The Epistle to the Romans: 261 (Galaxy Books)

I've just finished this and I loved it. The adjectives in the title express it all really...I read his 'A Shorter Commentary on Romans' last Christmas and enjoyed that, so I set myself to crack this one and it was well worth it. I've come to it via his shorter one and Brunner's 'The Mediator', and altho Barth protests in one of the prefaces (all six from all six editions are included!) that he shouldn't be read thru the spectacles of Brunner, I must say I found Brunner very helpful to getting a handle on what Barth's central message was.Anyway, this blows away so much - everything in fact, even itself! That is what is so valuable and entertaining and edifying about it. The book itself does not stand anywhere. Most people write their books as the answer, or definitely part of an answer to a question and so they want it to stand with the integrity that they believe it has. This is their written conviction. Barth lacks no conviction or integrity, but his insight is what makes the difference: nothing stands and we don't speak the truth. Only God is truth and we, if he allows, are echoes, or, as he puts it, 'significant' in acts or words. But only God is good and eternal. This book must fade to nothing if it is accurate, and this is the power of Barth's understanding! And it can only be accurate at best (which nothing truly is anyway) because God alone and what he does and says is truth. Barth appeared to have a strange, transcendent humility that was probably a reflection of his vision of the all-powerful, transcendent God that he worshipped. It is this humility that was one of the most affecting aspects of this book for me. When we say something, we want to really say it! But Barth wanted to say nothing and be nothing and because of this he says it all!I was left flattened in parts of this book by the power and majesty of God. For that it's worth 5 stars. I look forward to exploring more of his work.

The book is a classic. As such it deserves a modern English translation. The 1930's translation is way out of date. In those days it was OK to leave Latin quotes untranslated. You cannot do that now. It was also still (just) possible to solve the problem that English does not have separate words for you plural and you singular by using ye and thou, which the translator does frequently. You can't do that in 2021. Publisher please commission a new translation.

I was taught the religion invented for Franco by a sort of not very clever apostles, that were a little lazy and fascist. I never understood that religion: It was something about a stone. I like this book because at least you see a religion explained. You can agree or disagree, but there is something you can think about. How can you think about a stone?

very good.

A classic that will be of interest to academic theologians.

One of Karl Barth's great works. His approach is different from most, his thinking is fresh and outside of the box.

All your paperback covers curl right up immediately. Substandard. Am not satisfied

A lot easier to understand than I was led to believe.