Fortress Press

 "This book is the first comprehensive historical-genetic analysis of Karl Barth's theological ethics from the beginnings of 'dialectical theology' to the late 'ethics of reconciliation' of the Church Dogmatics. It documents the fifty years within which Barth's ethics developed as well as a century of its reception. It traces the changes in Barth's concept of theological ethics and its contextual functions in a highly illuminating manner. Alexander Massmann's work is a most impressive achievement of critical thought and research. It will decisively inspire both international Barth research and fundamental research in ethics."

"This volume makes an outstanding new contribution to the study of Christian ethics. As a comprehensive and thorough historic-genealogical analysis and evaluation of the theological ethics of Karl Barth over the long period of fifty years from the inception of 'dialectical theology' right through to the 'ethics of reconciliation' in the Church Dogmatics, it is highly innovative and perceptively incisive. It will be of remarkable international significance in its field." 

"Barth's views on ethics, often studied, are also often misunderstood and misrepresented (even when they are praised)—sometimes because only one phase of his life and thought is considered, sometimes because only one theme is highlighted as the key to everything, sometimes because his changing historical contexts are not adequately taken into account. Massmann skillfully avoids all these temptations, providing an excellent historical overview and comprehensive interpretation with careful attention to both detail and relevance, then and now. It comes as a wonderful surprise—like finding a new treasure in a field where so many have toiled before! This book will certainly occupy its rightful place among some very good recent studies on Barth's ethics. The public voice of a church theologian comes alive in these pages, and will certainly inform and inspire many doing public theology today, in their different contexts and in their own ways."

"Alexander Massmann casts an incisive, judicious, and historically informed eye across Barth’s theological ethics from the 1910s onward. The result is a signal contribution to scholarship that, among other things, advances the fascinating claim that Barth often commends a politically vital account of Christian responsibility in the public sphere. Distinguished by meticulous research and a refreshing independence of thought, Citizenship in Heaven and on Earth is an impressive contribution to Barth studies and to the broader fields of Christian ethics and Christian theology."