Charles Caldwell Ryrie: An Evangelical Evaluation of Barthianism / Barth's Developing Theology / Barth's Point of View-Sovereignty / Printed in the United States of America

• Author: Charles C. Ryrie
• Publisher: Moody
• Publication Date: 1977
• Pages: 75

“Barthianism with its call to the Word of God has excited a lot of preachers and theologians. The only trouble with it is, if one studies it, he soon discovers that the call is to the faith of the Word and not to the facts of the Bible which are actually, to Barthianism, of secondary importance.” (Pages 5–6)

“From his own viewpoint Barth is biblical because revelation is in Jesus Christ. From our viewpoint he is not at all biblical because he denies the possibility of stating the truths of the Bible in propositions.” (Page 25)

“In general, sin is the mistake of making ourselves the center of things instead of God.” (Page 43)

“His outlook became more biblical in his later years, though the Bible still merely attests to revelation—it is not revelation in itself.” (Page 25)

“He was not a fundamentalist, but the presence of neoorthodoxy in the world has made it easier for evangelicals to talk about supernaturalism, the atonement, and even the second coming of Christ. We are glad for what Barthianism has said, not because of what was said per se, but because what was said was said at a very critical time in Church history. To be indebted historically is one thing; to be indebted doctrinally, another. Too many are confused at this point. Broadly speaking, the Barthian emphasis was in the right direction, i.e., toward supernaturalism and away from humanism, toward God and away from man—and we are grateful for that; but the specific Barthian content of that emphasis is something with which evangelicals cannot agree. This we must see in the succeeding chapters.” (Page 26)

Charles C. Ryrie is a renowned author and scholar. He has written dozens of books which have sold more than 1.5 million copies worldwide. As a scholar, he has served in several capacities throughout this career. He was ordained by the First Baptist Church in Alton, Illinois. He spent five years at Westmont College, first as professor, later as dean of men and chairman of biblical studies and philosophy. In 1958 he became president of Philadelphia College of Bible. He spent most of his career as a professor of systematic theology at Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas. The father of three, he is now professor emeritus of systematic theology at Dallas Theological Seminary and acts as visiting professor of theology at Philadelphia College of Bible.