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Document Details : Title: Karl Barth and the Nature of False and True Religion Author(s): VROOM, Hendrik M. Journal: Studies in Interreligious Dialogue Volume: 22 Issue: 1 Date: 2012 Pages: 74-86 DOI: 10.2143/SID.22.1.2174057 Abstract : This article discusses Karl Barth’s theory of religion, based as it on two contextual circumstances: a) his rejection of forms of religion that are not determined by God’s revelation in Christ; his context is the rise of Nazism and 'German Christians'; b) his judgment that the essence of all religion is resistance against God; in his context, many scholars used the paradigm of the phenomenology of religion that reduces whole traditions to their essence. From both the theological and the religious studies perspectives, Barth views all religion as a human enterprise in resistance against God, except the religion of Christians at those times that they, by the grace of God, give voice to the Word of God. Without this essentialism, a more dialogical attitude towards people of other religious traditions is possible, which is not relativistic because real dialogue circles around true insights. |
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