Protestant Reformers & Pastors Codexery

Karl Barth

Swiss Reformed theologian who broke from liberal theology.

He is best known for his commentary The Epistle to the Romans and his unfinished multi-volume work Church Dogmatics.[1] Born in Basel, Switzerland on 10 May 1886, Karl Barth was a theologian belonging to the Swiss Reformed tradition.[2][3]

Quick Facts

Born
10 May 1886
Birthplace
Basel, Switzerland
Died
10 December 1968
Titles
Theologian, professor
Ordination
Church of Aargau (Swiss Reformed Church)
Era
20th century
Tradition movement
  • Reformed
  • Swiss
  • Dialectical theology
  • Confessing Church
Spouse
Nelly Hoffmann (1913)

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

He served as a Reformed pastor in Safenwil from 1911 to 1921, where he was called the "Red Pastor".[4][5] Barth's second edition of The Epistle to the Romans (1921) made him world famous and led to a professorship at Göttingen.[6] He was largely responsible for writing the Barmen Declaration in 1934, which rejected Nazi influence on German Christianity.[7] Barth refused to sign an oath to Adolf Hitler and was deported from Germany in 1935.[4][8]

He then became a professor of systematic theology at the University of Basel, where he taught until 1962.[4][8] Barth's Church Dogmatics runs to over six million words and was published between 1932 and 1967.[1][9] He was featured on the cover of Time magazine on 20 April 1962.[1][10] Barth visited the United States in 1962 and lectured at Princeton Theological Seminary and other institutions.[11]

During his university education, Barth moved between several institutions, including the University of Berlin where he was taught by Adolf von Harnack, and the University of Marburg where Wilhelm Herrmann was his instructor.[3] Nelly Hoffmann, a violinist, became Barth's wife in 1913; the couple subsequently raised one daughter together with four sons.[4]

What the cited sources add

The PostBarthian account notes that Barth wrote the first edition of The Epistle to the Romans while ministering to blue-collar workers who called him "comrade pastor".[6] According to the same source, Barth did not hold any advanced theological degrees when he wrote that first edition.[6] Richard Bauckham's survey states that Barth regarded the final salvation of all people as a possibility that cannot be dogmatically denied.[12] The Center for Barth Studies website reports that the center holds the largest Karl Barth Research Collection in the world, including an original handwritten manuscript.[13]

A 2017 examination of intimate letters between Barth, Charlotte von Kirschbaum, and Nelly Barth revealed a complicated relationship spanning 40 years.[14] The PostBarthian series explains that Barth's Church Dogmatics was never completed because Charlotte von Kirschbaum became ill.[15] Barth's lecture notes for the unfinished part of Church Dogmatics were published posthumously as The Christian Life.[15]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Karl Barth" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Houtz, "Karl Barth and the Barmen Declaration (1934)", The PostBarthian, 4 April 2018; "Karl Barth – Christian History"; "The Life of Karl Barth: Church Dogmatics Vol IV: The Doctrine of Reconciliation 1953–1967 (Part 7)", The PostBarthian, 5 April 2019; Name (Boston Collaborative Encyclopedia of Western Theology). People.bu.edu. Retrieved on 15 July 2012.; Houtz, "Karl Barth's Church Dogmatics Original Publication Dates", The PostBarthian, 21 April 2016; "Theologian Karl Barth", Time, 20 April 1962 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Karl Barth" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Barth". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Karl Barth" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Houtz, "The Life of Karl Barth: Early Life from Basel to Geneva 1886–1913 (Part 1)", The PostBarthian, 18 April 2018 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Karl Barth" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tietz, "Karl Barth: A Life in Conflict", Oxford University Press, 25 March 2021; Church Dogmatics, ed. T. F. Torrance and G. W. Bromiley (1932–67; ET Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1956–75). (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Karl Barth" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tietz, "Karl Barth: A Life in Conflict", Oxford University Press, 2021, p. 62–66 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Houtz, "The Romans commentary by the Red Pastor of Safenwil: Karl Barth's Epistle to the Romans", The PostBarthian, 3 October 2017. facts only, no text reused. postbarthian.com
  7. Wikipedia, "Karl Barth" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Houtz, "Karl Barth and the Barmen Declaration (1934)", The PostBarthian, 4 April 2018; Michael Allen, "Karl Barth's Church Dogmatics: An Introduction and Reader", Bloomsbury Publishing, 18 December 2012, p. 5– (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Karl Barth" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ian Ward (1992) Law, philosophy, and National Socialism. Bern: Peter Lang. p 117. . (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Karl Barth" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: The T & T Clark Blog: Church Dogmatics. Tandtclark.typepad.com. Retrieved on 15 July 2012.; Myers, Ben. (27 November 2005) Faith and Theology: Church Dogmatics in a week. Faith-theology.com. Retrieved on 15 July 2012.; Grau, "The Barth–Bultmann Correspondence", Theology Today, 1973, p. 138 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Karl Barth" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: TIME Magazine Cover: Karl Barth – 20 April 1962 – Religion – Christianity. Retrieved on 15 July 2012.; Houtz, "The Life of Karl Barth: Early Life from Basel to Geneva 1886–1913 (Part 1)", The PostBarthian, 18 April 2018; Timothy Gorringe, "Karl Barth: Against Hegemony", Oxford University Press, 1999, p. 316–; Kerr, "Book Notes: Barthiana", New Blackfriars, December 1998, p. 550–554 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Karl Barth" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Eberhard Jüngel, "Karl Barth, a Theological Legacy", Westminster Press, 1986, p. 26 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Richard Bauckham, "Universalism: a historical survey", Themelios 4.2 (September 1978): 47–54.. facts only, no text reused. theologicalstudies.org.uk
  13. Wikipedia, "Karl Barth" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Princeton Theological Seminary Library"; Center for Barth Studies website – http://barth.ptsem.edu (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  14. Wikipedia, "Karl Barth" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Houtz, "A Bright and Bleak Constellation: Karl Barth, Nelly Barth and Charlotte von Kirschbaum", The PostBarthian, 9 October 2017; "A Bright and Bleak Constellation: Karl Barth, Nelly Barth and Charlotte von Kirschbaum", The PostBarthian, 9 October 2017; Tietz, "Karl Barth and Charlotte von Kirschbaum", Theology Today, 1 July 2017, p. 86–111 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  15. "The Life of Karl Barth: Church Dogmatics Vol IV: The Doctrine of Reconciliation 1953–1967 (Part 7)", The PostBarthian, 5 April 2019. facts only, no text reused. postbarthian.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Karl Barth (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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