(Re)Turning to the Listener: Karl Barth's Theo-Anthropology and Preaching to Political Others

Abstract

This article explores how Karl Barth’s theo-anthropology might serve as a resource for the practice of preaching in politically polarized congregational contexts. The article briefly reviews current research on mass polarization in the United States, particularly in relation to social identity, and considers how this dynamic problematizes preaching on political and social issues in politically diverse Protestant congregations. It then traces the contours of Karl Barth’s theological anthropology, highlighting a few key features. It concludes with a consideration of the implications of Barth’s human being in becoming to bear on the question of preaching to political others, considering what might resist external forces that polarize and support all hearers in their struggle to correspond to who they are in Jesus Christ.