The McKrakenCast
Episodes
Thursday Apr 01, 2021
Part 3 - Scots Confession, History & Theology
Thursday Apr 01, 2021
Thursday Apr 01, 2021
This is Part 3 in a series of adult education (Sunday School) classes that I taught at St. Charles Presbyterian Church (USA) in the early months of 2020. It provides a fairly thorough discussion of the Scots Confession's history and theology targeted (hopefully, effectively so) at the generally educated churchgoer. Part 3 continues exploring the background of the Scots Confession. It deals with John Calvin and the Swiss Reformation, including Calvin's teachings on the knowledge of God, as well as providing a very brief overview of the English Reformation. It also explores chapters 11 - 15 in the confession itself, addressing topics like Christ's intercession at the right hand of the Father, the afterlife, faith, "total depravity," "good" works and merit, and the Christian's ongoing struggle against sin.
This is Part 3 in a 5-part series. You can find the series index here. Click here for the blog post corresponding to this episode, and click here to access this content on YouTube.
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I write books. I run a blog. I have a YouTube channel. I teach.
Tuesday Jan 26, 2021
Barth's "Göttingen Dogmatics" - §4: Man and His Question
Tuesday Jan 26, 2021
Tuesday Jan 26, 2021
The androcentric nature of Barth's language notwithstanding, in this section he addresses the human condition and the "contradiction" at the heart of our existence, as well as reflecting on how it can be that God encounters us in the midst of that contradiction as "the answer to our question" (Diktatsatz).
This is part 5 of a multi-part series. You can find the series index here. Click here for the blog post corresponding to this episode, and click here to access this content on YouTube.
I begin the audio recordings by reading Barth’s Diktatsatz, so I will begin reproducing that here as well. The bold is mine and indicates where I find emphasis:
God's revelation, which is the basis of Christian preaching, is the answer to our question how we can overcome the contradiction in our existence, which we have to view not as our destiny but as our responsible act, and which we know that we cannot overcome. But we know ourselves in this regard only as God makes himself known to us. We would not ask about God had God not already answered us. Because of this, we can neither evade the question about God nor settle it in any sense.
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I write books. I run a blog. I have a YouTube channel. I teach.
Tuesday May 26, 2020
Barth's "Göttingen Dogmatics" - §3: Deus Dixit (“God has spoken”)
Tuesday May 26, 2020
Tuesday May 26, 2020
We return to Barth’s first dogmatics lectures, and to the elaboration of one of his key theological concepts – both in this earlier period as well as throughout his later Church Dogmatics, although there it recedes into the background a bit despite continuing to be of foundational importance: Deus dixit, God has spoken.
This is part 4 of a multi-part series. You can find the series index here. Click here for the blog post corresponding to this episode, and click here to access this content on YouTube.
I begin the audio recordings by reading Barth’s Diktatsatz, so I will begin reproducing that here as well. The bold is mine and indicates where I find emphasis:
Christian preachers dare to speak about God. The permission and requirement to do so can rest only on their adoption of the witness of the prophets and apostles that underlies the church, the witness which is to the effect that God himself has spoken and that for this reason, and with this reference, they too must speak about God. This assumption can arise only because they take it that God’s address is directed to them as well. It means that with fear and trembling they recognize God as the true subject of the biblical witness and their own proclamation.
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I write books. I run a blog. I have a YouTube channel. I teach.
Monday Jan 13, 2020
Monday Jan 13, 2020
More on Barth’s first dogmatics lectures! This episode addresses the relationship between dogmatics and preaching. We get a number of Barth “greatest hits” – like an early form of his approach to the three-fold Word of God (revelation, scripture, and preaching), and his distinction between regular and irregular dogmatics. But the central issue is the relationship between God’s word and the human word of preaching. Also, I use the idea of Sachkritik to expand on Barth’s definition of theology.
This is part 3 of a multi-part series, and you can find the series index here. It is also available on YouTube. Make sure to subscribe via your preferred site.
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I write books. I run a blog. I have a YouTube channel. I teach.
Tuesday Aug 13, 2019
Barth's "Göttingen Dogmatics" - §1: The Word of God as the Problem of Dogmatics
Tuesday Aug 13, 2019
Tuesday Aug 13, 2019
Continuing our dive into Karl Barth's first attempt at writing a dogmatics, this episode tackles the first section: The Word of God as the Problem of Dogmatics. He discusses what it means to think of dogmatics as a science, and we also encounter an early version of his doctrine of the three-fold Word of God (revelation, Scripture, and preaching). Barth also reflects on why he thinks a prolegomena is necessary when doing theology, and I riff a bit on his recommendations for how to go about studying theology. This is part 2 of a multi-part series, and you can find the series index here. It is also available on YouTube. Make sure to subscribe via your preferred site.=========================
I write books. I run a blog. I have a YouTube channel. I teach.