Category Archives: barth

James Cone on the Uses and Limits of Karl Barth

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Tim McGee

Following up on the previous few posts, here is James Cone discussing why Barth’s criticisms are helpful for oppressors but not the oppressed: Of course, black theology is aware of the danger of identifying the word of human beings with … Continue reading →

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Christ the Slave and Occupy Wall Street, or Why OWS Should Matter to Christians

Posted on October 16, 2011 by Tim McGee

Occupy Wall Street went global yesterday–and remember, it started globally too–but I wonder how many of our churches think it matters (and for a whole variety of reasons). I want to make an argument that OWS does matter, for us … Continue reading →

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Cheering for Death and Other Forms of Culture Making

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Tim McGee

Republican audiences have become the main attraction in the recent presidential debates, in particular, the two moments of cheering for death. Whether cheering for executions or for the freedom to die (due to lack of public health care), death is … Continue reading →

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Barth and the Death Contract

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Tim McGee

In His dying, the dying which awaits us in the near or distant future was already comprehended and completed, so that we can no longer die to ourselves (Rom. 14:2f.), in our own strength and at our own risk, but … Continue reading →

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Trinity Sunday: a brief reflection (God is free to be God far away from God)

Posted on June 19, 2011 by Tim McGee

It’s Trinity Sunday, and for those of you who might wonder why Christians believe in the Trinity, and who won’t be satisfied with the explanation that it’s traditional, orthodox, or taught by Scripture, here is a brief explanation of one … Continue reading →

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Native Son and The Christological Determination of Death

Posted on June 18, 2011 by Tim McGee

The third part of Native Son begins with Bigger in jail (for the murder and alleged rape of a white woman), in a trance that was “not so much a stupor…[as] a deep physiological resolution not to react to anything.” This … Continue reading →

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The Theological Contours of Rihanna’s “Man Down”: pulling the trigger on rape culture

Posted on June 11, 2011 by Tim McGee

Rihanna’s video “Man Down” not only draws out the dire consequences facing us in a culture of rape, it also exposes the theological contours of the problem. In my previous post, I suggested that Rihanna’s character faces a kind of … Continue reading →

Posted in Atonement, barth, death, feminism, identity, politics, race, religion, Richard Wright, violence | 1 Comment

Richard Wright, Life and the Threat of Death

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Tim McGee

To be a slave is to exist under the threat of death, where the master determines when, if, and how one might die. In this situation, the desire to live sustains the bondage. The looming threat of actual death transforms … Continue reading →

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Barth, Literature, Religion and Death

Posted on May 29, 2011 by Tim McGee

As of late, I’ve returned to the questions that have generally been preoccupying me: religion, colonialism/racism, and death. I’ve started reading Barth again, on the atonement. I’m also trying to explore these themes in literature (thus continuing some of the … Continue reading →

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Secular Dogmatics? (Continuing thoughts on Fanon as Theologian)

Posted on May 9, 2011 by Tim McGee

At the beginning of his enormous Church Dogmatics, Karl Barth argues that theology can and should consider itself “a science.” As someone shaped by interdisciplinary studies, I found myself a bit suspicious–who cares if it is “a science?” Nevertheless, Barth … Continue reading →

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