"Jews have God's promise and if we Christians have it, too, then it is only as those chosen with them, as guests in their house, that we are new wood grafted onto their tree"
About this Quote
The intent is corrective, aimed at Christianitys long reflex to claim Gods promises while demoting Jews to a theological relic. Barth is doing more than interfaith politeness. He is relocating Christian identity: not self-originating, not culturally entitled, but dependent. The subtext is bracingly political for a theologian writing in Europes bloodiest century. Barth, the Swiss Protestant who helped draft the Barmen Declaration against Nazified Christianity, knew what happens when a church imagines itself as the pure, native stock and casts Jews as foreign growth. The metaphor cuts against that fantasy with a single reversal: Christians are the newcomers.
Context matters because Barth is working with Pauls Romans 11, where Gentile Christians are warned not to boast over the branches. Barth sharpens Pauls warning into an ecclesial posture: Christians dont supersede; they are added. Even the phrase new wood carries a moral edge, suggesting that the churchs vitality depends on remembering its derivative status and resisting the urge to turn covenant into conquest.
Quote Details
| Topic | Faith |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Barth, Karl. (2026, January 16). Jews have God's promise and if we Christians have it, too, then it is only as those chosen with them, as guests in their house, that we are new wood grafted onto their tree. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/jews-have-gods-promise-and-if-we-christians-have-127165/
Chicago Style
Barth, Karl. "Jews have God's promise and if we Christians have it, too, then it is only as those chosen with them, as guests in their house, that we are new wood grafted onto their tree." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/jews-have-gods-promise-and-if-we-christians-have-127165/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Jews have God's promise and if we Christians have it, too, then it is only as those chosen with them, as guests in their house, that we are new wood grafted onto their tree." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/jews-have-gods-promise-and-if-we-christians-have-127165/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
