Tuesday 30 May 2006

Your favourite Reformed theologian

Thanks to the 164 people who voted in the latest poll. And the winner is—Karl Barth, of course! Barth was clearly the favourite Reformed theologian with 44% of the votes, ahead of Calvin (23%), Moltmann (16%) and Jonathan Edwards (12%). To my surprise, Schleiermacher received only 5% of the votes—even though he’s one of the most brilliant and decisive thinkers in the entire history of Christendom! Still, I admit that it would be very hard to love Schleiermacher more than Barth....

Anyway, stay tuned for another poll soon on modern Anglican theologians (no, I’m not joking).

12 Comments:

Anonymous said...

Consider including Tanner in your Anglican poll! She will at least get my vote. Or will American Episcopals be excluded from the poll along with the communion?

Anonymous said...

You are absolutely right, Ben. Only 5% of the poll for Schleiermacher is scandalous. Can I penitently change my vote from Barth to make substitutionary atonement on behalf of the rest of your voters?

Schleiermacher would be in my list of the All-Time Top Ten, right up there with (chronologically) Athanasius, Gregory of Nyssa, Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Barth and von Balthasar (which leaves . . .). Twentieth century Protestant theology is unimaginable without him, his influence stretching from Tillich on one shoulder to Barth on the other. Barth himself called Schleiermacher the "great Niagara Falls". I'm a huge fan of Moltmann, but I reckon Moltmann himself would be happy to be Schleiermacher's briefcase-bearer.

Anonymous said...

To be honest, I was going to vote for Barth and then I noticed that Calvin was ahead of Moltmann and I thought to myself, "Hey, that's not right!" so I decided to vote for Moltmann.

One of Freedom said...

I should have logged in from many computers to prove my Moltmania. Ahhh well, Barth is cool too. :-)

Guy Davies said...

Calvin was robbed. Where would Barth have been, had he not stood on the Genevan Giant's shoulders? Even if he did go a bit wobbly while scaling those dizzying heights!

Looney said...

"But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers." - Matthew 23:8

For some strange reason, I am having trouble identifying my favorite Rabbi ...

byron smith said...

'Anyone who has never noticed anything of the splendour this figure radiated and still does - I am almost tempted to say, who has never succumbed to it - may honourably pass on to other and possibly better ways, but let him never raise so much as a finger against Schleiermacher. Anyone who has never loved here, and is not in a position to love again and again may not hate here either.'
Karl Barth, From Rousseau to Ritschl (trans. by Brian Cozens, H. H. Hartwell et al.; London: SCM, 1959), 308.

byron smith said...

Looney, how about your favourite older brother (or sister), with whom you love to read the Scriptures?

Looney said...

Byron, I guess that was my father. Ooops -

"And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven." - Matthew 23:9

Consistency is soooo hard to do ...

Thanks

Looney said...

Oh, and when I get tired of theology, I go back to my Fanny Crosby hymns.

T.B. Vick said...

Poor Edwards', I still consider him one of the greatest Reformed thinkers in the history of Protestant Christianity.

Guy Davies said...

T. B. Vick, if Ben operated a system of proportional representation rather than "first past the post", my second preference vote would have gone to Jonathan Edwards.

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