Biography

Karl Barth and his writings continue to be influential among Christian theologians. Condensing his life to a mere paragraph is only going to scratch the surface of his influence. Born in Switzerland in 1886, he was nurtured by his father, mother, and four siblings. His theological professor & minister father wanted young Karl to follow the same path, but Karl wanted a more liberal education and attended several German universities. Barth earned his degree and became a Reformed minister and later a professor of theology. His unwillingness to take an oath of loyalty to Adolf Hitler was reason enough for him to be deported from the country back to Switzerland. Barth's written works include a commentary on Romans, five volumes on Church Dogmatics, and a plethora of other works. Barth wrote about election, creation, natural revelation, and even Mariology. Time magazine put Barth on their April 20, 1962, cover.­­­­­­ Princeton Theological Seminary has a"Center for Barth Studies." Barth died at the age of 82 in his home country of Switzerland.

Wailand Groenendyk
CCEL Staff Writer