Barth scholarship, largely theological in focus, has highlighted his lifelong political engagement, emphasising his early socialist activism, his resolute opposition to the Great War and nationalism, and his authorship of the Barmen declaration. This paper focuses on a series of lectures by Barth, published as Protestant Theology in the 19th Century. Its Pre-history and History (1927–1933/1947), and argues that these lectures reveal his more comprehensive interest and approach to the problem of political modernity than has commonly been allowed for. As (...) such, they illuminate and connect some of the main political concerns and themes in Barth’s thought, especially during the interwar period, usually considered in isolation from each other, such as social justice, revolution, nationalism, totalitarianism, internationalism, resistance, liberalism and Christian politics. (shrink)

Scripture, the creeds, and tradition have provided the raw material that theology has attempted to refine. The contribution of much recent theology comes from new insight into these materials by women, blacks, and the Third World, often as examined by analytic tools derived from post‐Christian ideologies. The theology of Rosemary Ruether stands out because of her choice of sources, among which she includes documents excoriated as heretical by what she calls the patriarchal orthodoxy of the early Christian church. Because of (...) this it is useful to examine this type of theology in relation to other theological inquiries of recent years. The thesis of this paper is that, in her ability to incorporate source material hitherto regarded as heretical, Ruether has demonstrated the scientific character of this kind of theology. (shrink)