Emil Brunner Library – serie

Emil Brunner’s thorough theological study of the values of faith, hope, and love to Christians.Faith, hope, and love are central tropes in Christian teaching, and indeed are increasingly common in general vernacular, yet Swiss theologian Emil Brunner found the triad lacked the thorough theological study they demanded. These three words, Brunner argues, represent the totality of what it means to be Christian: faith as a receptable of God’s timeless love, hope as our faith in what God has done in Christ, and the giving of love which makes humans truly human.To Brunner, faith, hope, and love are essential and total, reflecting the relation to Jesus in the three dimensions of time – the past, present, and future. Faith, Hope, and Love, originally delivered as the Earl Lectures in Berkeley, California, in 1955, therefore represents Brunner’s accomplished expression on the significance and importance of these three values to Christians.

A systematic treatment of eschatology from one of the great reformed theologians of the twentieth century.Describing his objective in writing Eternal Hope, Emil Brunner boldly claimed that ‘a church that has nothing to teach concerning the future and the life of the world to come is bankrupt’. Several decades later, such a challenge might still be levied. Against this backdrop, Brunner offers a way forward that remains closely tied scripture, yet is nevertheless pastorally sensitive. Indeed, one of the central tenets of his approach is that the Gospel offers no comfort to the individual that is not at the same time a promise for the future of humanity as a whole. He proceeds systematically through the promises and mysteries that the Christian faith maintains surrounding death, while holding the hope of eternity as a constant goal.A precursor to his more rigorous Dogmatics, and partly in preparation for the second assembly of the World Council of Churches in 1954, Eternal Hope was also written just a year after the tragic death of Brunner’s son. It is therefore no surprise that he combines the vulnerability of his personal encounter with death, and a theological outlook that has universal implications.

The great twentieth-century work of theology, Emil Brunner’s Dogmatics series. One of the great twentieth-century works of theology, Emil Brunner's Dogmatics series presents a profoundly biblical systematic theology. Finding a path between Barth and Bultmann, Brunner explores key doctrines such as the doctrine of God, creation and redemption, and the doctrine of the church and of faith. These foundational texts from a leading theologian of the 20th century are crucial for scholars and students, illuminating how modern Protestant theology was formed in the last century. The first volume serves as an introduction to Brunner's view of dogmatics, setting out the nature, position, and necessity of dogmatics before exploring the many facets of the doctrine of God. In detailed, vigorous explanation, Brunner considers the nature and will of God, including his name, his holiness, his wisdom, and his glory. Thorough, insightful and extensive, this first volume is an illuminating beginning to this series.

One of the great twentieth-century works of theology, Emil Brunner's Dogmatics series presents a profoundly biblical systematic theology. Finding a path between Barth and Bultmann, Brunner explores key doctrines such as the doctrine of God, creation and redemption, and the doctrine of the church and of faith. These foundational texts from a leading theologian of the 20th century are crucial for scholars and students, illuminating how modern Protestant theology was formed in the last century. The second volume explores the fundamental concepts of the protestant doctrine, from creation and the creator, to man's position within creation, sin and its consequences, and the saving work of Jesus. Brunner explores all of the possibilities of these fundamentals, and his detailed, thoughtful arguments are designed, as he says, to set 'us free to have a faith which is based on nothing save the Love of God revealed in Jesus Christ'.

One of the great twentieth-century works of theology, Emil Brunner's Dogmatics series presents a profoundly biblical systematic theology. Finding a path between Barth and Bultmann, Brunner explores key doctrines such as the doctrine of God, creation and redemption, and the doctrine of the church and of faith. These foundational texts from a leading theologian of the 20th century are crucial for scholars and students, illuminating how modern Protestant theology was formed in the last century. The third and final volume focusses on the theology of the Church as a reflection of God's self-revelation through the Holy Spirit, and an eternal consummation of Divine self-communication. Drawing together the understanding gleaned in the previous two volumes, Brunner addresses the nature of the church and faith to bring his systematic biblical theology into the experiences of his readers.

Twelve sermons by Emil Brunner on the Apostles’ Creed.Emil Brunner is best known as one of the greatest theologians of the twentieth century, but I Believe in the Living God is a reminder that he was also an exceptional preacher. With twelve sermons rooted in the Apostles' Creed, Brunner shows how faith in Jesus Christ is inclusive of the facts to which the creed refers and what this means in our lives - both individually and socially.Intended for the layman, Brunner recognises how remote the creed can feel and so interprets it in a way that accounts for the difference between first-century minds and our own. For him the Apostles' Creed is a living proclamation of the Christian faith and a powerful attestation to the reign of Christ. Eloquently written and engagingly presented, I Believe in the Living God inspires faith.

Emil Brunner’s investigation into the nature of Church and ‘churches’ using New Testament research.‘What is the Church?’ Emil Brunner asks in his searching preface. Within Protestantism, the relationship between the Church as a living community of faith and the institutions conventionally called “churches” has long remained unclear. By contrast, the Roman Catholic tradition faces a different tension: how is the living Ecclesia of the New Testament to be understood in relation to the papal Church?In The Misunderstanding of the Church, Brunner confronts this ambiguity head-on. Drawing on the insights of New Testament scholarship, he examines the deep disharmony between the vibrant, Spirit-filled fellowship of early Christianity and the institutional forms that now bear its name. With characteristic clarity and urgency, he asks a further pressing question: what has gone wrong with the churches?Brunner’s exploration reveals a problem that is at once theological and historical, conceptual and practical. The very title of the book reflects this complexity: is the Church guilty of misunderstanding, the victim of it, or even its product? The ambiguity, Brunner suggests, lies not in the wording but in the nature of the issue itself.A significant contribution to ecumenical debate, this work embodies Brunner’s enduring concern to uncover why a true resolution of the problem of the Church has remained so elusive—and what might yet be required to rediscover its authentic form.

Emil Brunner's assessment of Justice, law, and equality in the aftermath of the Second World War.First published in 1945, in the wake of potent suffering, injustice, and the social and international upheaval of World War II, Justice and Social Order is Emil Brunner's impassioned assessment of Protestant Christianity's irresoluteness on various social issues, including the social order, politics, law, and international law. Brunner argues that the totalitarian State was the inevitable result of the slow disintegration and dissolution of the idea of justice in the Western World, which left Western humanity in its own wreckage in the twentieth century.Part one, 'Principles', presents the principles of justice, such as law, equality, and justice, proceeding with a description of the essential nature of these principles and where justice lies with the sphere of ethics. In the second part, 'Practice', Brunner explains the application of the principles described in part one to the practice of justice. In Justice and Social Order, Brunner elucidates his belief that it is the duty of theologians, philosophers, and jurists to comprehend and clarify the idea of justice to reconstruct just institutions and cure humanity's 'chronic disease': the absence of the intention of justice.

Emil Brunner regarded the Letter to the Romans as the closest thing in Scripture to a theological treatise—indeed, the “chapter of destiny of the Christian Church”. Across centuries of Christian thought, the understanding of Paul’s great epistle has shaped the very foundations of faith. Here, in Luther’s words, is the “purest gospel”, the source from which Christian belief draws its life and upon which its existence depends.In this profound meditation, Brunner brings his years of scholarly insight to bear on the central questions that have long occupied theologians: what did Paul seek to say to the Romans, and what does God continue to say to us today? Concentrated, decisive and deeply instructive, Romans stands as one of the most closely argued works of the New Testament—at once theological and intensely personal.With clarity and depth, Brunner elucidates the powerful Pauline arguments that have become the bedrock of Christian belief and proclamation, offering readers a compelling guide to one of the most influential texts in Christian history.

Emil Brunner’s treatise on the nature of mankind, exploring the contradiction at the heart of human experience, only comprehensible through God.In Emil Brunner's treatise on the nature of mankind he explores what Darwin, Nietzsche, Marx and Freud, despite their differences, all overlooked: the contradiction at the heart of human experience. This contradiction is comprehensible only through a God who illuminates what we should be, who makes communication possible through his Word and our ability to respond. A transcendent, metaphysical exploration of the human condition, in Man In Revolt Brunner centres the Biblical doctrine of humankind to reveal the truth being sought in the endless human search for understanding. Focussing on responsibility as the key to personality, Brunner explores how an understanding of ourselves as created in the image of God offers an insight into our responsibility. With profound penetration and power, he considers the timeless questions of individuality and community, men and women, and our souls and bodies. An incisive and enduring work, Man in Revolt brings Brunner's piercing argument to the question at the centre of our understanding of ourselves - and our relation to the world we live in.

Brunner’s thorough and provocative analysis establishes Jesus Christ as the Mediator between God and ManWhy should there be an intermediary between god and humanity? Brunner's thorough and provocative analysis establishes Jesus Christ as the Mediator between God and Man, analysing the necessity and challenge of this divine mediator. Central to the Christian faith and Brunner's reputation as a great modern theologian, his vigorous theological discussion considers the Jesus Christ who confronts humanity with the knowledge that they must act. Re-examining the deity and humanity of Christ, the God-Man, and deepening the readers' understanding of the Incarnation and the Atonement, Brunner rescues these essential theological concepts from misunderstanding. Drawing his argument to its conclusion, Brunner contends that only in Jesus Christ can we know ourselves as we really are; only in Jesus Christ can God be known as he really is.

A detailed study of the meaning and significance of the Christian concept of justice.First published in 1945, in the wake of potent suffering, injustice, and the social and international upheaval of World War II, Justice and Social Order is Emil Brunner's impassioned assessment of Protestant Christianity's irresoluteness on various social issues, including the social order, politics, law, and international law. Brunner argues that the totalitarian State was the inevitable result of the slow disintegration and dissolution of the idea of justice in the Western World, which left Western humanity in its own wreckage in the twentieth century.Part one, 'Principles', presents the principles of justice, such as law, equality, and justice, proceeding with a description of the essential nature of these principles and where justice lies with the sphere of ethics. In the second part, 'Practice', Brunner explains the application of the principles described in part one to the practice of justice. In Justice and Social Order, Brunner elucidates his belief that it is the duty of theologians, philosophers, and jurists to comprehend and clarify the idea of justice to reconstruct just institutions and cure humanity's 'chronic disease': the absence of the intention of justice.

A wide-ranging discussion of human nature seeing the relationship between God and humanity as the key to the contradiction between what we are and ought to be.In Emil Brunner's treatise on the nature of mankind he explores what Darwin, Nietzsche, Marx and Freud, despite their differences, all overlooked: the contradiction at the heart of human experience. This contradiction is comprehensible only through a God who illuminates what we should be, who makes communication possible through his Word and our ability to respond. A transcendent, metaphysical exploration of the human condition, in Man In Revolt Brunner centres the Biblical doctrine of humankind to reveal the truth being sought in the endless human search for understanding. Focussing on responsibility as the key to personality, Brunner explores how an understanding of ourselves as created in the image of God offers an insight into our responsibility. With profound penetration and power, he considers the timeless questions of individuality and community, men and women, and our souls and bodies. An incisive and enduring work, Man in Revolt brings Brunner's piercing argument to the question at the centre of our understanding of ourselves - and our relation to the world we live in.

Brunner's commentary on Paul's Epistle to the Romans, concentrating on the fundamental theological arguments.On the The Letter to the Romans, Brunner sees St Paul's Epistle to the Romans as 'the chapter of destiny of the Christian Church'. Here, in Luther's words, is the 'purest gospel' upon which the very existence of the Christian faith depends and from which it draws its life. Concentrated, decisive and instructive, nothing within the New Testament is more closely argued both theological and personal. Out of his years of scholarly wisdom Brunner meditates on the great Epistle, and in his commentary elucidates the massive Pauline arguments which are the bed rock of Christian belief and Christian proclamation.

A thorough and provocative analysis of the biblical doctrine of the Person and the Work of Christ, establishing Jesus as the mediator between God and man.Christianity stands or falls by what is believed and thought about Jesus. Brunner's thorough and provocative analysis of the Biblical doctrine of the Person and the work of Christ, establishing Jesus Christ as the Mediator between God and man, not only made the central theme of Christianity live again, but established him as one of the great modern theologians. Why should there be an intermediary between God and mankind? Brunner's answer is that what matters supremely is not whether man is 'aware' of, or has a 'feeling' for 'something divine', but whether there is only one 'place' at which God challenges man to decision.The God who is real and alive is the God who confronts man in such a way that man knows that he must act. And Jesus Christ, the Mediator, confronts man with the true and living God. The deity of Christ, the humanity of Christ, the God-Man, the Incarnation, and the Atonement are re-examined and rescued from misunderstanding. The result is a clear and provocative discussion concluding that only in Jesus Christ can we know ourselves as we really are; and only in Jesus Christ can God be known as he really is.