1. KARL BARTH (1886-1968): MAJOR WORKS

 

Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics [Die kirchliche Dogmatik, 1932-1970], 13 vol. (New York: Herder & Herder / Edinburgh: T&T Clark) paperback, $60 per volume.  Karl Barth has been widely acclaimed as the finest theologian of the 20th century.  A native of Basel, Switzerland, he taught for some years in Germany, but was thrown out in the mid-1930s because of his outspoken and vigorous opposition to the Nazis.  He spent his remaining years teaching in Basel.  Barth was an extraordinarily original and rigorous thinker, yet deeply committed to orthodoxy.  The Church Dogmatics is Barth’s summa, the work of his mature years.  The German original is divided into four volumes: The Doctrine of the Work of Christ (vol. 1-2); The Doctrine of Creation (vol. 3), and The Doctrine of Reconciliation (vol. 4).  For a useful anthology of key texts, see Hellmut Gollwitzer & Geoffrey Bromiley, eds., Karl Barth: Church Dogmatics: A Selection (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1994) paperback, $25.

 

Karl Barth, The Epistle to the Romans [Der Romerbrief, 1918, rev ed., 1920], trans. Edwyn C. Hoskyns, 6th ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1968) paperback, $20.  This was one of the most influential and controversial works of 20th century theology.  It abandoned the whole 19th and early 20th century liberal Protestant project, and directly engaged Paul’s text, meditating deeply and with enormous eloquence on Paul’s “gospel” of the radical deed of God in Christ.

 

Karl Barth, Anselm: Fides Quarens Intellectum: Faith in Search of Understanding, trans. Ian Robertson (Richmond, 1960).

Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics in Outline [Dogmatik im Grundriss, 1947] (San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1986) paperback, $13.

Karl Barth, God Here and Now, Routledge Classics (1964; reprint: New York: Routledge, 2003).  This is a collection of Barth’s speeches.

Karl Barth, Gottingen Dogmatics: An Instruction in the Christian Religion [Unterricht in der christlichen Religion], ed. Hannelotte Reiffen, trans. G.W. Bromiley (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1991) paperback, $48.

Karl Barth, The Humanity of God, trans. Thomas Weiser (Richmond: John Knox Press, 1960) paperback, $20.

Karl Barth, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, trans. Clarence Pott (reprint: Wipf & Stock, 2003) paperback, $8.

Eberhard Busch, Karl Barth: His Life from Letters and Autobiographical Texts, trans. John Bowden (reprint: Wipf & Stock, 2005) paperback, $60. 

Clifford Green, ed., Karl Barth: Theologian of Freedom, Making of Modern Theology (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1991) paperback, $22.  A valuable anthology of Barth’s writings.  It includes the famous anti-Nazi “Barmen Declaration” (1934); selections from the Church Dogmatics, and much else. 

James M. Robinson, ed., The Beginnings of Dialectic Theology (Richmond, VA: John Knox, 1968)  A valuable collection of essays by Barth, his defenders, and his opponents, on his early theology, especially the The Epistle to the Romans.

 

  2. KARL BARTH: STUDIES

 

John Webster, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Karl Barth (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000) paperback, $20. A fine collection of essays on individual aspects of Barth's theology. 

 

Hans Urs von Balthasar, The Theology of Karl Barth: Exposition and Interpretation [Karl Barth: Darstellung und Deutung seiner Theologie], trans. E.T. Oakes (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1992) paperback, $25.

Eberhard Busch, The Great Passion: An Introduction to Karl Barth's Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2004) paperback, $30.

Geoffrey W. Bromiley, Introduction to the Theology of Karl Barth (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1979) paperback, $45.

Timothy Gorringe, Karl Barth: Against Hegemony, Christian Theology in Context (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999) paperback, $25.

George Hunsinger, How to Read Karl Barth: The Shape of His Theology (reprint: New York: Oxford University Press, 1993) paperback, $45.

George Hunsinger, Disruptive Grace: Studies in the Theology of Karl Barth (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2001) paperback, $35.

George Hunsinger, ed., For the Sake of the World: Karl Barth and the Future of Ecclesial Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2004) paperback, $36.

Frank Jehle, Ever Against the Stream: The Politics of Karl Barth, 1906-1968 (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2002).

William Stacy Johnson, The Mystery of God: Karl Barth and the Foundations of Postmodern Theology, Columbia Studies in Reformed Theology (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 1997) paperback, $20. 

Mark R. Lindsay, Covenanted Solidarity: The Theological Basis of Karl Barth’s Opposition to Nazi Antisemitism and the Holocaust, Issues in Systematic Theology 9 (New York: Peter Lang, 2001) hardcover, $67. 

Bruce L. McCormack, Karl Barth’s Critically Realistic Dialectical Theology: Its Genesis and Development, 1909-1936 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997) paperback, $99. 

Daniel J. Price, Karl Barth’s Anthropology in Light of Modern Thought (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2002) paperback, $35.

John Webster, Barth, Outstanding Christian Thinkers Series (New York: Continuum, 2000) paperback, $22.

John Webster, Barth's Moral Theology: Human Action in Barth's Thought (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdman, 1998).

 

 

Rudolf Bultmann, History of the Synoptic Tradition [Die Geschichte der synoptischen Tradition, 1921], trans. John Marsh (reprint: Hendrickson, 1994).  Rudolf Bultmann was one of the finest and most controversial biblical scholars and theologians of the 20th century.  He was one of the finest practitioners of form criticism and, famously, applied an existentialist hermeneutic to interpreting Jesus and the New Testament.

Rudolf Bultmann, Theology of the New Testament [Theologie des Neuen Testaments] trans. Kendrick Grobel (reprint: Baylor University Press, 2007) paperback, $30.

Rudolf Bultmann, The Gospel of John: A Commentary [Evangelium des Johannes] trans. G.R. Beasley-Murray (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1971).

Rudolf Bultmann, New Testament and Mythology and Other Basic Writings, ed. Schubert Ogden (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1984) paperback, $19.

Rudolf Bultmann, What Is Theology?, Fortress Texts in Modern Theology, ed. Eberhard Jungel (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1997) paperback, $17.

Rudolf Bultmann, History and Eschatology: The Presence of Eternity, Gifford Lectures 1955 (Harper Torchbooks, 1955).

Rudolf Bultmann, Jesus and the Word, trans. Louise Smith (New York: Scribner, 1958).

Rudolf Bultmann, Jesus Christ and Mythology (Prentice-Hall, 1981) paperback, $22.

 

 

David Ferguson, Bultmann, Outstanding Christian Thinker Series (New York: Continuum, 2000) paperback, $20.

Roger A. Johnson, ed., Rudolf Bultmann: Interpreting Faith for the Modern Era, The Making of Modern Theology (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1991) paperback, $24.

Walter Schmithals, An Introduction to the Theology of Rudolf Bultmann, trans. John Bowden (London: SCM, 1968).

 

  5. DIETRICH BONHOEFFER (1906-1945): MAJOR WORKS

 

John W. DeGruchy, ed., Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1999-  ). Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed by the Nazis for his involvement with a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.  Tragically, he was killed just one week before the American army liberated the concentration camp where he was being held.  Bonhoeffer was both a brilliant theologian and one of the leaders of the Confessing Church in Germany.  His most influential writings, The Letters and Paper from Prison, were penned in Tegel Prison from 1943 to 1945.  This text would deeply influence theology in the 1960s, both in Europe and the United States and would be seen as a forerunner of political (and liberation) theology.  Fortress Press has nearly finished translating and publishing the complete works of Bonhoeffer based on the critical edition of his German works, the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Werke, ed. Eberhard Bethge et al.  Eleven volumes are now available:

• Vol. 1: Sanctorum Communio, ed. Reinhard Krauss, Nancy Lukenss, Clifford Green (1998), hardcover, $35.

• Vol. 2: Act and Being [Akt und Sein], trans. Wayne Whitson Floyd and H. Martin Rumscheidt (1996), hardcover, $32.

• Vol. 3: Creation and Fall [Schopfung und Fall), trans. Douglas Stephen Bax, ed. John W. de Gruchy (2000 / 2007) NEW in paperback, $19.

• Vol. 4: Discipleship [Nachfolge], trans. Geffrey B. Kelley, John D. Godsey, Barbara Green (2001 / 2003) paperback, $20. 

• Vol. 5: Life Together and Prayerbook of the Bible [Gemeines Leben) ed. Daniel W. Bloesch and Geffrey B. Kelly, James H. Burtness (2002 / 2004) paperback, $20.

• Vol. 6: Ethics, ed. Clifford J. Green, Reinhard Krauss, Charles C. West, and Douglas W. Stott (2005) hardcover, $55. 

• Vol. 7: Fiction from Tegel Prison, ed. Nancy Lukens and Clifford J. Green (2000) hardcover, $37. 

• Vol. 9: The Young Bonhoeffer, 1918-1927, ed. Clifford Green, Mary C. Nebelsick, and Douglas W. Stott (2002) hardcover, $60. 

• Vol. 10: Barcelona, Berlin, New York, 1928-1931, ed. Clifford Green (2008) hardcover, $60.  NEW.

• Vol. 13: London, 1933-1935, ed. Keith Clements and Isabel Best (2007) hardcover, $50.  NEW.

• Vol. 16: Conspiracy and Imprisonment, 1940-1945, ed. Mark S. Brocker, Lisa E. Dahill, and Douglas W. Stott (2006), hardcover, $60.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison [Widerstand und Ergebung], trans. Reginald Fuller & Frank Clark (New York: Torchstone, 1997) paperback, $16. 

Geffrey B. Kelly & E. Burton Nelson, eds., A Testament to Freedom: The Essential Writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (San Francisco: Harper One, 1995) paperback, $24.

 

 

Eberhard Bethge, Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Biography, rev. & ed. Victoria J. Barnett (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2000) paperback, $39.  Bethge was one of Bonhoeffer’s closest disciples and spent his career editing his works and preserving his memory.  This is the definitive biography, now back in print.

 

John W. DeGruchy, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Dietrich Bonhoeffer (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999) paperback, $20.

John W. DeGruchy, Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Witness to Christ (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1991) paperback, $18.

John W. DeGruchy, ed., Bonhoeffer for a New Day: Theology in a Time of Transition (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1997)

Sabine Dramm, Dietrich Bonhoeffer: An Introduction to His Thought, trans. Thomas Rice (Hendrickson, 2007) paperback, $20.  NEW.

Wayne Whitson Floyd, “Dietrich Bonhoeffer,” in David F. Ford, The Modern Theologians: An Introduction to Christian Theology Since 1918, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Blackwell, 2005), 43-61.

Clifford J. Green, Bonhoeffer: A Theology of Sociality, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1999) paperback, $35.

Stanley Hauerwas, Performing the Faith: Bonhoeffer and the Practice of Nonviolence (Grand Rapid, MI: Brazos Press, 2004), paperback, $24.

Frits de Lange, Waiting for the Word: Dietrich Bonhoeffer on Speaking about God (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2000).

Charles Marsh, Reclaiming Dietrich Bonhoeffer: The Promise of His Theology (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996) hardcover, $53.

Andreas Pangritz, Karl Barth in the Theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, trans. Barbara & Martin Rumscheidt (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2000).

Ralfk Wüstenberg, A Theology of Life: Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Religionless Christianity, trans. Doug Stott (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1998).

 

Jurgen Moltmann, The Crucified God: The Cross of Christ as the Foundation and Criticism of Christian Theology (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993) paperback, $24.

Jurgen Moltmann, The Theology of Hope (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993) paperback, $24.

H. Richard Niebuhr, Christ and Culture (1951; reprint: New York: Harper Torchbooks, 2001) paperback, $16.

H. Richard Niebuhr, The Meaning of Revelation, Library of Theological Ethics (1941; reprint: Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2006) paperback, $25.

H. Richard Niebuhr, The Responsible Self: An Essay in Christian Moral Philosophy, Library of Theological Ethics (reprint: Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1999) paperback, $25.

H. Richard Niebuhr, Faith on Earth: An Inquiry into the Structure of Human Faith (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989) hardcover, $30.

Larry Rasmussen, ed., Reinhold Niebuhr: Theologian of Public Life, Making of Modern Theology (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1991) paperback, $20.

Martin Rumscheidt, ed., Adolf von Harnack: Liberal Theology at Its Height, Making of Modern Theology (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1989) paperback, $22.

Mark Kline Taylor, ed., Paul Tillich: Theologian at the Boundaries, Making of Modern Theology (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1991) paperback, $22.

 

 

 | Bibliographies for Theology | New Testament | Early Christianity | Medieval Christianity |

 | Reformation | Spirituality | Sacraments | 20th-Century Theology |

Revised: April 15, 2008

 Page Content developed by

  William Harmless, SJ