The Center for Barth Studies asked Dr. Darren Sumner to share his syllabus from the course he has taught on Barth at The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. He offered his brief remarks on the context of his course. Dr. Sumner is the author of Karl Barth and the Incarnation: Christology and the Humility of God.
The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology maintains a strong institutional orientation toward engaging culture in innovative and sometimes less traditional ways. This advanced seminar on Karl Barth gives students a chance to become acquainted with his theology particularly in its historical and social contexts—from his break with liberal Neo-Protestantism to his criticisms of Kulturprotestantismus and Kriegstheologie, from his principled rejection of natural theology to his involvement in the Confessing Church movement. Through close readings of Church Dogmatics IV/3.2 and other key texts students are challenged to understand Barth as a theologian who engaged his culture, and to reflect upon their own cultural engagement in the ongoing task of theological formation.
