Barth and Jüngel on the two kingdoms

I have finished three sit-down exams and two papers, and now I have just one final paper to go. My topic is the relation between anthropology and the doctrine of the two kingdoms in the theology of Karl Barth and Eberhard Jüngel. If you have any particular insights on this subject that you think I should consider, by all means, let me know.

The paper is due Friday. After that, there shall be much rejoicing.

Comments

No particular insights. Just the exhortation to stay the course!

In the immortal words of "Beowulf" as stylized in the film, "13th Warrior" - "Luck often enough will save a man if his courage holds."
Shane said…
I think the thesis of your paper should be: "The doctrine of the two kingdoms is bollocks."

sw
Anonymous said…
Hey Shane - is that one bollock per kingdom? :)
Halden said…
David, do you think that Barth has a doctrine of two kingdoms? You've read more of him than I, but it seems to me that the language of two kingdoms is something that he would reject.

At least that's what Metzger argues in The Word of Christ and the World of Culture, fairly well I think.
Halden,

Yes and no. It all rests on what you mean by "two kingdoms." Jüngel claims that Barth does have a doctrine of two kingdoms, though modified significantly. I would say that in light of the clarifications which Jüngel and Ebeling offer, Barth shares a lot with modern Lutherans, but his own understanding is unique. Moltmann is right, I think, to characterize Barth's position as a two communities doctrine, rather than two kingdoms. There is still a duality, but much closer together.

In my paper, I am connecting each theologian's doctrine of the church-state relation back to their respective anthropologies. How each thinks of the human person conditions their understanding of the ecclesial-civil spheres.