Barth, Bonhoeffer, and a theology of revelation

This quarter I'm taking a Karl Barth seminar and am focusing my research on the influence of Barth on Bonhoeffer's theology of revelation.  'Revelation' is the foundation for the theology of discipleship that I am working on, so this should be a very fruitful and exciting opportunity to further my understanding of Bonhoeffer in this area.

I'm starting by getting a thorough overview of Barth's influence on Bonhoeffer by reading Andreas Pangritz's Karl Barth in the Theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  Pangritz focuses his research by honing in on Bonhoeffer's critique of Barth's "positivism of revelation," in Letters and Papers from Prison.  I'm still working through the book, but so far am pleased with the depth and insight that Pangritz is offering.  One of the big questions that Barth and Bonhoeffer scholars have is what Bonhoeffer could have meant in this accusation of "positivism of revelation" in Barth - even Barth himself was not sure what to make of Bonhoeffer's comments.  Pangritz treats the whole question and context quite well and so is proving to be a very valuable resource.

I think my research may focus more on Bonhoeffer's earlier work.  I'm particularly interested in seeing where I can find Barth's influence in Creation and Fall, for example.  Since Bonhoeffer's theology is always developing throughout his career, I think it's important to see where he begins in his understanding of revelation.  I will also be curious to see if I can trace nuanced developments of revelation as Bonhoeffer progresses through his middle and later period.

Theological method is the basis, the presuppositions, that someone has when they begin to address theological questions.  Barth's work challenged the prevailing theological method of his time by insisting that theology must begin with God's revelation of himself toward humanity, and not with the human pursuit of the knowledge of God.  Bonhoeffer was one of the early adopters of Barth's method, though certainly did not just accept all of the implications or outworkings (as we see in Letters and Papers).

It is important, then, to have a starting point when we talk about a theology of discipleship.  I'm going to take Barth and Bonhoeffer's lead as I put forth the conviction that only because God freely chooses to reveal himself to us through Jesus Christ can we live and move in a life of discipleship.  We'll have to give it a few weeks (for starters) of research and writing to see how this all comes together.