Karl Barth's Secular Parables

Abstract

In his Church Dogmatics, Karl Barth describes what he calls “secular parables,†cultural artifacts produced by non-Christians (or by Christians who are consciously or unconsciously avoiding overt Christian expression in their work) which embody or express truth.  Barth provides theological and biblical reasons why Christians ought to be ready to pay attention to truth from such sources.  He also indicates the potential usefulness for Christians in the study of these materials and clarifies the relationship between the truths recognizable in them and the truth of the Bible.  His account of secular parables offers a useful pattern for Christian scholars engaged in the study of secular or non-Christian cultures.
KEYWORDS:  Karl Barth, secular parables, truth, Christian scholarship