Karl Barth in North America

The Influence of Karl Barth in the Making of a New North American Evangelicalism

John Peter Lewis

• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Year: 2009
• Print ISBN: 9781606080832
• eBook ISBN: 9781498274838
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

This study looks at the formation of theology as it emerges out of biography. Indeed, the biography of the theologian is the key to unlocking the meaning of his or her writings, and a valuable tool for a thorough investigation of their work. There will be a focus on the biography of Karl Barth and how this relates to his theological writings. Attention will then be turned on a group of North American theologians to analyze how Barth's theology has influenced their personal experiences and corresponding theologies. The personal experience of the theologian provides the background to the theological judgments she or he makes, and therefore provides valuable insight into what she or he has written. Experiences in the theologian's life determine how she or he forms and communicates the ideas that the experiences have given rise to. Indeed, theologians profoundly connect with readers as they write theology as an expression of their experiences of faith. Therefore, this book contends that there is a necessary connection to be made between the theologian as a person and the theology that emerges out of her or his unique biography. Indeed, it will be argued that theology is born out of the lived encounters of the theologian that develop into the kind of personal convictions, passions, concerns, questions, and a motivation to connect with others that is evident in her or his writing. Consequently, theology and theologian are inseparable.

1

Karl Barth: His Life and Theology

The theology of Karl Barth is most accurately observed in the context of the life changes he encountered and according to the significant influences that surrounded him at these key moments. There were three major periods of thought that Barth experienced that correspond with two major changes. These are identified in his shifts from student to pastor and then from pastor to professor.1 Each new life situation brought new challenges requiring a shift in theological thought. It is evident that the surrounding influences impinging on Barth during these changes directed his path and include a combination of schools of thought, particular individuals, and significant religious writings. However, it is believed that one must also note Bruce McCormack’s contention2 that while significant changes occurred in Barth’s theology, important consistencies are also to be found. Consequently one can speak of Barth’s shifts in emphasis as a result of new influences, rather than new starting points, or turns in direction.

Most of the material written by Barth and about him does not cover his early years of childhood.3 Yet it is known that Barth was raised in the Swiss Reformed tradition, and that this influence remained with him for the rest of his life. His father was a Reformed pastor and a teacher of some note. While Fritz Barth’s conservatism was not shared by his son during Karl’s university study, it is evident that he did embrace something of his father’s conservatism later in his career. Karl Barth’s theological training at the universities he attended was dominated by Protestant liberalism, its influence being evident in his early publications. However, the realities of pastoral work soon flung Barth into a world he felt ill equipped to deal with. Here began Barth’s search for a new direction that resulted in a journey of discovery lasting the rest of his life.

Barth’s prodigious theological output gives a clear outline of the changes to his theological thinking. This chapter will discuss these shifts in thought in some detail and discuss the influences that appear to have contributed to the subsequent pilgrimage. It must be said, however, that Barth did not shift theology from one direction to another, as if wiping the slate clean so as to start from a totally new beginning. There was a distinct logic and continuity to his theological development. His final agenda for a theology of the Word of God did not emerge ex nihilo, but is clearly seen to have derived from a long process of theological interaction and reflection. Central to this process was Barth’s rejection of a subjectively based theology founded on philosophy, and a desire to replace it with an objectively based theology founded on the Word of God. To be sure, Barth’s theology of the Word of God became one of the most recognizable features of his work throughout North America, resulting in both extensive criticism and widespread appreciation.

Karl Barth was born in Basel, Switzerland, on May 10, 1886 into what Robert Jenson describes as a “churchly and academic family.”4 His Father, Johann Friedrich (“Fritz”) Barth, was a minister of the Swiss Reformed Church5 and a teacher at the local Preachers’ school,6 the Evangelical School of Preachers in Basel.7 He was later appointed Professor of Early and Medieval Church History (and New Testament)8 at the University of Bern9 before his death in 1912.10 Fritz Barth’s theology was mildly conservative11and highly influenced by pietism. During his university days the Swabian pietist, Johann Tobias Beck, had been a leading influence, resulting in Fritz Barth possessing a theology that valued experience over doctrine.12 David Mueller noted that both of Karl’s grandfathers were also Reformed ministers, and that it is noteworthy that his roots also lie deeply embedded in the Reformed or Calvinistic wing of the Swiss Reformation.13

Barth was raised in Basel until he was three years old. He returned in 1935 until his death in 1968.14 His formative school years were spent in Bern, where he received his early religious training and formal education. Later in life he recalled that his interest in theology first began while undertaking instruction for confirmation at the age of sixteen.15 It was at that time, Thomas Torrance noted, that Barth first became interested in systematic theology.16

Barth, at the age of eighteen, began his studies at the University of Bern. After spending four semesters there he transferred to the University of Berlin in Germany. It was there that the young Barth came under the tutelage of Adolf von Harnack (1851–1930), Julius Kaftan (1848–1926) and Herrmann Gunkel (1862–1932). During his first semester he read Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768–1834) and, most importantly, Wilhelm Herrmann’s Ethics. Bruce McCormack made the comment that “(f)rom his first reading of Ethics Barth knew himself to be a devoted disciple of Herrmann.”17 Wilhelm Herrmann (1846–1922) lectured on Dogmatics and Ethics at Marburg University, and so it was to Marburg that Barth knew he must go.18

At Marburg Barth enrolled in Herrmann’s Dogmatics I (Prolegomena) and Ethics classes. He also attended the lectures of Adolf Julicher, Wilhelm Hietmuller and Martin Rade. The latter was well known as an intellectual who made himself readily available to students. Barth spent many happy hours at Rade’s open house for students and would later assist Rade to edit Die Christliche Welt, perhaps the most influential theological journal in Germany at the time.19 Important to this discussion on the theological influences upon Barth’s early years is that Rade, as well as Herrmann, were both advocates for the dominant Ritschlian school.

Alister McGrath observed that Barth’s disillusionment with Hegelian idealism left an ideological vacuum that Albrecht Ritschl was successfully able to fill at a critical phase of German intellectual history.20 Bruce McCormack noted that “(t)he hallmark of this theological movement was its commitment to a churchly theology, oriented towards God’s self-revelation in the historical person of Jesus Christ.” 21 Significantly, Ritschl had been an historian of dogma ...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Preface
• Method
• Chapter 1: Karl Barth: His Life and Theology
• Chapter 2: North American Evangelicalism
• Chapter 3: Bernard Ramm
• Chapter 4: Geoffrey Bromiley
• Chapter 5: James Daane
• Chapter 6: David Mueller
• Chapter 7: Donald G. Bloesch
• Chapter 8: Ray Anderson
• Chapter 9: Donald Dayton
• Chapter 10: Conclusion
• Bibliography