The Defeat of Satan

Reviews / Votes

Kelly has authored a very fine and surprising study of Barth's mature 'report' on the devil and God's triumph over all his works in the theology of the Church Dogmatics. His close reading of Barth's soteriology and his insightful analysis of the prominence and significance of this theme is as compelling as it is unsettling of received opinions, and rightly reminds us of the biblical depth and complexity of the Swiss theologian's dogmatic programme. -- Philip G. Ziegler, University of Aberdeen, UK In this engaging and lucid volume, Declan Kelly demonstrates that the role of the Third Agent extends further into Karl Barth's soteriology than has previously been understood. His work will be instructive well beyond the confines of Barth scholarship. In particular, students of Pauline theology will find much that is of interest, particularly regarding Barth's articulation of the relationship between cross and resurrection. Highly recommended! -- Beverly Roberts Gaventa, Princeton Theological Seminary, USA Declan Kelly subjects Barth's soteriology in Church Dogmatics to a fresh and remarkable interpretation. He points to a cosmological depth dimension of Barth's soteriology and shows that, in the wake of the doctrine of election, Barth conceives the doctrine of salvation as a three-agent drama. As a result, this study succeeds in uncovering, among other important things, new patterns of continuity (especially with CD III/3, ?50 and CD IV/3, ?69) that have been overlooked in the previous exclusively forensic interpretation of CD IV/1, ?59. This book represents an important contribution to Barth research. -- Matthias D. Wuethrich, Universitaet Zuerich, Switzerland Kelly has provided a compelling reading of Barth's theology as a 'cosmological apocalyptic' three-agent soteriology. Throughout the book Kelly has a keen eye for the difficulties, lacunae, and sometimes inconsistencies that might lead readers to think otherwise, to place Barth as a predominantly 'forensic apocalyptic' two-agent theologian. * Studies in Christian Ethics *