A Farewell to All That

Like a love affair that has grown cold, Bruce Marshall has lost his affection and loyalty to Karl Barth. The reasons are complex, intellectual, and personal, and certainly, exceed the reasons proposed in this essay. Several are proposed all the same: that Marshall considers proper Nicene theology to consist in answers; that the reading of Holy Scripture that inspired Barth is not plausible or consistent with Marshall's doctrinal commitments; and that the Doctrines of God and of Salvation do not readily cohere with Catholic magisterial teaching. Barth can however be defended against these charges, drawing on his Doctrine of Justification as an epistemic as well as Soteriological teaching, and his strong notion of corporate existence in the redeeming work of Christ.