This is a brand new edition of Karl Barth's seminal essays, first published in 1924. This classic volume of Barth's essays was first published in 1924 under the title Das Wort Gottes und die Theologie. In this brand new English edition all the critical apparatus is translated, each chapter including an explanatory passage giving general historical context and details of Barth's own biography. These essays represent the very best of Barth's work. Far from being superceded by the Church Dogmatics, indeed, a thorough understanding of the Church Dogmatics must presuppose a close knowledge of them. The style is vivid, deeply engaged and engaging, often expressionistic (making frequent use of irony and hyperbole). Peter Gay described Weimar culture as a 'dance on the edge of a volcano'. If so, then it was essays like these that provided the music.