Skip to content
Csbibliography

Annotated Bibliography of Christian Science

Academic and Other Literature

  • Home
  • About
    • About the ABCS Project
    • Support Opportunities (Donate)
    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Annotations
    • Search Information
    • Category Search
    • Keyword Search
    • Advanced Search
    • Standard Search
    • Authors/Editor List
    • Title List
    • Recently Added
    • Search Support
  • Resources
    • The Book
    • Online Resources
    • ABCS Blog
    • Suggest Resources
  • Contact
Annotation Resource

“Freedom for Life”

“Freedom for Life”

Barth, Karl. “Freedom for Life,” Pages 364–65 in Church Dogmatics: The Doctrine of Creation. Edited by Rev. Prof. G. W. Bromiley and Rev. Prof. T. F. Torrance. Vol. 3, part 4. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1961.

Barth is the only towering theologian who has engaged with Mary Baker Eddy’s theology, but his critique on Christian Science lacks depth. His sole reference to Christian Science appears in a portion of his essay, “Freedom for Life.” The passage includes Barth’s theological treatment of sickness, where he argues that while sickness is no illusion, man is still greater than his physical nature. Without fully resolving the tension he sees in the reality of sickness and the inability of doctors to restore the “strength to be as man” (361), Barth denounces Eddy’s claim to the restoration of health through the allness of God. God is indeed the basis of all reality, he argues, but He loves a reality which is different from Himself, a creation dependent on Him but not “merely a reflection” (364), as Eddy claims. Some of Barth’s arguments appear to originate from either secondary sources or his own presumptions because they contradict Eddy’s specific teachings. He maintains, for example, that Eddy thought Jesus “disappear[ed] from our level of consciousness” (365), whereas she teaches that sin and sickness (not Jesus) disappear. He claims that Eddy did not understand Jesus’s actual death on the cross, whereas she emphasizes the efficacy and sacrifice of his actual crucifixion.

ISBN-10: 0567050793
ISBN-13 (Softcover): 978-0567050793

 

See also annotation:  

“Christian Science (‘Szientismus’)” by Karl Holl

“Theodicy after Auschwitz and the Reality of God” by Stephen Gottschalk

 

Barth, Karl

Related Annotations:

Annotations related by category:
  • Availability: Library or Purchase
  • Official Christian Science Publication: No
  • Publication Date: 1956-1980
  • Resource Types: Book Section
  • Subjects: Healing and Health
  • Subjects: Polemic Literature and Responses
  • Subjects: Theology
Annotations related by keyword:
  • Jesus Christ
More by authors or editor(s):
  • Barth, Karl

Comment on this resource: Cancel

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Search Home

Search application instructions and overview.

Search Support

Questions? We've got answers.

Category Search

Select subject, person, organization and/or controversy to provide a subset of annotation results. The results page includes the ability to further limit your search.

Keyword Search

Select one or more specific keywords to provide a subset of annotation results. The results page includes the ability to further limit your search.

Advanced Search

Select from all search options to obtain very specific results.

Standard Search

Might yield a mix of relevant and irrelevant results, but could be very helpful if you are looking for a specific term not included in any of the other types of searches.

Annotations by Author
Annotations by Title
Most Recent

View the 30 most recently added annotations.

New Since the Book

View new annotations available here that were not included in the book.

Suggest a Resource
Donate via PayPal

Scholarly Works on Christian Science is the nonprofit corporation that produces the ABCS website. We rely on donations to keep the bibliography updated and available to the public. If you find this site useful we hope you'll consider donating to support the work. Donate via PayPal by clicking the button above or send a check to:

Scholarly Works on Christian Science
420 Conway Meadows Drive
St. Louis, MO 63017

© 2022 and later by Scholarly Works on Christian Science, all rights reserved.

Privacy Policy is here. Cookie Policy is here. Comment Policy is here.

This material was printed from the Annotated Bibliography of Christian Science website produced and maintained by Scholarly Works on Christian Science (https://csbibliography.org). All rights reserved.