Campus CrossWalk Magazine: 2006 Spring Issue -- Book Review: Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics: The Doctrine of Creation, Volume III, Part IV

Summary

Barth begins with his thesis: that marriage is a divine institution and when a man and a woman come together as one flesh in marriage, they are under a divine command. And these divine commands are explored throughout his book; a masterpiece on how marriage was and is intended to perform.

Marriage is not commanded for everyone, but those who choose to marry must be careful never assume that marriage is just another stage in life that humanity has invented. Marriage is an institution created by God that demands special recognition. Marriages become disastrous when a couple runs their marriage by their own standards and cease inquiring of God’s will (pg 1). Marriage is a matter of freedom and not routine, it is a matter of the Holy Spirit freeing humanity in order that they may have the freedom to love one another unconditionally (pg 2).

Barth then recounts the teachings of Jesus concerning marriage. When Jesus encountered the Pharisees (Matthew 19), he taught them that marriage was and is meant to be seen as a lifelong commitment of “indissoluble character” (pg 3). It is a gift of love and a gift maintained by love. Its purpose is not to merely satisfy sexual needs, or to ease the burden of a man’s work, or to only satisfy the needs for a woman to build a nest, but a lifelong working towards perfecting one another, which is only accomplished through love.

Marriage is not just a partnership but a life-form to be “maintained and developed according to its own inherent meaning and claims” (pg 8). Once sex, comfort, child, or family becomes the principal aim within the marriage, then the marriage will never cease to be disruptive. “Marriage as a life-partnership must first and constantly be considered in and for itself as an end in itself, a question, a task, and a work” (pg 9).

Barth approaches the attitudes of the man and woman once they enter into a marital covenant. If the man stands by his woman as Christ stands by his church, serving as the head in a very genuine and kind manner, and the woman understands his precedence in this humble light, she will not only accept but freely embrace his leadership. For he does not take precedence so that he may exercise his authority in a selfish manner or to show that he is bigger or better, but rather he makes decisions and puts actions into affect for her advantage. He desires that she follow him because he leads righteously, and she then complies for she believes in him and in his love and protection for her. She understands that this course does not lead her into an unworthy or pathetic dependence on him, but into her own freedom that he so desires (pg 15).

Love, in the marital sense, calls the man to choose one woman and the woman to choose one man, selecting a certain individual and choosing no other. A man who loves many women simultaneously or alternately has not yet begun to love (pg 17). “If marriage is the proof of love, it is the proof, confirmation, and expression of the choice made in love. It is a life on the basis of this choice. Hence it is monogamy” (pg 18). But Barth does not argue over institutional polygamy in some societies. He understands and confirms that in polygamous societies, if their practice of polygamy were to be abolished, it would only bring about “cruel and ethically irresponsible confusion,” not because the people who practice polygamy are evil, but because there are “guarantees of law and order and security and protection” in those societies. It would be a social disaster to walk into a society and abolish a social practice that was instituted hundreds or thousands of years ago (pg 28).

Marriage, as Jesus described it, is to be like two oxen under a yoke. This is to say that they must be engaged in a common work; to work towards a common goal in life (pg 30). If marriage were not understood as a permanent covenant, if it were only understood to be a trial period, then love could not exist. Instead, love would be replaced by a “constant playing at love” and a “non-binding experiment” that never creates any real discipline (pg 33). Two human beings who come together in the marital covenant must recognize each other not merely as fellow human beings, or as partners to help them accomplish certain external functions, but to be joined together in a full and total life-long fellowship (pg 42). We must not overlook the fact that the failure of most unhappy marriages can be traced back to the time before their marriage: where existed a misconception or misunderstanding in their mutual recognition of one another (pg 43).

Love is self-giving and controlled. The man finds joy in that this woman belongs to him and is willing to belong to him. She is confident that she is well placed with him and is willing to join in a common cause with him. And he rejoices in her love and seeks to love her as Christ loves his church (pg 49). But in the beginnings of this love, perfection is not yet reached, though perfected love is the goal. One must never confuse affection with love. Apart from affection, love must be recognized by its determination of a life-long partnership in marriage (pg 50).

Barth concludes his work by writing, “Love does not question but gives an answer. Love does not think; it knows. Love puts behind all the ifs and buts, all the conditions, reservations, obscurities, and uncertainties that may arise. Love is not only affinity and attraction; it is union” (pg 51). When two people, joined in love, learn to love one another unconditionally, they are no longer loving with eros but with agape, which naturally implies that they are loving in the Lord and among the community of his brethren (pg 53). And if God can also join together two unbelievers or two persons of separate faiths, and bless their marriage, “this is his secret and his gracious affection” (pg 53).

Evaluation

It surprises and impresses me that a man can write an entire book on the philosophy of marriage. I enjoyed his work and am glad to have read a piece of literature that embodies what I consider to be the full revealed truth as to what eros love and marriage are to entail. Many of my own thoughts are in this book. I especially appreciated his affirmation that love for God’s will, for one another, and in recognition of a lifelong commitment to one another must be the basis of a marriage. All other motives for marrying (such as for children, to have a family, to have a companion, or for sexual gratification) will only lead to a disastrous union.

I was also thankful that though he recognized the importance, strength, and harmony of monogamy, he did not condemn polygamy. He recognized that to walk into a society and abolish a long tradition of social practice, would only create havoc. We must not fear to recognize that if a Christian sought to abolish polygamy in a polygamous society, marriages would fall apart, families would be separated, children would be raised in broken homes, and the very doctrine of Christ (concerning marital union), would be destroyed.

I did not find any biases or weaknesses in this work. I thought it was well written, well explained, and worth reading.

Russell Lingerfelt graduated from Auburn University and is currently pursuing a Masters in Divinity at Pepperdine University where he is involved in youth ministries and world mission efforts. Visit his webpage at jamesrussell.org.