Barth on the Corporeal Resurrection
There are times when Karl Barth is a cloudy tumultuous theologian. At other times, he is a clear day on the rolling hills. Some have mistaken his understanding and use of the word "history" to accuse him of denying central Christian tenants.
I don't wish to belabor the point other than to provide an excellent moment of clarity from Barth in his lectures on Calvin's Geneva Catechism (published as The Faith of the Church) on the essential nature of belief in the corporeal resurrection of Jesus Christ,
"The New Testament is much simpler than that. It tells us quite simply: do you want to believe in the living Christ? And it shows us that we may believe in him only if we believe in his corporeal resurrection. For life without a body is not human life. This is the content of the New Testament. We are always free to reject it, but not to modify nor to pretend that the New Testament tells something else. We may accept or refuse the message, but we may not change it. Besides, no one is compelled to believe it. But it would be sad if theology were trying to facilitate things and invent a Christianity without Christ's resurrection. And if we should find it difficult to believe, rather than modifying the message let us pray God that he gives us faith, through his Holy Spirit." (107)
