Wirkendes Wort

Once again there is a dispute about the Old Testament and the significance of Scripture for theology and church in Protestant theology and churches in Germany. That's a good thing. Without this controversy, what has become the established view in church and theology would continue to be understood in the way in which it is in fact understood - namely misunderstood. Misunderstanding is easy, understanding requires a serious effort. This is especially true for understanding Scripture. For in contrast to the common assumption, the real challenge is not how to understand Scripture, but what one actually wants to understand. It is not primarily about methods, but about the subject of interpretation, namely Scripture that is used to communicate the Gospel, through which God's Word is effectively brought to bear on people's lives.
For some time now, Systematic Theology has tended to ignore the interpretation of biblical texts in the systematic reflection of faith. A reconsideration of the tasks of a theological doctrine of Scripture is long overdue. One century after Karl Barth's Letter to the Romans, Ingolf U. Dalferth offers a reconsideration of these issues in a major monograph that will startle theologians at the beginning of the new millennium wherever a theological ethos that unites faith and church has survived. Dalferth also combines his remarks with practical reform considerations. The "Life of the Church" and the "Thinking of Theology" are thus interrelated in a new way.