The Church and the Churches

Download or read book The Church and the Churches written by Karl Barth and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2005 with total page 78 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How can Christians claim to hold in common one Lord, one faith, and one baptism while their churches remain splintered? Theological giant Karl Barth's mature, historic discussion of the problem of church unity still deserves careful attention. Originally written for the 1937 Edinburgh World Conference on Faith and Order, Barth's profound reflections continue to speak to today's multiplicity of churches. While some of his subject matter -- the predicament of churches in Germany before World War II, for instance -- may now be of mostly historical interest, his call for Christians to honestly listen to Christ through their various traditions is as fresh and demanding as ever. Through this thoughtful inquiry Barth brings clarity to the relationship between the Church and the churches, calling believers everywhere to a more serious confession of Christ. Those actively engaged or interested in contemporary ecumenical ventures cannot afford to ignore the foundation for unity laid out in this little Barth volume.