ORIGINAL RESEARCH

 

Karl Barth's understanding of mission: The Church in relationship¹

 

 

W Bentley²

University of Pretoria

 

 

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ABSTRACT

As the Church is moving towards its 21^st century of existence, it is confronted by challenges it has never known before. This changing world demands self-reflection within the Church. It has to consider its place, identity and function, thereby giving rise to the exploration of its mission. In this article, the ecclesiology of Karl Barth is explored. By considering Barth's understanding of the Church's relationship with different parties such as God, other religions, those outside the Christian faith, the State and its own inner dynamics, the Church will be reminded of its missionary function in the world.

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Full text available only in PDF format.

 

 

Consulted literature

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-, 1957a. Church Dogmatics The doctrine of the Word of God. Edited by GW Bromiley and TF Torrance. Translated by GT Thomson. Edinburg: T & T Clark.         [ Links ]

-, 1957b. Church Dogmatics II/2: The doctrine of God. Edited by GW Bromiley and TF Torrance. Translated by GW Bromiley and JC Campbell, H Knight et al Edinburgh: T & T Clark.         [ Links ]

-, 1958a. Church Dogmatics The doctrine of creation. Edited by GW Bromiley and TF Torrance. Translated by O Bussey, JW Edwards and H Knight. Edinburgh: T & T Clark.         [ Links ]

-, 1958b. Church Dogmatics IV/2: The doctrine of reconciliation. Edited by G W Bromiley and T F Torrance. Translated by G W Bromiley. Edinburgh: T & T Clark.         [ Links ]

-, 1960a. Community, State and Church: Three essays. Translated by A M Hall and G R Howe. Gloucester: Peter Smith.         [ Links ]

-, 1960b. Die Kirchliche Dogmatik I/2: Die Lehre vom Wort Gottes. Zürich: Evangelischer Verlag.         [ Links ]

-, 1961. Church Dogmatics III/3: The doctrine of creation. Edited by GW Bromiley and TF Torrance. Translated by GW Bromiley and RJ Ehrlich. Edinburgh: T & T Clark.         [ Links ]

-, 1962. The Christian life. Translated by J S McNab. Lexington: Student Christian Movement Press.         [ Links ]

-, 1981. Ethics II. Ethics. Edited by D Braun and translated by G W Bromiley. Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 261-521.         [ Links ]

Bosch, D J 1980. Witness to the world: The Christian Mission in Theological perspective. London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott.         [ Links ]

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The Kairos Theologians. 1985. Challenge to the Church: A theological comment on the political crisis in South Africa (The Kairos Document). Braamfontein: The Kairos Theologians.         [ Links ]

The Roman Catholic Church. 1992. The Catechism of the Catholic Church. Nairobi: Pauline Press.         [ Links ]

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World Methodist Council. 2006. "The World Methodist Council and the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification". http://www.worldmethodistcouncil.org/files/world_methodist_council_and_the_jddj.pdf (Accessed on 28 February 2007).         [ Links ]

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1 This article is based on research done for a PhD degree in the Department of Dogmatics and Christian Ethics of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Pretoria. The supervisor is Prof CJ Wethmar.
2 Dr Wessel Bentley is a part-time lecturer in the Department of Systematic Theology and Theological Ethics at the University of South Africa.