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The Monstrosity of God Made Flesh

Publication ,  Journal Article
Jobe, SC
Published in: Journal of Reformed Theology
December 6, 2019

Three times over the course of thirty-eight years, Karl Barth images God as the monster Leviathan (once each in the Epistle to the Romans, Church Dogmatics .1 and& .3.1). Barth’s imagination for God in monstrous form emerges from his interpretation of Romans 11:35, in which the apostle Paul quotes a line from Job 41:11, a poem about Leviathan, to describe the greatness of God. Using monster theory and a close reading of Barth, this article will discuss how God as Leviathan answers one of Barth’s primary questions—namely, how it is that Jesus saves human beings from their headlong rush into the abyss. Moving from Barth’s exegetical insights, through Barth’s soteriology, the article ends with the ethics of a God made monstrous flesh—an ethics that Barth explicitly links to the status of prisoners and all those depicted as monstrous and cast into the abyss.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Journal of Reformed Theology

DOI

EISSN

1872-5163

Publication Date

December 6, 2019

Volume

13

Issue

3-4

Start / End Page

238 / 256

Publisher

Brill

Related Subject Headings

  • 5005 Theology
  • 5004 Religious studies
  • 2204 Religion and Religious Studies
 

Citation

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MLA
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Jobe, S. C. (2019). The Monstrosity of God Made Flesh. Journal of Reformed Theology, 13(3–4), 238–256. https://doi.org/10.1163/15697312-01303001
Jobe, Sarah C. “The Monstrosity of God Made Flesh.” Journal of Reformed Theology 13, no. 3–4 (December 6, 2019): 238–56. https://doi.org/10.1163/15697312-01303001.
Jobe SC. The Monstrosity of God Made Flesh. Journal of Reformed Theology. 2019 Dec 6;13(3–4):238–56.
Jobe, Sarah C. “The Monstrosity of God Made Flesh.” Journal of Reformed Theology, vol. 13, no. 3–4, Brill, Dec. 2019, pp. 238–56. Crossref, doi:10.1163/15697312-01303001.
Jobe SC. The Monstrosity of God Made Flesh. Journal of Reformed Theology. Brill; 2019 Dec 6;13(3–4):238–256.
Journal cover image

Published In

Journal of Reformed Theology

DOI

EISSN

1872-5163

Publication Date

December 6, 2019

Volume

13

Issue

3-4

Start / End Page

238 / 256

Publisher

Brill

Related Subject Headings

  • 5005 Theology
  • 5004 Religious studies
  • 2204 Religion and Religious Studies