The Reception Of The Theology Of Karl Barth In Scotland -- By: John L. McPake

Journal: Tyndale Bulletin
Volume: TYNBUL 47:1 (NA 1996)
Article: The Reception Of The Theology Of Karl Barth In Scotland
Author: John L. McPake


The Reception Of The Theology Of Karl Barth In Scotland1

John L. McPake

This thesis seeks to challenge the account of the reception of Karl Barth’s theology within Scotland as offered by the leading Scottish theologian Thomas Forsyth Torrance (1913-). Equally, and consonant with that intention, it examines the nature of Hugh Ross Mackintosh’s (1870-1936) response to Barth’s theology (both Mackintosh and Barth having been teachers of Torrance). Torrance has championed Barth within the English-speaking world as the theologian par excellence, and presented his own thought as standing in self-conscious fidelity to that of Barth. Therefore, his account of the reception is of crucial significance.

In Chapter 1 (‘The Reception of the theology of Karl Barth: Two Perspectives on the Scottish Situation’), I demonstrate that Torrance offers a relatively ‘established’ understanding of the way in which Barth’s theology was received within Scotland. This understanding I term the ‘Discontinuity Scenario’, given that it posits a discontinuity between Barth’s thought and that of Albrecht Ritschl and Wilhelm Herrmann, especially with respect to the nature of God’s self-revelation.

Alongside this, I content that, in Scotland, Mackintosh is portrayed as the principal positive recipient of Barth’s thought, and that Mackintosh’s response to Barth turned upon the rejection of a line of theological thought which had formerly been highly influential upon him, namely that of Ritschl and Herrmann. The cause of this rejection, which parallels Barth’s own rejection, is adduced to be Mackintosh’s dissatisfaction with the understanding of the nature of revelation found in Ritschl and Herrmann. This rejection stands in contrast to the warm reception given by Mackintosh to Barth. Thus,

within Torrance’s account, the theological core provided by the concept of the self-revelation of God offers the essential clue to discerning the contours of the history of theology. That is, to discerning those theologians (e.g. Athanasius, Calvin, Mackintosh, Barth) who have theologised in fidelity to the truth of God’s self-revelation, and those who have not, I grant to the Discontinuity Scenario the status of a ‘paradigm’.

In contrast, I offer an alternative ‘Continuity Scenario’. A central element in this scenario is the contention that Mackintosh’s positive response to Barth turned not on a rejection of Ritschl and Herrmann, but on an appreciation of the fact that Barth and Herrmann stood in a relationship of theological continuity with respect to their understanding of the nature of God’s self-re...

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