Misplaced Pages

Neo-orthodoxy: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from[REDACTED] with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editContent deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 23:48, 2 March 2022 editVeverve (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users57,883 editsmNo edit summaryTag: Visual edit← Previous edit Latest revision as of 20:31, 14 January 2025 edit undo154.5.30.41 (talk) →See also 
(35 intermediate revisions by 24 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|Christian theological movement developed after WW1}} {{Short description|Christian theological movement developed after WW1}}
{{For|the form of Orthodox Judaism|Torah im Derech Eretz}} {{For|the form of Orthodox Judaism|Torah im Derech Eretz}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{Refimprove |date=February 2011}} {{More citations needed |date=February 2011}}
{{essay-like|date=December 2022}}
}}
{{Neo-orthodoxy}}
{{Protestantism}} {{Protestantism}}
In ], '''Neo-orthodoxy''' or '''Neoorthodoxy''', also known as '''theology of crisis''' and '''dialectical theology''',<ref name =BR1>{{cite encyclopedia | url = http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/409012/neoorthodoxy#tab=active~checked%2Citems~checked&title=neoorthodoxy%20--%20Britannica%20Online%20Encyclopedia | title = Neoorthodoxy | encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Britannica | edition = online | access-date = 2008-07-26}}</ref> was a theological movement developed in the aftermath of the ]. The movement was largely a reaction against doctrines of 19th-century ] and a reevaluation of the teachings of the ].<ref name =MW>{{cite web|url= http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/neo-orthodox | title = Neoorthodoxy | last1 = Merriam | last2 = Webster | work = Dictionary | edition = online | access-date = 2008-07-26}}</ref> ] is the leading figure associated with the movement. In the U.S., ] was a leading exponent of neo-orthodoxy.<ref>] (1986). "Introduction", ''The Essential Reinhold Niebuhr: Selected Essays and Addresses'', Yale University Press, pp. Retrieved 2018-01-19.</ref> It is unrelated to ]. In ], '''Neo-orthodoxy''' or '''Neoorthodoxy''', also known as '''theology of crisis''' and '''dialectical theology''',<ref name =BR1>{{cite encyclopedia | url = http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/409012/neoorthodoxy#tab=active~checked%2Citems~checked&title=neoorthodoxy%20--%20Britannica%20Online%20Encyclopedia | title = Neoorthodoxy | encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Britannica | edition = online | access-date = 2008-07-26}}</ref> was a theological movement developed in the aftermath of the ]. The movement was largely a reaction against doctrines of 19th century ] and a reevaluation of the teachings of the ].<ref name =MW>{{cite web|url= http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/neo-orthodox | title = Neoorthodoxy | last1 = Merriam | last2 = Webster | work = Dictionary | edition = online | access-date = 2008-07-26}}</ref> ] is the leading figure associated with the movement. In the U.S., ] was a leading exponent of neo-orthodoxy.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Niebuhr |first=Reinhold |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eB6MyJk2fvQC&q=f=false&pg=PR15 |title=The Essential Reinhold Niebuhr: Selected Essays and Addresses |date=1986-01-01 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-16264-6 |pages=xv–xvi |language=en}}</ref> It is unrelated to ].

==Revelation== ==Revelation==
Neo-orthodoxy strongly emphasises the ] of ] by God as the source of Christian ].<ref>Meister and Stump. (2010). "Christian Thought: A Historical Introduction". Routedge, p. 449.</ref> This is in contrast to ], whose proponents include ], who states that knowledge of God can be gained through a combination of observation of nature and human ]; the issue remains a controversial topic within some circles of Christianity to this day.<ref>McGrath. (2013). "Christian History: An Introduction". Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 290-292.</ref> Neo-orthodoxy strongly emphasises the ] of ] by God as the source of Christian ].<ref>Meister and Stump. (2010). "Christian Thought: A Historical Introduction". Routledge, p. 449.</ref> This is in contrast to ]; the issue remains a controversial topic within some circles of Christianity to this day.<ref>McGrath. (2013). "Christian History: An Introduction". Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 290–292.</ref>


Barth totally rejects natural theology. As Thomas Torrance wrote: Barth totally rejects natural theology. As ] wrote:
{{quote|So far as theological content is concerned, Barth's argument runs like this. If the God whom we have actually come to know through Jesus Christ really ''is'' Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in his own eternal and undivided Being, then what are we to make of an independent natural theology that terminates, not upon the Being of the Triune God—i.e., upon God as he really is in himself—but upon some Being of God in general? Natural theology by its very operation abstracts the existence of God from his act, so that if it does not begin with deism, it imposes deism upon theology.<ref name = "Ground and Grammar">{{cite book| last = Torrance | first = Thomas| title= The Ground and Grammar of Theology | year= 2001 | publisher = T&T Clark | location = Great Britain | isbn = 0-567-04331-2 | page = 89}}</ref>}} {{blockquote|So far as theological content is concerned, Barth's argument runs like this. If the God whom we have actually come to know through Jesus Christ really ''is'' Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in his own eternal and undivided Being, then what are we to make of an independent natural theology that terminates, not upon the Being of the Triune God—i.e., upon God as he really is in himself—but upon some Being of God in general? Natural theology by its very operation abstracts the existence of God from his act, so that if it does not begin with deism, it imposes deism upon theology.<ref name = "Ground and Grammar">{{cite book| last = Torrance | first = Thomas| title= The Ground and Grammar of Theology | year= 2001 | publisher = T&T Clark | location = Great Britain | isbn = 0-567-04331-2 | page = 89}}</ref>|author=Thomas Torrance|title=The Ground and Grammar of Theology|source=p. 89}}


], on the other hand, believed that natural theology still had an important, although not decisive, role. This led to a sharp disagreement between the two men, the first of several controversies that prevented the movement from acquiring a unified, homogeneous character. ], on the other hand, believed that natural theology still had an important, although not decisive, role. This led to a sharp disagreement between the two men, the first of several controversies that prevented the movement from acquiring a unified, homogeneous character.
Line 16: Line 21:


==Existentialism== ==Existentialism==
Some of the neo-orthodox theologians made use of ]. ] (who was associated with Barth and Brunner in the 1920s in particular) was strongly influenced by his former colleague at Marburg, the German existentialist philosopher ]. Some of the neo-orthodox theologians made use of ]. ] (who was associated with Barth and Brunner in the 1920s in particular) was strongly influenced by his former colleague at Marburg, the German existentialist philosopher ].

] and (to a lesser extent, and mostly in his earlier writings) Karl Barth, on the other hand, were influenced by the writings of the 19th-century Danish philosopher ]. Kierkegaard was a critic of the then-fashionable liberal ] effort to "rationalise" Christianity—to make it palatable to those whom ] termed the "cultured despisers of religion". Instead, under pseudonyms such as ], Kierkegaard maintained that Christianity is "absurd" (i.e., it transcends human understanding) and presents the individual with paradoxical choices. The decision to become a Christian, Kierkegaard thought, is not fundamentally rational but passional—a ]. Opponents of Kierkegaard's approach and neo-orthodoxy in general have termed this ], a blatant refusal to find support for the faith outside its own circles.{{Clarify|date=August 2010}} For the most part, proponents reply that no such support exists, that supposed reasons and evidences for faith are fabrications of fallen human imagination, and in effect constitute ]. Some neo-orthodox proponents have gone so far as to claim greater affinity with atheists in that regard than with the theological and cultural trappings of so-called "Christendom",{{Citation needed|date=May 2012}} which Kierkegaard venomously denounced in his later works. ] and (to a lesser extent, and mostly in his earlier writings) Karl Barth, on the other hand, were influenced by the writings of the 19th century Danish philosopher ]. Kierkegaard was a critic of the then-fashionable liberal ] effort to "rationalise" Christianity—to make it palatable to those whom ] termed the "cultured despisers of religion". Instead, under pseudonyms such as ], Kierkegaard maintained that Christianity is "absurd" (i.e., it transcends human understanding) and presents the individual with paradoxical choices. The decision to become a Christian, Kierkegaard thought, is not fundamentally rational but passional—a ]. Opponents of Kierkegaard's approach and neo-orthodoxy in general have termed this ], a blatant refusal to find support for the faith outside its own circles.{{Clarify|date=August 2010}} For the most part, proponents reply that no such support exists, that supposed reasons and evidences for faith are fabrications of fallen human imagination, and in effect constitute ]. Some neo-orthodox proponents have gone so far as to claim greater affinity with atheists in that regard than with the theological and cultural trappings of so-called "Christendom",{{Citation needed|date=May 2012}} which Kierkegaard venomously denounced in his later works.


==Sin and human nature== ==Sin and human nature==
In neo-orthodoxy, ] is seen not as mere error or ignorance; it is not something that can be overcome by reason or social institutions (e.g., schools); it can only be overcome by the grace of God through ]. Sin is seen as something bad within human nature itself.<ref name=Abt>{{cite web|url= http://atheism.about.com/library/glossary/western/bldef_neoorthodoxy.htm | publisher =About | work = Atheism | title = Neo-orthodoxy | access-date = 2008-07-31}}</ref> This amounts to a renovation of historical teachings about ] (especially drawing upon ]), although thinkers generally avoided ] interpretations of it and consequential elaborations about ]. The means of supposed transmission of sin, to neo-orthodox minds, is not as important as its pervasive reality. The association of original sin with sexuality—an abiding idea—leads to moralism, a rectitude that is overly optimistic about human capabilities to resist the power of unfaith and disobedience in all areas of life, not just sexual behavior. This core conviction about the universality and intransigence of sin has elements of ], and has not surprisingly offended those who think people are capable, wholly or in part, of effecting their own salvation (i.e., ]). In other words, neo-orthodoxy might be said to have a greater appreciation of tragedy in human existence than either conservatism or liberalism, a point emphasized by a latter-day interpreter of the movement, Canadian theologian ]. In neo-orthodoxy, ] is seen not as mere error or ignorance; it is not something that can be overcome by reason or social institutions (e.g., schools); it can only be overcome by the grace of God through ]. Sin is seen as something bad within human nature itself.<ref name=Abt>{{cite web | url = http://atheism.about.com/library/glossary/western/bldef_neoorthodoxy.htm | publisher = About | work = Atheism | title = Neo-orthodoxy | access-date = 2008-07-31 | archive-date = 2011-01-06 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110106173032/http://atheism.about.com/library/glossary/western/bldef_neoorthodoxy.htm | url-status = dead }}</ref> This amounts to a renovation of historical teachings about ] (especially drawing upon ]), although thinkers generally avoided ] interpretations of it and consequential elaborations about ]. The means of supposed transmission of sin, to neo-orthodox minds, is not as important as its pervasive reality. The association of original sin with sexuality—an abiding idea—leads to moralism, a rectitude that is overly optimistic about human capabilities to resist the power of unfaith and disobedience in all areas of life, not just sexual behavior. This core conviction about the universality and intransigence of sin has elements of ], and has not surprisingly offended those who think people are capable, wholly or in part, of effecting their own salvation (i.e., ]). In other words, neo-orthodoxy might be said to have a greater appreciation of tragedy in human existence than either conservatism or liberalism, a point emphasized by a latter-day interpreter of the movement, Canadian theologian ].


== Relation to other theologies == == Relation to other theologies ==
Neo-orthodoxy is distinct from both ] and ], but, notwithstanding some interpreters, it cannot properly be considered a mediating position between the two. Neo-orthodoxy draws from various ] heritages (primarily ] and ]) in an attempt to rehabilitate ] outside the restraints of ] thought. Unlike confessionalist or fundamentalist reactions to individualist approaches to the faith, however, neo-orthodox adherents saw no value in rehabilitating tradition for its own sake. Past Protestant doctrine is used only to the degree that it affirms the living Word of God in Jesus Christ. Propositions in and of themselves, whether from the Bible or not, are, to the neo-orthodox, insufficient to build theology upon. Also, in the pursuit of social justice, intellectual freedom, and honesty, the neo-orthodox, unlike the conservatives they were accused by detractors of resembling, often made practical alliances with liberals. Both groups shared a deep hostility to ] of any kind, in both church and state. Neo-orthodoxy is distinct from both ] and ], but, notwithstanding some interpreters, it cannot properly be considered a mediating position between the two. Neo-orthodoxy draws from various ] heritages (primarily ] and ]) in an attempt to rehabilitate ] outside the restraints of ] thought. Unlike confessionalist or fundamentalist reactions to individualist approaches to the faith, however, neo-orthodox adherents saw no value in rehabilitating tradition for its own sake. Past Protestant doctrine is used only to the degree that it affirms the living Word of God in Jesus Christ. Propositions in and of themselves, whether from the Bible or not, are, to the neo-orthodox, insufficient to build theology upon. Also, in the pursuit of social justice, intellectual freedom, and honesty{{fact|date=August 2024}}, the neo-orthodox, unlike the conservatives they were accused by detractors of resembling, often made practical alliances with liberals. Both groups shared a deep hostility to ] of any kind, in both church and state.{{fact|date=August 2024}}<!--This a self-perception that others might disagree with, so it ought to be sourced. For instance, many atheists would argue that the relationship between God and man posited by all forms of theism is in itself fundamentally authoritarian (not to mention much in the scripture and practices of the Judaeo-Christian tradition). Equally, atheists may argue that no theism in modern times is compatible with genuine 'pursuit of ... honesty'.-->


The breadth of the term ''neo-orthodox'', though, has led to its abandonment as a useful classification, especially after new emphases in mainline Protestant theology appeared during the 1960s. These included the "]" movement, which attacked the linguistic and cultural foundations of all previous theology, and a renewal of interest among Biblical scholars in the "]", something neo-orthodox theologians largely dismissed as irrelevant to serious Christian faith. Still, some of the movement's positions and worldviews would inform such later movements as ] during the 1970s and 1980s and ] during the 1990s and 2000s—in spite of theological and ethical differences from both (i.e., liberationist use of ] conceptual analysis and narrativist dependence upon ]). The breadth of the term ''neo-orthodox'', though, has led to its abandonment as a useful classification, especially after new emphases in mainline Protestant theology appeared during the 1960s. These included the "]" movement, which attacked the linguistic and cultural foundations of all previous theology, and a renewal of interest among Biblical scholars in the "]", something neo-orthodox theologians largely dismissed as irrelevant to serious Christian faith. Still, some of the movement's positions and worldviews would inform such later movements as ] during the 1970s and 1980s and ] during the 1990s and 2000s—in spite of theological and ethical differences from both (i.e., liberationist use of ] conceptual analysis and narrativist dependence upon ]).


==Influence upon American Protestantism== ==Influence upon American Protestantism==
From its inception, this school of thought has largely been unacceptable to Protestant ], as neo-orthodoxy generally accepts ]; has remained mostly silent on the perceived conflicts caused by ]; and, in espousing these two viewpoints, it retains at least some aspects of 19th-century ].<ref>{{Citation | title = ] | year = 2002 | volume = 22 | pages = 691–92}}.</ref> From its inception, this school of thought has largely been unacceptable to Protestant ], as neo-orthodoxy generally accepts ]; has remained mostly silent on the perceived conflicts caused by ]; and, in espousing these two viewpoints, it retains at least some aspects of 19th-century ].<ref>{{Citation |title=] |volume=22 |pages=691–692 |year=2002}}.</ref>


==Critical assessment== ==Critical assessment==
Neo-orthodoxy was originally met with criticism by fellow Protestant theologians in Germany: Ferdinand Kattenbusch accused Barth of being a reactionary theologian, who wanted to overthrow the fruits of ] acquired since the end of the 18th century,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kattenbusch|first=Ferdinand|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=50O5DwAAQBAJ|title=Die deutsche evangelische Theologie seit Schleiermacher: Ihre Leistungen und ihre Schäden|publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG|year=1934|isbn=978-3-11-165015-9|pages=46–48|language=de}}</ref> while ] saw Barth as a "kerygmatic theologian" who wanted to derive the contents of his theology solely from the Bible without regard for the "situation".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tillich|first=Paul|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fNYnAgAAQBAJ|title=Systematic Theology, Volume 1|date=1951|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-15999-7|page=5|language=en}}</ref> Such views started to be abandoned after Friedrich-Wilhelm Marquardt proposed instead that Barth's theology was in fact the product of his activity on behalf of the working classes in his Safenwill parish<ref>{{Cite book|last=Marquardt|first=Friedrich-Wilhelm|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3y3hmAEACAAJ|title=Theologie und Sozialismus: das Beispiel Karl Barths|date=1972|publisher=Grünewald|isbn=978-3-7867-0343-3|pages=21–25|language=de}}</ref>: such view proved controversial and is nowaday rarely defended, but led to the demise of the traditional view on neo-orthodoxy held in German circles.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=McCormack|first=Bruce L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WnbnCwAAQBAJ|title=Karl Barth's Critically Realistic Dialectical Theology: Its Genesis and Development, 1909-1936|date=1997|publisher=Clarendon Press|isbn=978-0-19-826956-4|pages=26–27|language=en}}</ref> Neo-orthodoxy was originally met with criticism by fellow Protestant theologians in Germany: Ferdinand Kattenbusch accused Barth of being a reactionary theologian, who wanted to overthrow the fruits that ] acquired since the end of the 18th century,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kattenbusch |first=Ferdinand |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=50O5DwAAQBAJ |title=Die deutsche evangelische Theologie seit Schleiermacher: Ihre Leistungen und ihre Schäden |publisher=] |year=1934 |isbn=978-3-11-165015-9 |pages=46–48 |language=de}}</ref> while ] saw Barth as a "]tic theologian" who wanted to derive the contents of his theology solely from the Bible without regard for the "situation".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tillich |first=Paul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fNYnAgAAQBAJ |title=Systematic Theology, Volume 1 |date=1951 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-226-15999-7 |page=5 |language=en}}</ref> Such views started to be abandoned after Friedrich-Wilhelm Marquardt proposed instead that Barth's theology was in fact the product of his activity on behalf of the working classes in his ] parish.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Marquardt|first=Friedrich-Wilhelm|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3y3hmAEACAAJ|title=Theologie und Sozialismus: das Beispiel Karl Barths|date=1972|publisher=Grünewald|isbn=978-3-7867-0343-3|pages=21–25|language=de}}</ref> Such a view proved controversial and is nowadays rarely defended, but led to the demise of the traditional view on neo-orthodoxy held in German circles.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=McCormack |first=Bruce L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WnbnCwAAQBAJ |title=Karl Barth's Critically Realistic Dialectical Theology: Its Genesis and Development, 1909-1936 |date=1997 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-19-826956-4 |pages=26–27 |language=en}}</ref>


According to ] (]) the acceptance of Barth's theology in the English-speaking word only happened after a "process of normalization" which adjusted Barth's theology in accordance with more traditional norms.<ref name=":0" /> According to ] (]) the acceptance of Barth's theology in the English-speaking world only happened after a "process of normalization" which adjusted Barth's theology in accordance with more traditional norms.<ref name=":0" />


==Important figures of the movement== ==Important figures of the movement==
Line 41: Line 47:
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ]<ref name = RHF>Douglas Martin, 2007. ''The New York Times'', April 14.</ref> * ]<ref name="RHF">{{Cite news |last=Martin |first=Douglas |date=2007-04-14 |title=Reginald H. Fuller, 92, New Testament Scholar, Dies |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/14/obituaries/14fuller.html |access-date=2023-05-29 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
* ] * ]


== See also == == See also ==
{{Portal|Christianity}} {{Portal|Christianity|Reformed Christianity}}
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ]
* {{section link|Dialectic|Criticisms}}
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
Line 62: Line 68:
* <cite id=Brom2000>{{Citation | last = Bromiley | first = Geoffrey W | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=P6EjlhurXv8C | title = An Introduction to the Theology of Karl Barth | publisher = Continuum International | year = 2000 | isbn = 0-567-29054-9}}.</cite> * <cite id=Brom2000>{{Citation | last = Bromiley | first = Geoffrey W | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=P6EjlhurXv8C | title = An Introduction to the Theology of Karl Barth | publisher = Continuum International | year = 2000 | isbn = 0-567-29054-9}}.</cite>
* <cite id=Busch1976>Busch, E (1976). ''Karl Barth: His Life from Letters and Autobiographical Texts''. Grand Rapids, Wm. B. Eerdmans. {{ISBN|0-8028-0708-9}}</cite> * <cite id=Busch1976>Busch, E (1976). ''Karl Barth: His Life from Letters and Autobiographical Texts''. Grand Rapids, Wm. B. Eerdmans. {{ISBN|0-8028-0708-9}}</cite>
* Chung, Paul S, . James Clarke & Co, Cambridge (2008), {{ISBN|978-0-227-17266-7}} * Chung, Paul S, . James Clarke & Co, Cambridge (2008), {{ISBN|978-0-227-17266-7}}
* <cite id=#Ford2005>Ford, D (2005). , 3rd ed. Blackwell {{ISBN|1-4051-0277-2}}</cite> * <cite id=#Ford2005>Ford, D (2005). , 3rd ed. Blackwell {{ISBN|1-4051-0277-2}}</cite>
* Goering, Timothy. "System der Käseplatte. Aufstieg und Fall der Dialektischen Theologie", in: ''Journal for the History of Modern Theology / Zeitschrift für Neuere Theologiegeschichte'', 24.1 (2017), S. 1-50 (doi:10.1515/znth-2017-0001) * Goering, Timothy. "System der Käseplatte. Aufstieg und Fall der Dialektischen Theologie", in: ''Journal for the History of Modern Theology / Zeitschrift für Neuere Theologiegeschichte'', 24.1 (2017), S. 1–50 (doi:10.1515/znth-2017-0001)
* Goering, Timothy: ''Friedrich Gogarten (1887-1967). Religionsrebell im Jahrhundert der Weltkriege'' (Studien zur Ideengeschichte der Neuzeit, Bd. 51), Berlin/Boston: de Gruyter 2017, {{ISBN|978-3-11-051730-9}}. * Goering, Timothy: ''Friedrich Gogarten (1887–1967). Religionsrebell im Jahrhundert der Weltkriege'' (Studien zur Ideengeschichte der Neuzeit, Bd. 51), Berlin/Boston: de Gruyter 2017, {{ISBN|978-3-11-051730-9}}.
* <cite id=Hall1998>Hall, DJ (1998) . Louisville, Westminster John Knox. {{ISBN|0-664-25772-0}}</cite> * <cite id=Hall1998>Hall, DJ (1998) . Louisville, Westminster John Knox. {{ISBN|0-664-25772-0}}</cite>
* <cite id=Hauerwas2001>] (2001). ''With the Grain of the Universe: The Church's Witness and Natural Theology.'' Grand Rapids, Brazos Press. {{ISBN|1-58743-016-9}}</cite> * <cite id=Hauerwas2001>] (2001). ''With the Grain of the Universe: The Church's Witness and Natural Theology.'' Grand Rapids, Brazos Press. {{ISBN|1-58743-016-9}}</cite>

Latest revision as of 20:31, 14 January 2025

Christian theological movement developed after WW1 For the form of Orthodox Judaism, see Torah im Derech Eretz.
This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Neo-orthodoxy" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
This article is written like a personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay that states a Misplaced Pages editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic. Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style. (December 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
(Learn how and when to remove this message)
Part of a series on
Dialectical theology
Malmesbury Abbey's 1407 Bible from Belgium
Background
Precursors
Theological Figures
Beliefs
Related movements
icon Christianity portal
Part of a series on
Protestantism
Latin version of the Christian cross which is used by virtually all Protestant denominations
Concepts
History
Branches
Movements
icon Christianity portal

In Christianity, Neo-orthodoxy or Neoorthodoxy, also known as theology of crisis and dialectical theology, was a theological movement developed in the aftermath of the First World War. The movement was largely a reaction against doctrines of 19th century liberal theology and a reevaluation of the teachings of the Reformation. Karl Barth is the leading figure associated with the movement. In the U.S., Reinhold Niebuhr was a leading exponent of neo-orthodoxy. It is unrelated to Eastern Orthodoxy.

Revelation

Neo-orthodoxy strongly emphasises the revelation of God by God as the source of Christian doctrine. This is in contrast to natural theology; the issue remains a controversial topic within some circles of Christianity to this day.

Barth totally rejects natural theology. As Thomas F. Torrance wrote:

So far as theological content is concerned, Barth's argument runs like this. If the God whom we have actually come to know through Jesus Christ really is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in his own eternal and undivided Being, then what are we to make of an independent natural theology that terminates, not upon the Being of the Triune God—i.e., upon God as he really is in himself—but upon some Being of God in general? Natural theology by its very operation abstracts the existence of God from his act, so that if it does not begin with deism, it imposes deism upon theology.

— Thomas Torrance, The Ground and Grammar of Theology, p. 89

Emil Brunner, on the other hand, believed that natural theology still had an important, although not decisive, role. This led to a sharp disagreement between the two men, the first of several controversies that prevented the movement from acquiring a unified, homogeneous character.

Transcendence of God

Most neo-orthodox thinkers stressed the transcendence of God. Barth believed that the emphasis on the immanence of God had led human beings to imagine God to amount to nothing more than humanity writ large. He stressed the "infinite qualitative distinction" between the human and the divine, a reversion to older Protestant teachings on the nature of God and a rebuttal against the intellectual heritage of philosophical idealism. This led to a general devaluation of philosophical and metaphysical approaches to the faith, although some thinkers, notably Paul Tillich, attempted a median course between strict transcendence and ontological analysis of the human condition, a stand that caused a further division in the movement.

Existentialism

Some of the neo-orthodox theologians made use of existentialism. Rudolf Bultmann (who was associated with Barth and Brunner in the 1920s in particular) was strongly influenced by his former colleague at Marburg, the German existentialist philosopher Martin Heidegger.

Reinhold Niebuhr and (to a lesser extent, and mostly in his earlier writings) Karl Barth, on the other hand, were influenced by the writings of the 19th century Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. Kierkegaard was a critic of the then-fashionable liberal Christian modernist effort to "rationalise" Christianity—to make it palatable to those whom Friedrich Schleiermacher termed the "cultured despisers of religion". Instead, under pseudonyms such as Johannes Climacus, Kierkegaard maintained that Christianity is "absurd" (i.e., it transcends human understanding) and presents the individual with paradoxical choices. The decision to become a Christian, Kierkegaard thought, is not fundamentally rational but passional—a leap of faith. Opponents of Kierkegaard's approach and neo-orthodoxy in general have termed this fideism, a blatant refusal to find support for the faith outside its own circles. For the most part, proponents reply that no such support exists, that supposed reasons and evidences for faith are fabrications of fallen human imagination, and in effect constitute idolatry. Some neo-orthodox proponents have gone so far as to claim greater affinity with atheists in that regard than with the theological and cultural trappings of so-called "Christendom", which Kierkegaard venomously denounced in his later works.

Sin and human nature

In neo-orthodoxy, sin is seen not as mere error or ignorance; it is not something that can be overcome by reason or social institutions (e.g., schools); it can only be overcome by the grace of God through Jesus Christ. Sin is seen as something bad within human nature itself. This amounts to a renovation of historical teachings about original sin (especially drawing upon Augustine of Hippo), although thinkers generally avoided forensic interpretations of it and consequential elaborations about total depravity. The means of supposed transmission of sin, to neo-orthodox minds, is not as important as its pervasive reality. The association of original sin with sexuality—an abiding idea—leads to moralism, a rectitude that is overly optimistic about human capabilities to resist the power of unfaith and disobedience in all areas of life, not just sexual behavior. This core conviction about the universality and intransigence of sin has elements of determinism, and has not surprisingly offended those who think people are capable, wholly or in part, of effecting their own salvation (i.e., synergism). In other words, neo-orthodoxy might be said to have a greater appreciation of tragedy in human existence than either conservatism or liberalism, a point emphasized by a latter-day interpreter of the movement, Canadian theologian Douglas John Hall.

Relation to other theologies

Neo-orthodoxy is distinct from both liberal Protestantism and evangelicalism, but, notwithstanding some interpreters, it cannot properly be considered a mediating position between the two. Neo-orthodoxy draws from various Protestant heritages (primarily Lutheran and Calvinist) in an attempt to rehabilitate dogma outside the restraints of Enlightenment thought. Unlike confessionalist or fundamentalist reactions to individualist approaches to the faith, however, neo-orthodox adherents saw no value in rehabilitating tradition for its own sake. Past Protestant doctrine is used only to the degree that it affirms the living Word of God in Jesus Christ. Propositions in and of themselves, whether from the Bible or not, are, to the neo-orthodox, insufficient to build theology upon. Also, in the pursuit of social justice, intellectual freedom, and honesty, the neo-orthodox, unlike the conservatives they were accused by detractors of resembling, often made practical alliances with liberals. Both groups shared a deep hostility to authoritarianism of any kind, in both church and state.

The breadth of the term neo-orthodox, though, has led to its abandonment as a useful classification, especially after new emphases in mainline Protestant theology appeared during the 1960s. These included the "Death of God" movement, which attacked the linguistic and cultural foundations of all previous theology, and a renewal of interest among Biblical scholars in the "historical Jesus", something neo-orthodox theologians largely dismissed as irrelevant to serious Christian faith. Still, some of the movement's positions and worldviews would inform such later movements as liberation theology during the 1970s and 1980s and post-liberalism during the 1990s and 2000s—in spite of theological and ethical differences from both (i.e., liberationist use of Marxist conceptual analysis and narrativist dependence upon virtue theory).

Influence upon American Protestantism

From its inception, this school of thought has largely been unacceptable to Protestant fundamentalism, as neo-orthodoxy generally accepts biblical criticism; has remained mostly silent on the perceived conflicts caused by evolutionary science; and, in espousing these two viewpoints, it retains at least some aspects of 19th-century liberal theology.

Critical assessment

Neo-orthodoxy was originally met with criticism by fellow Protestant theologians in Germany: Ferdinand Kattenbusch accused Barth of being a reactionary theologian, who wanted to overthrow the fruits that liberal theology acquired since the end of the 18th century, while Paul Tillich saw Barth as a "kerygmatic theologian" who wanted to derive the contents of his theology solely from the Bible without regard for the "situation". Such views started to be abandoned after Friedrich-Wilhelm Marquardt proposed instead that Barth's theology was in fact the product of his activity on behalf of the working classes in his Safenwil parish. Such a view proved controversial and is nowadays rarely defended, but led to the demise of the traditional view on neo-orthodoxy held in German circles.

According to Bruce L. McCormack (Princeton Theological Seminary) the acceptance of Barth's theology in the English-speaking world only happened after a "process of normalization" which adjusted Barth's theology in accordance with more traditional norms.

Important figures of the movement

See also

References

  1. ^ "Neoorthodoxy". Encyclopædia Britannica (online ed.). Retrieved 2008-07-26.
  2. Merriam; Webster. "Neoorthodoxy". Dictionary (online ed.). Retrieved 2008-07-26.
  3. Niebuhr, Reinhold (1986-01-01). The Essential Reinhold Niebuhr: Selected Essays and Addresses. Yale University Press. pp. xv–xvi. ISBN 978-0-300-16264-6.
  4. Meister and Stump. (2010). "Christian Thought: A Historical Introduction". Routledge, p. 449.
  5. McGrath. (2013). "Christian History: An Introduction". Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 290–292.
  6. Torrance, Thomas (2001). The Ground and Grammar of Theology. Great Britain: T&T Clark. p. 89. ISBN 0-567-04331-2.
  7. "Neo-orthodoxy". Atheism. About. Archived from the original on 2011-01-06. Retrieved 2008-07-31.
  8. Encyclopedia Americana, vol. 22, 2002, pp. 691–692.
  9. Kattenbusch, Ferdinand (1934). Die deutsche evangelische Theologie seit Schleiermacher: Ihre Leistungen und ihre Schäden (in German). Walter de Gruyter GmbH. pp. 46–48. ISBN 978-3-11-165015-9.
  10. Tillich, Paul (1951). Systematic Theology, Volume 1. University of Chicago Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-226-15999-7.
  11. Marquardt, Friedrich-Wilhelm (1972). Theologie und Sozialismus: das Beispiel Karl Barths (in German). Grünewald. pp. 21–25. ISBN 978-3-7867-0343-3.
  12. ^ McCormack, Bruce L. (1997). Karl Barth's Critically Realistic Dialectical Theology: Its Genesis and Development, 1909-1936. Clarendon Press. pp. 26–27. ISBN 978-0-19-826956-4.
  13. Martin, Douglas (2007-04-14). "Reginald H. Fuller, 92, New Testament Scholar, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-05-29.

Further reading

Categories:
Neo-orthodoxy: Difference between revisions Add topic