Challenging recent rejections of Hans Urs von Balthasar's groundbreaking study of Karl Barth's theology, Stephen Long argues that these interpreters are myopically impatient with the nuances of Balthasar's reading of Barth and fail to appreciate the longstanding theological friendship that perdured. Even more, current readings threaten to repristinate the embattled divide hallmarking Protestant-Catholic relations prior to Vatican II. Long contends against these contemporary trajectories in a substantial defense of Balthasar's theological preoccupation with Barth's thought. This book offers one of the first full contextualizations of the friendship that developed between Balthasar and Barth, which lasted from the 1930s until Balthasar's death in the 1980s. Re-evaluating Balthasar's theological work on Barth, the present volume provides a critical new reading of not only Balthasar's original volume but a wider account of the systematic engagement Balthasar carried on throughout his career. Within this, a paradigm for fruitful, generous ecumenical dialogue emerges.
D. Stephen Long is professor of systematic theology at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
"What if you could audit a seminar on church and sacraments, co-taught by Karl Barth and Hans Urs von Balthasar? This is no dream; it actually happened. With skill and insight, D. Stephen Long takes us not just into the classroom but deep into the heart of this extraordinary ecumenical friendship, showing why it matters for Christians today. A major contribution." Joseph L. Mangina University of Toronto "Few theological friendships in the twentieth century mattered more for the cause of Christian unity than the one between Karl Barth and Hans Urs von Balthasar. Both men worried about the 'enigmatic crack' separating Protestant and Catholic Christians, and both understood the import of their dialogue for repairing the breach. Now at last, D. Stephen Long helps us to break back into the enigma of their theological friendship. Saving Karl Barth throws down a gauntlet for Catholic and Protestant theologians alike who are keen not to repeat the sixteenth century, but seek another kind of reformation - one which does not divide, but orders all things to the unity of Christ. A stunning ecumenical achievement!" C. C. Pecknold The Catholic University of America "Saving Karl Barth is an impressive scholarly achievement. Working with original archival sources, D. Stephen Long maps the nuances of debates on nature and grace that continue to vex Protestant and Catholic theology. Long does not claim to have solved these debates, but rather he shows how progress on these questions will require the same spirit of adversarial friendship that Barth and Balthasar displayed. This is an exciting book, one that not only makes a deep contribution to the interpretation of twentieth century theology, but also points the way forward." William T. Cavanaugh DePaul University "Was the conversation between Barth and von Balthasar misguided from the start, or has it been prematurely abandoned? Thanks to Saving Karl Barth, we now have a powerful case for the latter alternative. An excellent theologian as well as a perceptive scholar, D. Stephen Long not only describes the ecumenical engagement he finds in Barth and von Balthasar, he also performs it. The result is a work that is sure to reignite debates over the legacies of Barth and von Balthasar and, more importantly, over the question of what it means to do theology in a house that remains tragically divided." Gerald McKenny University of Notre Dame
