Neo-orthodoxy

Neo-Orthodoxy can also refer to a form of Orthodox Judaism following the philosophy of "Torah im Derech Eretz", and can additionally refer to the ideas of late 20th century Eastern Orthodox theology, e.g. by Christos Yannaras' 'It is widely known that brief moments of Karl Barth's early work may be understood under the title, 'Neo-Orthodox', but as Barth's thought matured he moved far from those in this camp, indeed to the point that his mature thought bears no resemblance whatsoever to 'Neo-Orthodoxy'.

Neo-orthodoxy is an approach to theology that was developed in the aftermath of the First World War (1914-1918). It is primarily associated with the Swiss Protestant Karl Barth (1886-1968) and theologian Emil Brunner (1899-1966). Some theologians believe that two brothers, Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971) and H. Richard Niebuhr (1894-1962), did more to introduce neo-orthodoxy to America than anyone else.

Revelation

There is a strong emphasis on the revelation of God by God as the source of Christian doctrine. Natural theology states that knowledge of God can be gained through a combination of observation of nature and human reason. Barth totally rejected natural theology. Brunner believed that natural theology still had an important role and this led to a sharp disagreement between the two men.

Transcendence of God

There is a stress on the transcendence of God. Barth believed that the emphasis on the immanence of God had led human beings to imagine God to be ourselves writ large. He stressed the infinite qualitative distinction between the human and the divine.

Existentialism

Some of the neo-orthodox theologians made use of existentialism. Rudolf Bultmann (who was associated with Barth and Brunner in the 1920s in particular) was strongly influenced by his sometime colleague at Marburg, the German existentialist philosopher Martin Heidegger. Reinhold Niebuhr and (to a lesser extent) Karl Barth were influenced by the writings of the 19th century Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. Kierkegaard was a critic of the liberal Christian modernist effort to rationalise Christianity. Instead, under pseudonymous names such as Johannes Climacus, he maintained that Christianity is absurd (transcends human understanding) and presents the individual with paradoxical choices. The decision to become a Christian is not a rational decision but a leap of faith.

Relation to Other Theologies

Neo-orthodoxy is very distinct from both liberal Protestantism and evangelicalism, though its language has much in common with the former, and in partial doctrinal assent with the latter. Neo-orthodoxy draws off various denominational expressions in an attempt to rehabilitate Christian dogmas largely outside the restraints of Enlightenment thought. The broadness of the term "neo-orthodox", however, has led to its abandonment as a useful classification, especially after new emphases in Protestant theology appeared during the 1960s.

Important Figures of the Movement

• Karl Barth
• Emil Brunner
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• Jacques Ellul
• Paul Lehmann
• Reinhold Niebuhr
• H. Richard Niebuhr
• William Stringfellow
• Paul Tillich

See also

• Christian existentialism
• Paleo-orthodoxyda:Dialektisk teologi

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