I do better with structure, especially when it comes to reading large works. Barth’s Dogmatics is considered the most significant theological work of the twentieth century and one of the most substantial theological works ever written. I have been thinking of reading through the Dogmatics next year and finally, a few days back, sat down and worked through the table of contents and developed a plan. I’ve tried to add extra days when the sections are larger. I’ll be working through the Hendrickson set available through Christian Book Distributors here (though it should be noted that T&T Clark has republished the Dogmatics here in paperback with translations of all foreign-language terms [also available here via Logos]). Come along for the journey! Here’s the reading plan…
| 2016 Reading Plan for Karl Barth’s Church Dogmatics | |
| Volume I.1 | |
| 1-Jan | 1.1 The Church, Theology, Science |
| 2-Jan | 1.2 Dogmatics as an Enquiry |
| 3-Jan | 1.3 Dogmatics as an Act of Faith |
| 4-Jan | 2.1 The Necessity of Dogmatic Prolegomena |
| 5-Jan | 2.2 The Possibility of Dogmatic Prolegomena |
| 6-Jan | 3.1 Talk about God and Church Proclamation |
| 7-Jan | |
| 8-Jan | 3.2 Dogmatics and Church Proclamation |
| 9-Jan | 4.1 The Word of God Preached |
| 10-Jan | 4.2 The Word of God Written |
| 11-Jan | 4.3 The Word of God Revealed |
| 12-Jan | 4.4 The Unity of the Word of God |
| 13-Jan | 5.1 The Question of the Nature of the Word of God |
| 14-Jan | 5.2 The Word of God as the Speech of God |
| 15-Jan | 5.3 The Speech of God as the Act of God |
| 16-Jan | 5.4 The Speech of God as the Mystery of God |
| 17-Jan | 6.1 The Question of the Knowability of the Word of God |
| 18-Jan | 6.2 The Word of God and Man |
| 19-Jan | 6.3 The Word of God and Experience |
| 20-Jan | |
| 21-Jan | 6.4 The Word of God and Faith |
| 22-Jan | 7.1 The problem of Dogmatics |
| 23-Jan | |
| 24-Jan | 7.2 Dogmatics as a Science |
| 25-Jan | 7.3 The Problem of Dogmatic Prolegomena |
| 26-Jan | 8.1 The Place of the Doctrine of the Trinity in Dogmatics |
| 27-Jan | 8.2 The Root of the Doctrine of the Trinity |
| 28-Jan | |
| 29-Jan | 8.3 Vestigium Trinitatis |
| 30-Jan | 9.1 Unity in Trinity |
| 31-Jan | 9.2 Trinity in Unity |
| 1-Feb | 9.3 Triunity |
| 2-Feb | 9.4 The Meaning of the Doctrine of the Trinity |
| 3-Feb | 10.1 God as Creator |
| 4-Feb | 10.2 The Eternal Father |
| 5-Feb | 11.1 God as Reconciler |
| 6-Feb | 11.2 The Eternal Son |
| 7-Feb | 12.1 God as Redeemer |
| 8-Feb | 12.2 The Eternal Spirit |
| 9-Feb | |
| Volume I.2 | |
| 10-Feb | 13.1 Jesus Christ as the Objective Reality of Revelation |
| 11-Feb | |
| 12-Feb | 13.2 Jesus Christ the Objective Possibility of Revelation |
| 13-Feb | |
| 14-Feb | 14.1 God’s Time and our Time |
| 15-Feb | |
| 16-Feb | 14.2 The Time of Expectation |
| 17-Feb | |
| 18-Feb | 14.3 The Time of Recollection |
| 19-Feb | |
| 20-Feb | 15.1 The Problem of Christology |
| 21-Feb | 15.2 Very God and Very Man |
| 22-Feb | |
| 23-Feb | 15.3 The Miracle of Christmas |
| 24-Feb | |
| 25-Feb | 16.1 The Holy Spirit the Subjective Reality of Revelation |
| 26-Feb | |
| 27-Feb | 16.2 The Holy Spirit the Subjective Possibility of Revelation |
| 28-Feb | |
| 29-Feb | 17.1 The Problem of Religion in Theology |
| 1-Mar | 17.2 Religion as Unbelief |
| 2-Mar | |
| 3-Mar | 17.3 True Religion |
| 4-Mar | |
| 5-Mar | 18.1 Man as a Doer of the Word |
| 6-Mar | 18.2 The Love of God |
| 7-Mar | |
| 8-Mar | 18.3 The Praise of God |
| 9-Mar | |
| 10-Mar | |
| 11-Mar | 19.1 Scripture as a Witness to Divine Revelation |
| 12-Mar | |
| 13-Mar | 19.2 Scripture as the Word of God |
| 14-Mar | |
| 15-Mar | |
| 16-Mar | 20.1 The Authority of the Word |
| 17-Mar | |
| 18-Mar | |
| 19-Mar | 20.2 Authority under the Word |
| 20-Mar | |
| 21-Mar | |
| 22-Mar | |
| 23-Mar | 21.1 The Freedom of the Word |
| 24-Mar | |
| 25-Mar | |
| 26-Mar | 21.2 Freedom under the Word |
| 27-Mar | |
| 28-Mar | 22.1 The Word of God and the Word of Man in Christian Preaching |
| 29-Mar | 22.2 Pure Doctrine as the Problem of Dogmatics |
| 30-Mar | |
| 31-Mar | 22.3 Dogmatics as Ethics |
| 1-Apr | 23.1 The Formal Task of Dogmatics |
| 2-Apr | 23.2 The Dogmatic Norm |
| 3-Apr | |
| 4-Apr | 24.1 The Material Task of Dogmatics |
| 5-Apr | 24.2 The Dogmatic Method |
| 6-Apr | |
| 7-Apr | Volume II.1 |
| 8-Apr | 25.1 Man before God |
| 9-Apr | |
| 10-Apr | 25.2 God before Man |
| 11-Apr | |
| 12-Apr | 26.1 The Readiness of God |
| 13-Apr | |
| 14-Apr | |
| 15-Apr | 26.2 The Readiness of Man |
| 16-Apr | |
| 17-Apr | 27.1 The Hiddeness of God |
| 18-Apr | |
| 19-Apr | 27.2 The Veracity of Man’s Knowledge of God |
| 20-Apr | |
| 21-Apr | 28.1 The Being of God in Act |
| 22-Apr | |
| 23-Apr | 28.2 The Being of God as the One who loves |
| 24-Apr | |
| 25-Apr | 28.3 The Being of God in Freedom |
| 26-Apr | |
| 27-Apr | 29 The Perfections of God |
| 28-Apr | |
| 29-Apr | 30.1 The Grace and Holiness of God |
| 30-Apr | 30.2 The Mercy and Righteousness of God |
| 1-May | |
| 2-May | 30.3 The Patience and Wisdom of God |
| 3-May | |
| 4-May | 31.1 The Unity and Omnipresence of God |
| 5-May | |
| 6-May | 31.2 The Constancy and Omnipotence of God |
| 7-May | |
| 8-May | |
| 9-May | |
| 10-May | |
| 11-May | 31.3 The Eternity and Glory of God |
| 12-May | |
| 13-May | |
| 14-May | |
| Volume II.2 | |
| 15-May | 32.1 The Orientation of the Doctrine |
| 16-May | 32.2 The Foundation of the Doctrine |
| 17-May | 32.3 The Place of the Doctrine in Dogmatics |
| 18-May | 33.1 Jesus Christ, Electing and Elected |
| 19-May | |
| 20-May | 33.2 Th Eternal Will of God in the Election of Jesus Christ |
| 21-May | |
| 22-May | 34.1 Israel and the Church |
| 23-May | 34.2 The Judgment and the Mercy of God |
| 24-May | 34.3 The Promise of God Heard and Believed |
| 25-May | 34.4 The Passing and the Coming Man |
| 26-May | |
| 27-May | 35.1 Jesus Christ, the Promise and its Recipient |
| 28-May | |
| 29-May | 35.2 The Elect and the Rejected |
| 30-May | |
| 31-May | |
| 1-Jun | 35.3 The Determination of the Elect |
| 2-Jun | |
| 3-Jun | 35.4 The Determination of the Rejected |
| 4-Jun | |
| 5-Jun | |
| 6-Jun | 36.1 The Command of God and the Ethical Problem |
| 7-Jun | |
| 8-Jun | 36.2 The Way of Theological Ethics |
| 9-Jun | 37.1 The Basis of the Divine Claim |
| 10-Jun | 37.2 The Content of the Divine Claim |
| 11-Jun | 37.3 The Form of the Divine Claim |
| 12-Jun | |
| 13-Jun | 38.1 The Sovereignty of the Divine Decision |
| 14-Jun | 38.2 Th eDefiniteness of the Divine Decision |
| 15-Jun | 38.3 The Goodness of the Divine Decision |
| 16-Jun | 39.1 The Presupposition of the Divine Judgment |
| 17-Jun | 39.2 The Execution of the Divine Judgment |
| 18-Jun | 39.3 The Purpose of the Divine Judgment |
| 19-Jun | |
| Volume III.1 | |
| 20-Jun | 40 Faith in God the Creator |
| 21-Jun | 41.1 Creation, History and Creation History |
| 22-Jun | |
| 23-Jun | 41.2 Creation as the External Basis of the Covenant |
| 24-Jun | |
| 25-Jun | |
| 26-Jun | |
| 27-Jun | 41.3 The Covenant as the Internal Basis of Creation |
| 28-Jun | |
| 29-Jun | |
| 30-Jun | |
| 1-Jul | 42.1 Creation as Benefit |
| 2-Jul | 42.2 Creation as Actualisation |
| 3-Jul | 42.3 Creation as Justification |
| 4-Jul | |
| Volume III.2 | |
| 5-Jul | 43.1 Man in the Cosmos |
| 6-Jul | 43.2 Man as an Object of Theological Knowledge |
| 7-Jul | |
| 8-Jul | 44.1 Jesus, Man for God |
| 9-Jul | 44.2 Phenomena of the Human |
| 10-Jul | |
| 11-Jul | 44.3 Real Man |
| 12-Jul | |
| 13-Jul | 45.1 Jesus, Man for other Men |
| 14-Jul | 45.2 The Basic Form of Humanity |
| 15-Jul | |
| 16-Jul | 45.3 Humanity as Likeness and Hope |
| 17-Jul | |
| 18-Jul | 46.1 Jesus, Whole Man |
| 19-Jul | 46.2 The Spirit as Basis of Soul and Body |
| 20-Jul | 46.3 Soul and Body in their Interconnexion |
| 21-Jul | 46.4 Soul and Body in their Particularity |
| 22-Jul | 46.5 Soul and Body in their Order |
| 23-Jul | 47.1 Jesus, Lord of Time |
| 24-Jul | |
| 25-Jul | 47.2 Given Time |
| 26-Jul | |
| 27-Jul | 47.3 Allotted Time |
| 28-Jul | 47.4 Beginning Time |
| 29-Jul | 47.5 Ending Time |
| 30-Jul | |
| Volume III.3 | |
| 31-Jul | 48.1 The Concept of Divine Providence |
| 1-Aug | 48.2 The Christian Belief in Providence |
| 2-Aug | 48.3 The Christian Doctrine of Providence |
| 3-Aug | 49.1 The Divine Preserving |
| 4-Aug | |
| 5-Aug | 49.2 The Divine Accompanying |
| 6-Aug | |
| 7-Aug | 49.3 The Divine Ruling |
| 8-Aug | |
| 9-Aug | |
| 10-Aug | 49.4 The Christian under the Universal Lordship of God the Father |
| 11-Aug | |
| 12-Aug | 50.1 The Problem of Nothingness |
| 13-Aug | 50.2 The Misconception of Nothingness |
| 14-Aug | 50.3 The Knowledge of Nothingness |
| 15-Aug | |
| 16-Aug | 50.4 The Reality of Nothingness |
| 17-Aug | 51.1 The Limits of Angelology |
| 18-Aug | |
| 19-Aug | 51.2 The Kingdom of Heaven |
| 20-Aug | |
| 21-Aug | 51.3 The Ambassadors of God and their Opponents |
| 22-Aug | |
| Volume III.4 | |
| 23-Aug | 52.1 The Problem of Special Ethics |
| 24-Aug | 52.2 God the Creator as Commander |
| 25-Aug | 53.1 The Holy Day |
| 26-Aug | 53.2 Confession |
| 27-Aug | 53.3 Prayer |
| 28-Aug | |
| 29-Aug | 54.1 Man and Woman |
| 30-Aug | |
| 31-Aug | |
| 1-Sep | 54.2 Parents and Children |
| 2-Sep | 54.3 Near and Distant Neighbors |
| 3-Sep | 55.1 Respect for Life |
| 4-Sep | |
| 5-Sep | 55.2 The Protection of Life |
| 6-Sep | |
| 7-Sep | 55.3 The Active Life |
| 8-Sep | |
| 9-Sep | |
| 10-Sep | 56.1 The Unique Opportunity |
| 11-Sep | 56.2 Vocation |
| 12-Sep | |
| 13-Sep | 56.3 Honour |
| Volume IV.1 | |
| 14-Sep | 57.1 God with Us |
| 15-Sep | 57.2 The Covenant as the Presupposition of Reconciliation |
| 16-Sep | |
| 17-Sep | 57.3 The Fulfilment of the Broken Covenant |
| 18-Sep | 58.1 The Grace of God in Jesus Christ |
| 19-Sep | 58.2 The Being of Man in Jesus Christ |
| 20-Sep | 58.3 Jesus Christ the Mediator |
| 21-Sep | 58.4 The Three Forms of the Doctrine of Reconciliation |
| 22-Sep | 59.1 The Way of the Son of God into the Far Country |
| 23-Sep | |
| 24-Sep | 59.2 The Judge Judged in our Place |
| 25-Sep | |
| 26-Sep | |
| 27-Sep | 59.3 The Verdict of the Father |
| 28-Sep | |
| 29-Sep | |
| 30-Sep | 60.1 The Man of Sin in the Light of the Obedience of the Son of God |
| 1-Oct | |
| 2-Oct | 60.2 The Pride of Man |
| 3-Oct | |
| 4-Oct | 60.3 The Fall of Man |
| 5-Oct | 61.1 The Problem of the Doctrine of Justification |
| 6-Oct | 61.2 The Judgment of God |
| 7-Oct | 61.3 The Pardon of Man |
| 8-Oct | |
| 9-Oct | 61.4 Justification by Faith Alone |
| 10-Oct | 62.1 The Word of the Holy Spirit |
| 11-Oct | 62.2 The Being of the Community |
| 12-Oct | |
| 13-Oct | 62.3 The Time of the Community |
| 14-Oct | 63.1 Faith and its Object |
| 15-Oct | 63.2 The Act of Faith |
| 16-Oct | |
| 17-Oct | |
| 18-Oct | |
| Volume IV.2 | |
| 19-Oct | 64.1 The Second Problem of the Doctrine of Reconciliation |
| 20-Oct | 64.2 The Homecoming of the Son of Man |
| 21-Oct | |
| 22-Oct | |
| 23-Oct | 64.3 The Royal Man |
| 24-Oct | |
| 25-Oct | |
| 26-Oct | 64.4 The Direction of the Son |
| 27-Oct | |
| 28-Oct | 65.1 The Man of Sin in the Light of the Lordship of the Son of Man |
| 29-Oct | 65.2 The Sloth of Man |
| 30-Oct | |
| 31-Oct | |
| 1-Nov | 65.3 The Misery of Man |
| 2-Nov | 66.1 Justification and Sanctification |
| 3-Nov | |
| 4-Nov | 66.2 The Holy One and the Saints |
| 5-Nov | 66.3 The Call to Discipleship |
| 6-Nov | 66.4 The Awakening to Conversion |
| 7-Nov | |
| 8-Nov | 66.5 The Praise of Works |
| 9-Nov | 66.6 The Dignity of the Cross |
| 10-Nov | 67.1 The True Church |
| 11-Nov | 67.2 The Growth of the Community |
| 12-Nov | 67.3 The Upholding of the Community |
| 13-Nov | 67.4 The Order of the Community |
| 14-Nov | |
| 15-Nov | 68.1 The Problem of Christian Love |
| 16-Nov | 68.2 The Basis of Love |
| 17-Nov | 68.3 The Act of Love |
| 18-Nov | |
| 19-Nov | 68.4 The Manner of Love |
| 20-Nov | |
| 21-Nov | |
| 22-Nov | |
| 23-Nov | |
| Volume IV.3.1 | |
| 24-Nov | 69.1 The Third Problem of the Doctrine of Reconciliation |
| 25-Nov | 69.2 The Light of Life |
| 26-Nov | |
| 27-Nov | |
| 28-Nov | 69.3 Jesus is Victor |
| 29-Nov | |
| 30-Nov | |
| 1-Dec | 69.4 The Promise of the Spirit |
| 2-Dec | |
| 3-Dec | 70.1 The True Witness |
| 4-Dec | 70.2 The Falsehood of Man |
| 5-Dec | 70.3 The Condemnation of Man |
| 6-Dec | |
| Volume IV.3.2 | |
| 7-Dec | 71.1 Man in the Light of Life |
| 8-Dec | 71.2 The Event of Vocation |
| 9-Dec | 71.3 The Goal of Vocation |
| 10-Dec | 71.4 The Christian as Witness |
| 11-Dec | |
| 12-Dec | 71.5 The Christian in Affliction |
| 13-Dec | 71.6 The Liberation of the Christian |
| 14-Dec | |
| 15-Dec | 72.1 The People of God in World-Occurrence |
| 16-Dec | 72.2 The Community for the World |
| 17-Dec | |
| 18-Dec | 72.3 The Task of the Community |
| 19-Dec | 72.4 The Ministry of the Community |
| 20-Dec | |
| 21-Dec | 73.1 The Subject of Hope and Hope |
| 22-Dec | 73.2 Life in Hope |
| 23-Dec | |
| 24-Dec | |
| Volume IV.4 | |
| 25-Dec | 1. Baptism with the Holy Spirit |
| 26-Dec | 2. Baptism with Water |
| 27-Dec | |
| 28-Dec | |
| 29-Dec | |
| 30-Dec | |
| 31-Dec | |
Hi Wyman,
I was curious were you successful with reading plan? And is there anything you would do differently if you were to tackle to massive reading?
Thanks!
Jeremy
Sorry for the poor grammar above.
Hey Jeremy! Thanks for asking. I was not though I intend to restart this coming January. I would say, for me, it was an unrealistic plan in light of the demands of ministry. If you missed a day or two it got out of hand pretty quickly! But maybe you’d have better luck with it. Let me know if you try it! Not sure how I’ll change it. May make it a TWO year plan.
If you’re combining with full time work, I would suggest about 20 pages a week. CD is very costly written and even 20 pages can sometimes take a few hours to read and understand. Prob best to do it also with a reading group,whether online or face to face. The Centre for Karl Barth Studies at Princeton has a list of live reading groups.
Thank you Duncan!