COVERING UP LUTHER

Karl Barths Christology provides a key to out-narrating the Deus absconditus, which, as Rustin Brian contends, is in fact the god of modernity. Included in this is the rejection of the logical and philosophical systems that allow for the modern understanding of God as the Deus absconditus, namely, dialectics and nominalism. This rejection is illustrated, interestingly enough, in Barths decision to literally cover up, with a rug, Martin Luthers works in his personal library. Surely this was more than a decorative touch. The reading of Barths works that results from this starting point challenges much of contemporary Barth scholarship and urges readers to reconsider Barth. Through careful examination of a large body of Barths writings, particularly in regard to the issues of the knowledge or knowability of God, as well as Christology, Brian argues that contemporary Barth scholarship should be done in careful conversation with the finest examples of both Protestant and, especially, Roman Catholic theology. Barths paradoxical Christology thus becomes the foundation for a dogmatic ecumenicism. Barths Christology, then, just might be able to open up possibilities for discussion and even convergence, within a church that is anything but one. This book is a significant contribution to the lively conversation between Christian theology and postmodernity. Perhaps Brians most trenchant insight is that Karl Barths quarrel with Martin Luther in regards to the Deus absconditus parallels postmodernitys critique of typically modern conceptions of God, entertained by believers and non-believers alike. Thus, the greatest Protestant theologian of the twentieth century shows the path toward dialogue with the dominant cultural form of the twenty-first century. Brians text is lively, provocative, well-written, and compellingly argued. --Robert Barron, author of The Priority of Christ Rather than accepting well-worn interpretations of Barth (and Luther), Brian breaks fresh ground wit