Paul Tillich (1886–1965). Paul Tillich was a German American professor, philosopher and Lutheran theologian who was one of the most influential theologians of the twentieth century. Tillich taught at German universities before immigrating to the United States in 1933, where he taught at Union Theological Seminary, Harvard Divinity School, and the University of Chicago. Although an original thinker in many aspects of theology, Tillich is best remembered for his method of correlation, which matches revelatory insights and dogmatic truths to issues facing modern culture. That is, existential questions stemming from psychology and philosophy will often have theological answers based on divine revelation. According to Tillich, philosophy comes up with the questions and theology provides the answers.
Karl Barth (1886–1968). Karl Barth (pronounced Bart) was a Swiss-born pastor, professor, and theologian whose career was primarily in Germany. He was educated in the liberal German theology of his time but became concerned with the outbreak of World War II and how many church leaders and liberal theologians supported the Nazi regime. He therefore initiated a theological movement away from liberalism into what is now called neoorthodoxy. Neoorthodoxy uses many of the same theological concepts as orthodox theologies such as Reformed and Arminian but does not hold that the Bible is literally true and inerrant. Barth emphasizes the complete unknowable nature of God and uses a dialectical approach to explore seemingly contradictory or paradoxical metaphysical teachings in the Bible. Barth recorded his theology in his massive Church Dogmatics (thirteen volumes and more than 6 million words), which is considered one of the one of the most important theological works of the 20th century. Barth was also a founder of the Confessing Church, a group of theologians and church leaders intent on resisting the Nazi regime’s attempt to influence church doctrine. Barth was also author of the Barmen Declaration, a document opposing the German Christian movement which was in strong support of Hitler.
Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971). Reinhold Niebuhr was an American professor and theologian who was the driving force in the American neoorthodox movement just as Karl Barth was in Europe. Theologically, Niebuhr is best known for rejecting Christian idealism and arguing for Christian realism. Niebuhr’s position that a realization of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth is impossible due to the sinful nature of mankind and the corrupt tendencies of society, as strongly evidenced by the Holocaust of Hitler and the gulags of Stalin. Christians must therefore be realistic and advocate for compromise political approaches such as government responsibility and balance of power between nations. Realism was in large part a reaction against the Social Gospel Movement, which sought to solve all of problems of evil in the world by applying Christian love and advancing the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
Lewis, C.S. (1898–1963). Clive Staples Lewis is best known for his The Chronicles of Narnia books but was also a highly impactful Christian apologist. His most popular apologetic works include The Screwtape Letters and Mere Christianity, but he also published many others. Lewis rejected Christianity early in life but turned to deism in his early thirties and then to Christianity several years later. He was a professor at Oxford and a member of an informal group called the Inklings, consisting of J.R.R. Tolkien (who was a close friend) and others. Lewis is not considered by many as an academic theologian but did have some original theological ideas such as his theory of atonement as presented in Mere Christianity (see Section 8.6). Lewis is also responsible for popularizing the “trilemma” choice regarding Jesus as God. Lewis explains that, based on what Jesus said and taught, He must either be mentally unstable, evil, or our Lord and Savior as He claimed to be.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945). Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor and theologian who, along with Karl Barth, was a leader of the Confessing Church that was formed to oppose the pro-Hitler German Christian movement. In 1939, Bonhoeffer traveled to the United States to teach at the Union Theological Seminary in New York. It would have been easy for Bonhoeffer to stay in America and avoid all of his difficulties with the Nazi regime, but he shortly returned to Germany, writing to his friend Reinhold Niebuhr that he must “share the trials of this time with my people.” Bonhoeffer was ultimately arrested for being involved in a conspiracy to assassinate Hitler and was executed. Theologically, Bonhoeffer is most known for distinguishing between cheap grace and costly grace. Cheap grace is the mindset of a Christian that simply enjoys the status of their salvation without engaging in discipleship. Costly grace is the mindset of a Christian who submits his life fully to Christ and pursues active discipleship according to Christ’s will.
Karl Rahner. (1904–1984). Rahner was a German Jesuit priest and theologian. He is widely considered one of the most influential Roman Catholic theologians of the 20th century. Rahner’s theological approach is referred to as nouvelle théologie (New Theology). It emphasizes a theology based on Scripture, the early church Fathers, and an increased focus on biblical exegesis and typology. Nouvelle théologie was highly influential in the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). Rahner is also known for developing the theological concept of abstraction, which recognizes the Kantian principle that people can only experience reality through the filter of sensation. Rahner explains that humans can gain valid spiritual knowledge through the abstraction of this indirect sensory knowledge.
Wolfhart Pannenberg (1928–2014). Wolfhart Pannenberg was a German Lutheran theologian who has studied under Karl Barth. He distinguished between analogical truth (truth that describes empirical observations) and doxological truth (truth as immanent in worship). His theology focuses on doxological truths being revealed by the human response to God’s self-revelation. Human experience therefore leads to the triune God as opposed the neoorthodox view that the triune God leads to human experience. Pannenberg also views history as part of the self-revelation of God, with a focus on the resurrection of Christ revealing what can be expected for mankind in the future. Pannenberg did not see the Bible as inerrant and believed that many of the miracle accounts are mythical. But Pannenberg insists on the reality of Christ’s resurrection as a necessary element in God’s soteriological plan.
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