Cross Theology: The Classical 'Theologia Crucis' and Karl Barth's Modern Theology of the Cross

An astute and thought-provoking analysis of the theologia crucis and the significance of Karl Barth as a modern exponent of this theological tradition.


What is the Theologica Crucis? What are its radical claims? Which theologians stood within this subversive tradition? Is Karl Barth amongst them?

In this volume New Zealand theologian Rosalene Bradbury throws light on these – surprisingly contentious – questions. She argues that tethered to the tradition that gave rise to it, the term theologia crucis references a theological system centred on notions of false and true glory, and an ancient conviction that from the cross of Jesus Christ came a revelatory and a saving Word.

The apostle Paul, Athanasius, a school of medieval mystics, and the reformer Martin Luther, are all shown to be significant classical representatives of these ideas. Bradbury then argues that seminal twentieth-century theologian Karl Barth exhibits many of the classical crucicentric system’s defining characteristics, so that he himself might fairly be deemed a modern theologian of the cross. Until now Barth’s pivotal role in this long, crucicentric tradition has been unsung; this book sheds important new light on his theology.