Jon Ruthven on Karl Barth

FINALLY !! IT BECAME CLEAR AFTER 20 YEARS WHAT I HAD BEEN UNABLE TO FULLY ARTICULATE, EVEN IN THE LAST BOOK. THIS IS THE ABSTRACT OF AN ARTICLE I JUST FINISHED. COMMENTS?

[Clarification: The realization to me that was new is that cessationism wasn’t just incidental to Protestant theology; it actually shaped it and prevented it from grasping the real mission of Jesus. Both Catholics and Protestants were stuck in a :”Gospel of preparation”–“repent & be baptized” period. The climax of John’s introduction of Jesus (“He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit”) because of cessationism, simply became almost meaningless. If anyone had discovered that Peter was citing Isa 59:21 as the punchline of the Pentecost sermon, they couldn’t deal with it! Prophecy ceased. This *couldn’t* be why Jesus came!! So they totally misunderstood the central issue of the Bible: the New Covenant that was the immersion into the Spirit of prophecy. “All Israel would become prophets”! (Moses’ ideal: Num 11:29).

If you promise to send a critique, I’ll send you a free copy via Facebook

Abstract: Barth’s dream of a Spirit-centered theology hints at the great disconnect between the New Testament portrayal of the mission and message of Jesus and the “gospel” of traditional Protestantism. This disconnect appeared as a result of the Reformers’ adoption of cessationism to undercut Papal authority, which rested, in part, on the idea of continuing revelation and miracle. The failure of both sides to understand the purpose of charismatic revelation and power as the central characteristic of the New Covenant, resulted in a misunderstanding of the mission of Jesus, the purpose of the cross, and the continuing commission of Christian disciples. In this, traditional theology significantly distorted the Christian message from that of Jesus and the New Testament witness.