Playful, Glad, and Free

Klappentext This book offers a critical analysis and reinterpretation of Karl Barths theology of culturethe least studied aspect of his workrevealing his significance for contemporary work in theology of culture by applying his approach to the study of popular culture and entertainment. Grounding the study in Barths eschatology, which proves more amenable to secular culture than other models, DeCou shows that Barths approach recognized that the freedom of theology is qualified by the freedom of the Word and the freedom of secular culture. Barth therefore offers a middle way for evaluating and analyzing culture and religious forms. This book thus opens up a new avenue of interpretation of Barth and applies the insights of Barths theology in fresh ways to the structures of contemporary culture and its products. "Eberhard Jungel once described Karl Barth as the happiest theologian of our age. But the playfulness of Barth's theology has never fully been explored - until now. In this wonderfully alert and exuberant study, Jessica DeCou develops a full-blown Barthian theology of popular culture. Drawing on Barth's understanding of work and play, she argues that the theologian's job is to play with popular culture in a way that respects the proper freedom and limits of cultural production. This is not only a creative and exciting new reading of Barth, but also an invitation to a more rigorous and more generous engagement with the everyday materials of popular culture." Benjamin Myers Charles Sturt University, Sydney, Australia This book offers a critical analysis and reinterpretation of Karl Barth's theology of culture - the least studied aspect of his work - revealing his significance for contemporary work in theology of culture by applying his approach to the study of popular culture and entertainment....

Zusammenfassung
This book offers a critical analysis and reinterpretation of Karl Barth's theology of culture - the least studied aspect of his work - revealing his significance for contemporary work in theology of culture by applying his approach to the study of popular culture and entertainment.