Is Karl Barth a Liberation Theologian? New Perspectives on Barth in Asia

Abstract

Because of his methodology grounded in “Christology from above,” Barth is often seen as a theologian of revelation, not as a liberation theologian. This article contends that an authentic liberation theology is grounded in both “Christology from above and below.” The article argues that, although Barth’s writings chronologically preceded the birth of liberation theology as a major expression of Majority World theology, he can be hermeneutically reconsidered as a “political liberation theologian” in our contemporary contexts. The article justifies new perspectives on seeing Barth as a political liberation theologian by looking at his Christological models of pastoral advocacy for grassroots communities in Safenwil village, his theo-political hermeneutics of the Barmen Declaration against Nazism, and his liberative hermeneutics of church identity and ethics. The article then brings Barth into dialogue with Aloysius Pieris, who extensively writes Asian liberation and political theology. Using dialectical dialogue as a methodology, the article compares and contrasts Barth with Pieris by synthesizing how each theologian complements what the other fails to say, rather than how one competes the other.