Although Barth was wary of “spirituality,” reflexively associating this term with the dubious project of religion, few are left cold by his writing. One reason for this is Barth’s Christological concentration, which grounds a breathtaking vision of salvation. Another is Barth’s concern to form his readers, inducting them into particular ways of thinking about themselves, the Christian community, and their involvement with the world at large. If Barth’s interest in formation tilted toward doctrine, it was never narrowly “academic”; it always spilled over into the realms of ethics, politics, interpersonal relations, and European cultural life.
The goal of this volume is to suggest that “spirituality” be added to the aforementioned list. And, because whatever spirituality is for Barth, it is inextricable from his treatment of basic theological topics; it can be engaged only indirectly. To that end, the editors have selected forty-one excerpts of already-translated writings and positioned them under four headings: “Dogmatics,” “The Christian Community,” “The Christian Life,” and “Politics” (parts 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the book). The hope is that an engagement with carefully sequenced snippets of text will provide readers with a vivid “picture of Barth’s spiritual theology and theological spirituality” (15).
The results are compelling, showcasing Barth’s distinctive outlook and justifying this volume’s inclusion in the much-lauded series “Classics of Western Spirituality.” Part 1 offers a useful survey of Barth’s thinking on prayer, knowledge of God, beauty, theological study, and related topics. (Rightly, the editors do not sideline the second edition of Romans, which advances a peculiarly disquieting spirituality of krisis). Part 2 contains material on Christ’s prayer, the upbuilding of the church, the obligation to participate in Christ’s prophetic work, and baptism. Part 3—which, following Barth, considers the individual in light of the prior reality of the community—dwells usefully on seminars held in 1947 and 1949, emphasizing the activity of the pray-er and Barth’s belief that God hears and responds to petitions. It also contains valuable excerpts from The Christian Life on invocation and the obligation to call on God as Father. Part 4 makes good on the editors’ astute suggestion that the relationship of “Christian spirituality and political engagement” (33) be viewed as analogous to Barth’s pairing of dogmatics and ethics. Moving further away from the published volumes of Church Dogmatics than previous sections, it supplies a bracing conclusion to the book as a whole.
Granted this collection’s merits, the relative novelty of engaging Barth’s spirituality is bound to pique concerns. I would raise three. First, more reflection on spirituality as a category and some comparative remarks that set Barth in relation to other writers would have been beneficial. Although the introduction makes some headway on these issues, more could be said. Might one argue, for instance, that Barth’s entire Dogmatics is an act of “contemplation” that toggles between the scriptural witness to Jesus of Nazareth and an awed acclamation of his activity as the risen Lord? Or that Barth’s spirituality, like Luther’s, combines a theologia crucis with a vigorous affirmation of “worldly” existence? Second, while I applaud the editors’ determination to use writings from different phases of Barth’s life, I worry that the large number of texts in play, as well as the wide range of topics engaged, may prove daunting for some. Undergraduate classes that assign this book will likely have to isolate excerpts for study while directing students to linger over the detailed notes provided at the end of each part. Third, I would have liked the editors to identify some possible lines of critique, especially with respect to Barth’s treatment of non-Christian religions and Barth’s insistence on the indispensability of calling on God as Father—two topics of obvious importance in contemporary theological discussions.
These concerns, however, do not detract from my admiration for the volume as a whole. This distinctive and stimulating collection is an important contribution to the study of spirituality, and it will be gratefully received in various quarters of the academy.
