Karl Barth was an eminently conversational theologian, and with the Internet revolution, we live today in an eminently conversational age. Being the proceedings of the 2010 Karl Barth Blog Conference, Karl Barth in Conversation brings these two factors together in order to advance the dialogue about Barth's theology and extend the online conversation to new audiences. With conversation partners ranging from Wesley to i ek, from Schleiermacher to Jenson, from Hauerwas to the Coen brothers, this volume opens up exciting new horizons for exploring Barth's immense contribution to church and world. The contributors, who represent a young new generation of academic theologians, bring a fresh perspective to a topic--the theology of Karl Barth--that often seems to have exhausted its range of possibilities. This book proves that there is still a great deal of uncharted territory in the field of Barth studies. Today, more than forty years since the Swiss theologian's death, the conversation is as lively as ever. "This book is an exciting and important contribution to Barth studies. It breaks open the potential cul-de-sac of Barth scholarship to new conversation partners and thinkers. The result is a fascinating collection of essays that brings out new accents on Barth's work and offers constructive insights for the future of theology. . . . Let us hope this book sets an agenda for the future." --Tom Greggs, Professor of Historical and Doctrinal Theology, King's College, University of Aberdeen, Scotland "In this welcome collection of colorful and stimulating input from young scholars, we get to eavesdrop on some new 'conversations' surveying a diverse range of themes, and in the wake of the fresh questions raised, we are invited to hear again what Barth and others have heard and misheard." --Jason Goroncy, Dean of Studies, Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership, New Zealand "This is a fascinating and instructive set of essays by a group of talented young theologians. These studies offer fresh perspectives on the thought of Barth and his dialogue partners and suggest new pathways for further exploration. Here we see both the ongoing power of Barth's theology to stimulate new conversations and the creative potential of a new generation of Barth scholars." --Adam Neder, Associate Professor of Theology, Whitworth University, Washington W. Travis McMaken, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Religion at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri. He is the author of The Sign of the Gospel: Toward an Evangelical Doctrine of Infant Baptism after Karl Barth (Fortress, 2013). David W. Congdon, ABD, is Associate Editor of Academic Books for IVP Academic. His research plumbs the relationship between Karl Barth and Rudolf Bultmann.

For Karl Barth, all dogmatic work is spiritual. Thus, like Aquinas and other renowned theologians, Barth did not write an independent spiritual theology, but integrated spirituality into his dogmatic work. Nevertheless, specific texts within Barth's corpus are dedicated to spiritual matters and they form the basis of the material in this volume. The selections draw widely from Barth's commentary on Romans, Church Dogmatics, sermons, lectures, speeches, seminars, and his own prayer life. They illumine for researchers, students, and the general reader the distinctiveness of Barth's theology of Christian spirituality and the important contribution he makes to the wider traditions of Christian spirituality. To augment the primary sources, this volume also contains an introductory essay that comments on the selection of texts, sets Barth in his historical context, charts the development of his thought, and indicates the significance of spirituality to his theology (including drawing out the distinctively christological shape of his spiritual theology). Each of the subsequent four sections will contain briefer introductions and a contextualizing introduction for each source.

W. Travis McMaken is associate professor of religion and assistant dean of multidisciplinary humanities at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri.

The theology of the sacraments is one of the most contested parts in Barth's theology, none more so than the doctrine of baptism. Barth's proposals on baptism have generated intense conversation and disagreement, not only on its application to Protestant and ecumenical theology but even on its own consistency with Barth's larger dogmatic project. McMaken takes up this controversial question, sets it in its proper context within the history of doctrine and Barth's systematic work, and argues for a constructive reclamation of infant baptism that accords with Barth's overarching theological concerns and insights, notably from Barth's mature theological commitments. Pivotally, this volume claims that a reorientation of the doctrine of baptism opens up a new perspective on the practice of infant baptism on the basis of Barth's theology; this new perspective, as well, holds the potential for wide, ecumenical application as a form of the proclamation of the gospel and a vital dimension of the church's missional vocation. A commanding volume for scholars and students in systematic theology, ecumenical studies, and sacramental theology.