Neo-orthodoxy

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In

Reformation.[2] Karl Barth is the leading figure associated with the movement. In the U.S., Reinhold Niebuhr was a leading exponent of neo-orthodoxy.[3] It is unrelated to Eastern Orthodoxy
.

Revelation

Neo-orthodoxy strongly emphasises the revelation of God by God as the source of Christian doctrine.[4] This is in contrast to natural theology, whose proponents include Thomas Aquinas, who states that knowledge of God can be gained through a combination of observation of nature and human reason; the issue remains a controversial topic within some circles of Christianity to this day.[5]

Barth totally rejects natural theology. As Thomas 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.[6]

— 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

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.

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.[clarification needed] 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",[citation needed
] which Kierkegaard venomously denounced in his later works.

Sin and human nature

In neo-orthodoxy,

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

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 "

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.[8]

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,[9] 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".[10] 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.[11] 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.[12]

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.[12]

Important figures of the movement

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Neoorthodoxy". Encyclopædia Britannica (online ed.). Retrieved 2008-07-26.
  2. ^ Merriam; Webster. "Neoorthodoxy". Dictionary (online ed.). Retrieved 2008-07-26.
  3. 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. 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. ISBN 978-3-11-165015-9
    .
  10. ISBN 978-0-226-15999-7
    .
  11. ISBN 978-3-7867-0343-3
    .
  12. ^
    ISBN 978-0-19-826956-4
    .
  13. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 2023-05-29.

Further reading
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