The research tools provided in the Logos Bible Software edition of the Church Dogmatics provide powerful ways of examining these questions. We can see how often and in what ways Barth depends on various Reformers (e.g. his citations of Calvin [908 total], Luther [836 total], Melanchthon [115 total], Zwingli, [93 total], Bullinger [28 total], W. Musculus [8 total], et al.). With the power of linked collections in the Logos software, we can also refer to these citations and references in their original contexts, so that Barth's references to Calvin's Institutes or Luther's Works can be brought up with a single click on a live in-text link.

As the full-text offerings of significant theologians in dialogue with each other across times and places continue to grow, the implications for digital research are stunning. Another recently released Logos project, The Works of Cornelius Van Til, who interacted a great deal with Barth's theology, integrates precisely this kind of intertextual functionality.

The Logos Bible Software edition of Barth's Church Dogmatics is available for pre-publication purchase for a very limited time and is scheduled to ship on Monday, April 21, 2008.

The text that is included in this edition is "the newly revised, forthcoming edition of Barth's Church Dogmatics, which reflects the work of a team of leading experts at Princeton Theological Seminary's Center for Barth Studies. It is not currently available in print. The text is presented in a new, user friendly format, and all Greek and Latin passages will include English translation alongside the original."

At $499.99, you can essentially get a more up-to-date, useful, and convenient version of Barth's Church Dogmatics for a cost at or below what you can find for any of the print versions (the updated print versions are not scheduled to be available until much later this year and will likely run between $840 and $1,300).

The Church Dogmatics really represent an undertaking that highlights all of the strengths of Logos Bible Software. What was an unwieldy and often inaccessible resource in print form becomes a powerful tool for critical engagement of contemporary theology. Highly recommended.