Being in Action: The Theological Shape of Barth's Ethical Vision

by Paul T. Nimmo

This book investigates the way in which the ‘actualistic ontology’ - i.e., the fact that God and human agents are beings-in-act in a covenant relationship - that underlies the Church Dogmatics of Karl Barth affects his conception of ethical agency. It analyses this effect along three paths of knowing what is right (the noetic dimension), doing what is right (the ontic dimension), and achieving what is right (the telic dimension). The first section of the book explores the discipline of theological ethics as Barth construes it, both in its theoretical status and in its actual practice. In the second section, the ontological import of ethical agency for Barth is considered in relation to the divine action and the divine command. The final section of the book examines the teleological purpose envisaged in this theological ethics in terms of participation, witness, and glorification.

Genres: Theology

215 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 15, 2007

Reviews

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course it's brilliant. Of course.

[Mu-tien Chiou · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is Paul Nimmo's PhD thesis "Ethical Agency and Actualistic Ontology in the Theological Ethics of Karl Barth" completed under David Fergusson at the University of Edinburgh’s New College in 2005.

And it just feels "dissertational", even though Nimmo has good things to say on the topic, the readability of this book is undermined by tedious quotations and dry writing style.

The structure and organization of this book are sound though.
For a critique of content, see here http://wp.me/pOOVy-xw