are four different movements that are a part of the Protestant reform. Each harbors its own identity in that they all seek to establish the church according to the New Testament. Lead by Martin Luther, the Lutheran movement unintentionally began the reformation. “The Reformation of Martin Luther was primarily a movement of doctrinal and theological reform.” (Steinmetz 1979) The impact that Martin Luther had on movements the protestant ideals that followed is prevalent. Although each of these four movements do not agree in their entirety they are interconnected by their yearning to reform the practice of Christianity. In an attempt to express the relevance of the protestant movement to the ascension of the Christian faith, particularly the Protestant church, the explication of each movement is imperative.
Martin Luther was a German priest who opposed the Catholic Church. He felt the church was corrupt and did not uphold the values. This is seen in his letter “To the Christian Nobility”
Why was it significant that men like Söderblom and Otto argued for understanding religions on their own terms?
John Calvin wrote, “The Institutes of Christian Religion” in 1559. These books spoke of the postive obligations of the moral laws of the believers. It is also stated that these books spoke of the “vocations of the Christian, and the attitudes that the believer should take concerning the state.” (144)
Martin Luther a German theologian and religious reformer was the founding figure of the protestant reformation, the break from the Catholic Church, which in many ways marks the beginning of modern Europe. A well-expressed preacher and huge writer, Luther attacked many abuses of the Catholic Church, especially the papacy. The source of his spiritual revelation was not political or institutional but came from his inner fight of conscience. Like other people of his day, Luther was horrified that god would in the end reject him for his sins. He found a word in the bible called “Law” which increased his terror, but he also discovered a word god called “Gospel,” the good news and promise of mercy in Christ, which shed all of his worries. By his words and actions, Luther caused an action that reformulated certain rudimentary Christian belief and the division of Western Church between Roman Catholics and the Protestant traditions. He is one of the most influential person in the history of Christianity.
By this, he meant that the Catholic Church had put so much emphasis on the bible as a central religious authority and imposed it on people to follow its teachings. The other central belief of the Martin Luther document was that humans may reach salvation only by their faith and not by their deeds. This particularly sparked the Protestant Reformation. The ideology of the Catholic Church that faith and not deeds would mean salvation for the believers was widely denounced and most people were of the opinion that both were the way to salvation. Although these two ideologies about the Catholic Church had been advanced before, Martin Luther wrote and presented them at a moment in history that was right for the religious reformation. Due to this documents by Martin Luther, the Catholic Church would soon be divided with Protestants leaving to form another denominational faith. The Protestants were often guided by the Protestantism that was shaped by Luther’s ideas on the issue of believe and the way to salvation that stipulated that good deeds and faith were the factors that influenced salvation (Denis 28). His writings changed the course
Weber saw religion from a different perspective; he saw it as an agent for change. He challenged Marx by saying that religion was not the effect of some economical social or psychological factor. But that religion was used as a way for an explanation of things that cause other things. Because religious forces play an important role in reinforces our modern culture, Weber came to the conclusion that religion serves as both a cause and an effect. Weber didn’t prose a general theory of religion but focused on the interaction between society and religion. Weber believed that one must understand the role of religious emotions in causing ideal types such as capitalism. He explained the shift in Europe from the other worldliness of Catholicism to the worldliness of early Protestantism; according to Weber this was what initiated the capitalist economic system.
“I have not come to judge the world, but to teach them in humility and to save them, and to create an example for my disciples, so that they will do as I do.”