Karl Barth on Jesus

I've been putting quotes on the side of my blog for awhile now, but I thought that they really aren't all that noticeable, so I am now going to start posting an entry each time the quote changes. The new quote is from the Reformed theologian Karl Barth:

“Jesus does not give recipes that show the way to God as other teachers of religion do. He is himself the way.”

In his usual Barthian style, Karl Barth here says what others have said but does so in just such an elegant, powerful way that you stop and take notice. It is amazing that a man whose four volume magnum opus comes in twelve parts can make such compact quotes, but this is just the tip of the iceberg concerning what is amazing about Barth. I just happened to run across this little tidbit today and thought it would be a good quote to share.

Below you will find previous quotes that have been featured here on asisaid.

October 2004

“Cry, cry for death, but let the good win out in the end.”

This is a dramatic quote from the early part of the play Agamemnon by Aeschylus. The chorus sees that the situation is increasingly hopeless, but they refuse to believe that the good lose completely.

November 2004

“A poem should not mean
But be.”

This is an excerpt from Archibald MacLeish's famous poem, “Ars Poetica.” If you have not read “Ars Poetica” yet, go read it now.

December 2004

Christ-tide, I pray you.

This is a quote from Ben Jonson's the Alchemist that seemed appropriate. It is spoken by Ananias, the side kick to the main Puritan of the play, Tribulation Wholesome. Unlike Tribulation, Ananias seems to be a generally respectable character, despite his fear of popish elements in everything.

January 2005

Sic Transit Gloria Mundi

“Thus passes away the glory of the world,” the quote declares. As it turned out, this quote was especially appropriate this year. This phrase is used during the installation of a new pope, so it makes sense that I started out the year with it, considering that we now have Pope Benedict XVI.

February 2005

If our parish-minister is grieved at our greater good, or prefers his credit before it, then he has good cause to grieve over his own rottenness and hypocrisy.

This was spoken by Gilbert Tennent concerning the problems of an “Unconverted Ministry.” This was a very controversial sermon that ended up being a part of what caused some to reject the revivalism of the Great Awakening. Tennent definitely did not mince words in this sermon.

March 2005

What is honour? a word. What is in that word honour? what is that honour? air. A trim reckoning! Who hath it? he that died o' Wednesday. Doth he feel it? no. Doth he hear it? no. 'Tis insensible, then. Yea, to the dead.

A quote from the ever likable Sir John Falstaff, the friend of Prince Hal in Shakespeare's King Henry IV Parts 1 and 2. This particular quote comes from toward the end of Part 1 and deals with the question of the value of honor. This scene is similar to Juliet's famous “a rose by any other name” soliloquy from Romeo and Juliet. The big difference is that Juliet is thinking about whether she can marry a Montague, whereas Falstaff is thinking about all of the lives being lost in the name of honor — “a mere scutcheon.”