ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book has also sought to show that Barth's doctrine of the filioque is not wholly typical of historic Western defenses. It identifies the origin of the filioque in Barth's theology antecedent to the beginnings of the Church Dogmatics. The task of the book was to analyze Barth's application of the filioque beyond his initial defense in the first half-volume of the CD in order to appreciate more fully the systematic function the doctrine played in his theology. The analysis of Barth's doctrine of the filioque in a dialectical framework also reveals close affinities to Hegel's Trinitarianism, and it would be absurd to deny the obvious similarities between Barth and Hegel. It is noteworthy that Barth insisted that certain limits needed to be observed in speaking of the correspondence between the economic and immanent Trinity.
