The Freedom of God for Us: Karl Barth's Doctrine of Divine Aseity: 25 (T&T Clark Studies in Systematic Theology) - Hardcover

Brian D. Asbill

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0567520714 ISBN 13: 9780567520715

Publisher: Bloombury, 2014

Synopsis

Freedom of God for Us

About this title

Review:

An indispensable entry ... to the wider field of studies concerning Barth's doctrine of God [and] ... to the most heated debates in contemporary systematic theology `after Barth'. * Blog of the School of Divinity, University of St Andrews * In this careful and thoroughly researched work, Brian D. Asbill shows that for Barth God's "aseity" -- his full self-sufficiency in himself as the Holy Trinity -- is the depth of God's being to all eternity. For Barth, this eternal depth of being means that there is no electing God prior to the Trinity. Asbill thus adds his powerful voice to the growing chorus of interpreters who would affirm the idea, on the basis of meticulous study, that for Barth the Trinity serves as the ground of pre-temporal election, not the other way around. * George Hunsinger, Princeton Theological Seminary, USA * Divine aseity and the question of the relation between God's own triune life and God's act toward what is not God have been disputed in much of the Christian theological tradition, and the debate is lively to this day. Brian D. Asbill's book, one of many fine studies produced under the guidance of John Webster, expertly traces these matters through Barth's uvre and presents their benefits when aseity is not reduced to a negative sort of freedom `from' the world, abstracted from divine love. The result is a compelling study of Barth's doctrine of the triune God who, in God's overflowing love, freely binds Godself to the world. * Christophe Chalamet, University of Geneva, Switzerland * The aseitas Dei echoes throughout the halls of the Christian tradition. Barth, of course, is no exception. In this study, Dr. Asbill explores the convergence of this concept and this theologian. In doing so, he presents his readers with not so much a tour de force as a tour of the key issues. Committing to leave no stone unturned, he may prolong this most prodigious journey into the divine mysteries, but he indeed arrives at a most unmistakable destination. Some may still ask, 'why study divine aseity'? Asbill, for his part, quells such doubts with a resounding 'why not'. * Kurt Moen, Independent Researcher * A seriously researched, carefully argued, and interpretatively rich work, Brian Asbill's The Freedom of God for Us is an impressive contribution to Barth studies. Close attention to the nuances of Barth's work, complemented by a laudable sense for the rhythm and cadences of the Dogmatics as a whole, guarantee this work a wide and appreciative readership. * Paul Dafydd Jones, University of Virginia, USA *

About the Author:

Brian D. Asbill received his Ph.D. from the University of Aberdeen and worked in theology departments at a variety of institutions throughout southern California. He has since joined the MBA class of 2016 at the Johnson School of Management at Cornell University, USA.

About this edition

• Publisher: Bloombury
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0567520714
• ISBN 13: 9780567520715
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288