Biography
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Note
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Introduction
Chronology
| 1886 May 10 | Born in Basel, Switzerland, to Fritz Barth and Anna Sartorius. |
| 1909–1911 | Assistant clergy, a curate, in Geneva. |
| 1913 | Marries Nelly Hoffman. |
| 1919 | First major work published, The Epistle to the Romans. |
| 1921 | Appointed professor of Reformed theology at the University of Göttingen |
| 1922 | Publishes first of six revisions to The Epistle to the Romans. |
| 1925 | Granted chair at Münster. |
| 1930 | Granted chair at University of Bonn. |
| 1931 | Publishes a study of St. Anselm, Fides quaerens intellectum. |
| 1934 | Publishes Nein! Antwort an Emil Brunner, a response to Emil Brunner’s defense of anti-Semitism. |
| 1934 | Helps draft the Barmen Declaration, declaring the German church “paganized” and anti-Christian. |
| 1935 | Removed from teaching at Bonn after refusing to pledge loyalty to National Socialism and Hitler. |
| 1948 | Speaks at the opening meeting of the Conference of the World Council of Churches in Amsterdam. |
| 1968 December 9 | Died in Basel. |
Family: Surname pronounced "bart"; born May 10, 1886,
in Basel, Switzerland; died December 9 (some sources say December 10
or 11), 1968, in Basel; son of Johann Friedrich "Fritz" (a theology
professor) and Anna Katharina (Sartorius) Barth; married Nelly
Hoffmann (a violinist), March 27, 1913; children: Franziska Nelly,
Karl Markus, Christoph Friedrich, Robert Matthias, Hans Jakob.
Education: Attended University of Bern, 1904-06 and 1907, University
of Berlin, 1906-07, University of Tuebingen, 1907-08, and University
of Marburg, 1908-09. Religion: Swiss Reformed Church. Hobbies and
other interests: Reading novels, riding horses. Memberships: Academie
des Sciences Morales et Politiques de l'Institut de France
(associate).
Career: Ordained into Swiss Reformed Church, c. 1908; assistant
pastor in Meiringen, Bernese Oberland, Switzerland, 1907, and in
Geneva, Switzerland, 1909-11; pastor in Safenwil, Aargau, Switzerland,
1911-21; University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany, honorary
professor of Reformed theology, 1921-25; University of Muenster,
Muenster, Germany, professor of dogmatics, 1925-30; University of
Bonn, Bonn, Germany, professor of systematic theology, c. 1930-34,
guest professor, 1946-47; University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland,
professor of theology, c. 1935-62. Gifford Lecturer at University of
Edinburgh, 1937-38; visiting lecturer at Princeton University, 1962,
and University of Chicago.
Works
- Der Römerbrief (The Epistle to the Romans), Text: 1919
- Das Wort Gottes und die Theologie (The Word of God and the Word of Man), Sermons and Essays: 1924
- Die Lehre vom Worte Gottes; Prolegomena zur christlichen Dogmatik (The Doctrine of the Word of God: Prolegomena to Church Dogmatics), Text: 1927
- Die protestantische Theologie im 19.Jahrhundert (Protestant Theology in the Nineteenth Century), Text: 1947
- Dogmatik im Grundriss (Dogmatics in Outline), Lecture: 1947
- Den Gefangenen Befreiung; Predigten aus den Jahren 1954–59 (Deliverance to the Captives), Sermons: 1959
Bibliography
Andrews, Isolde, Deconstructing Barth: A Study of the Complementary
Methods in Karl Barth and Jacques Derrida, P. Lang (New York, NY),
1996.
Barth, Karl, The Epistle to the Romans, translation by Edwyn C.
Hoskyns, Oxford University Press, 1933.
Barth, Karl, How I Changed My Mind, introduction and epilogue by John
D. Godsey, John Knox Press (Louisville, KY), 1966.
Bromiley, Geoffrey W., Introduction to the Theology of Karl Barth,
Eerdmans (Grand Rapids, MI), 1979.
Brown, Robert McAfee, introduction to Portrait of Karl Barth, by
Georges Casalis, translation by Brown, Doubleday, 1963.
Busch, Eberhard, Karl Barth: His Life from Letters and
Autobiographical Texts, translation by John Bowden, Fortress Press,
1976.
Casalis, Georges, Portrait of Karl Barth, translation by Brown,
Doubleday, 1963.
Cunningham, Mary Kathleen, What Is Theological Exegesis?:
Interpretation and Use of Scripture in Barth's Doctrine of Election,
Trinity Press International (Valley Forge, PA), 1995.
Davaney, Sheila Greeve, Divine Power: A Study of Karl Barth and
Charles Hartshorne, Fortress Press, 1986.
Hartwell, Herbert, The Theology of Karl Barth: An Introduction,
Westminster Press, 1964.
Jenson, Robert W., Alpha and Omega: A Study in the Theology of Karl
Barth, T. Nelson, 1963.
Johnson, William Stacy, The Mystery of God: Karl Barth and the
Post-Modern Foundations of Theology,John Knox Press, 1997.
Jungel, Eberhard, Karl Barth: A Theological Legacy, translation by
Garrett E. Paul, Westminster Press, 1986.
McCormack, Bruce L., Karl Barth's Critically Dialectical Theology:
Its
Genesis and Development, 1909-1936, Oxford University Press, 1995.
McKim, Donald K., editor, How Karl Barth Changed My Mind, Eerdmans,
1986.
Molnar, Paul D., Karl Barth and the Theology of the Lord's Supper:
A
Systematic Investigation, P. Lang, 1996.
Mueller, David, Karl Barth, Word Books, 1972.
Mueller, David L., Foundation of Karl Barth's Doctrine of
Reconciliation: Jesus Christ Crucified and Risen, E. Mellen Press
(Lewiston, NY), 1990.
O'Grady, Colm, The Church in the Theology of Karl Barth, Corpus Books,
1968.
Parker, T. H. L., Karl Barth, Eerdmans, 1970.
Rodin, R. Scott, Evil and Theodicy in the Theology of Karl Barth, P.
Lang, 1997.
Sharp, Douglas R., The Hermeneutics of Election: The Significance of
the Doctrine in Barth's Church Dogmatics, University Press of America
(Lanham, MD), 1990.
Stroble, Paul E., Jr., The Social Oncology of Karl Barth, Christian
University Press (San Francisco), 1994.
Thinkers of the Twentieth Century, Second edition, edited by Roland
Turner, St. James Press, 1987.
Thompson, John, editor, Theology beyond Christendom: Essays on the
Centenary of the Birth of Karl Barth, May 10, 1886, Pickwick
Publications (Allison Park, PA), 1986.
Thorne, Phillip R., Evangelicalism and Karl Barth: His Reception and
Influence in North American Evangelical Theology, Pickwick
Publications, 1995.
von Balthasar, Hans Urs, The Theology of Karl Barth, translation by
John Drury, Holt, 1971.
Whitehouse, W. A., Creation, Science, and Theology: Essays in
Response to Karl Barth, edited by Ann Loades, Eerdmans, 1981.
Willems, B. A., Karl Barth: An Ecumenical Approach to His Theology,
translation by Matthew J. van Velzen, Paulist Press, 1965.*
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