Karl Barth: Ein Leben im Widerspruch

by Christiane Tietz

«Ein grauenerregendes Schauspiel für alle nicht Schwindelfreien»: So beschrieb der bedeutendste Theologe des 20. Jahrhunderts seine Theologie. Christiane Tietz erzählt in dieser ersten deutschsprachigen Biographie seit Jahrzehnten Karl Barths faszinierendes Leben im Widerspruch – gegen den theologischen Mainstream, gegen den Nationalsozialismus und privat, unter einem Dach mit Ehefrau und Geliebter, im Widerspruch mit sich selbst.
Während sich deutsche Dichter und Denker im Ersten Weltkrieg am Erlebnis von Gemeinschaft und Transzendenz berauschten, trat der Schweizer Theologe Karl Barth (1886 – 1968) allen Versuchen entgegen, in der Kultur oder den eigenen Gefühlen Göttliches zu finden. Gerade das machte ihn frei für höchst irdisches Engagement: Er galt als «roter Pfarrer», war federführend an der «Theologischen Erklärung von Barmen», dem Gründungsdokument der Bekennenden Kirche, beteiligt und protestierte gegen die Wiederbewaffnung der Bundesrepublik. Christiane Tietz geht überzeugend den Wechselwirkungen zwischen Barths persönlicher und politischer Biographie und seiner Theologie nach. Zahlreiche neu erschlossene Dokumente beleuchten weniger bekannte Seiten Barths, etwa seine langjährige «Notgemeinschaft zu dritt», die er mit seiner Frau und seiner Mitarbeiterin Charlotte von Kirschbaum führte. Das anschaulich geschriebene Buch lässt einen der eigensinnigsten Denker des letzten Jahrhunderts neu entdecken.

Genres: Biography, Theology, History, Christian, Church History, Biography Memoir, Religion

538 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2018

Reviews

[Avyi Hill]

Just astounding. I didn’t know a biography could be this fun to read.

I feel about Barth what Barth felt about Calvin: “I am utterly lacking in the organs, the suctions cups, to only imbibe this phenomenon, let alone correctly portray it. I take in only a thin stream of water and I can only convey in then a thin extract of this thing stream of water. I would well and gladly sit and spend the rest of my life only with Calvin.”

(…… which maybe means I need to go to Aberdeen in the next two years 🙈)

[Daniel Rempel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Accessible enough for a novice, in-depth enough for an expert, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in Barth’s life and/or thought.

[Jon Coutts · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent biography which will be noted for its unveiling of Barth's domestic affairs but which also considerably illumines his personality, pastorate, and form of resistance to nazi Germany, among many other things. Not to be underestimated is Tietz's masterfully succinct twenty-page summary of Barth's Church Dogmatics in chapter thirteen.

[Jess Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lol finally finished this thing from Willie Jennings Barth class last semester. 5 stars will paint me as a lil theobro Barth fiend, but I had actually never read Barth before last semester! 5 stars because it was a super helpful resource for understanding this man’s writing that would have otherwise been impenetrable. Also, Tietz writing was really nice and I was genuinely interested all the way through. Still trying to figure out how I feel/what I think about KB but I’m definitely compelled and will keep on reading him!

[Baylor Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did it! I finished this mammoth by the end of the year.

This is an extensive, comprehensive, and dynamic biography of Karl Barth. Tietz takes the reader on a tour through his theological career, his works, his role in the anti-Nazi Confessing Church, his politics, and his fraught love-triangle, affair with Charlotte von Kirschbaum and his wife Nelly. As you can tell from that last item, Tietz presents Barth as he is in all his humanity and complexity.

The best part of this book is Tietz's thorough summaries of Barth's two most important works: Epistle to the Romans and Church Dogmatics. Especially with the latter, this is so helpful because the massive, multi-volume, Church Dogmatics (which earned the nickname, the "White Whale"), "is not an easy read. Paraphrasing a popular saying by Mark Twain, an American theologian once commented that a sentence from Barth was 'like a dog that jumps into the Atlantic Ocean, swims all the way across to the other side, and climbs out at the end with a verb in its mouth!'" So as much of a completionist as I am, I will probably never read Church Dogmatics. That is why I appreciate the chapter "White Whale" in this book that cracks open the shocking theological claims within it in an accessible way. How about two nuggets from that?

1. God, in is Trinitarian nature, is a "'relationally rich being.' Therefore God does not need human beings to be able to exist in fellowship." Because an all sufficient love and fellowship exists between the members of the Trinity, God shares himself with us, not out of need, but out of His overflowing loving nature. Simply, He chooses to share Himself with us. "'God is' means 'God loves.'"
God's seeming need for us is something I've always wrestled with. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel famously stated often that "God is in need of man." By this he meant, it is through humans that God wills to work redemption. So Heschel is not wrong, but what Barth presents here makes me revere God all the more!
2. Barth spends most of his multi-volume opus expounding how God reveals himself through Christ, the Word, and the Church, but notably, in his penultimate volume (IV/3) he concedes that God can reveal Himself through other means outside of these. Real light may shine through prophets outside the Church (wasn't this the case with many of Israel's prophets outside the religious institution?) and "parables of the Kingdom" may be found elsewhere. "Not all revelations outside the Bible and church must a priori be considered false, and outside of what is Christian there are-as Barth now acknowledges-words of highest wisdom." As someone interested in the many spiritual traditions outside of the one I am committed to and frustrated with the narrow mindset that pursuing learning in any other tradition is forbidden/foolish, this is refreshing and surprising coming from Barth, a foremost evangelical voice. This frees us up to discover the truth as it may be expressed in art, music, literature, cultural traditions, and the like. While we are on surprising statements from Barth, how about this too: regarding the question of universal salvation, he said there was "no good reason why we should not be open to the possibility" and "I do not teach [universal reconciliation], but I also do not not teach it." Anyway, of course the caveat on this outside-revelation is "such words encountered outside the church aren only true when they do not stand in opposition with the Christian message, that is, when they do not say something other than Jesus Christ."

When I finally reached the line "Karl Barth died in the following night, on December 10, 1968, in his sleep" I teared up a bit. That, to me, is the mark of a good biography: that by the end of the intimate journey the author has taken you on with its subject, you are brought to a sense of mourning for their loss. Towards the end, he said what I think any Christian might hope to say, "it appears to have pleased God that in our time he used me for his purposes, just as I was, and despite all the fatal things that can and will be said about me."

One final observation on final words: I've always heard the legend that Barth's final words summarizing his theology were "Jesus loves me this I know" and that never came up in the book. It may be a pleasant myth. Though he did say this in his final year, which is somewhat similar: "the last word that I...have to say, is not a concept like "grace" but its a name: Jesus Christ. He is grace."

[Robert D. Cornwall · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Karl Barth published his Romans commentary it disrupted theology as usual. Even to this day, Barth remains an important voice, though his influence could be waning at points. For some of us, Barth provided a way forward out of a narrow evangelicalism. At least it did for me -- see my The Authority of Scripture in a Postmodern Age: Some Help from Karl Barth. The fact is, Barth is a complicated individual, which is reflected in his theology and his personal life.

There are numerous studies of Barth's theology, but there are few true biographies. Eberhard Busch, Barth's final assistant, wrote one based on Barth's letters and autobiographical memoirs, but not a critical biography. That is, until now. Christiane Tietz offers us a magnificent biography in Karl Barth: A Life in Conflict. Speaking as one who has read Barth and found his theology helpful in my own journey, to know and understand who Barth is, warts and all, is quite valuable. Tietz offers us a fairly complete picture, including details about Barth's personal life that have scandalized some. His relationship with Charlotte von Kirschbaum had been the subject of much speculation, but now, decades after Barth's death and that of both Kirschbaum and his wife Nelly, we know the fuller story. That might change the view of some, but it might help give the reader a better understanding of Barth's particular situation in life. Should we excuse him? Perhaps not, but might we also say that it's complicated?

Barth played a significant role in the theological developments of the twentieth century. He wasn't a neo-orthodox theologian (a moniker he rejected) but was instead a "dialectical theologian." What that is and who were his companions in this effort and lifted up in the book. We learn about his background, as the son of a prominent Swiss church historian who studied with the leading liberals, became a pastor, where he became known as the Red Pastor for his embrace of socialism. Yes, Barth was a Socialist. As World War I progressed he was scandalized by his teacher's embrace of the German war effort in World War I leading to his rejection of the theological liberalism that enabled his teachers to embrace the Kaiser's war effort. That, along with a deep dive into Scripture necessitated by his preaching, led Barth to a reading of Romans that launched a new theological movement.

While he never earned a doctorate, he was called to teach theology first at Gottingen, then Munster, and finally Bonn, before the rise of Hitler forced him to leave Germany for Switzerland and a position at Basel. During these years, the Church Dogmatics began to take shape, which would be the focus of his life work. While in Germany, he became involved in the Church Struggle that emerged as the National Socialists took control of the Government and sought to recreate the church as a nationalist body that supported Hitler's vision for the country. In this context, he helped write the Barmen Declaration that gave a foundation to the Confessing Church. In the end, his resistance to the Nazi effort and unwillingness to take a loyalty oath led to his eviction from Germany. Barth may have been teaching in Basel, but he remained a strong foe of Hitler and the ideologies that enabled that movement to exist. He also made enemies within the German churches. Through it all, he continued to write and teach and influence theological developments across the globe.

Tietz takes us through Barth's life to the very end, including his famous visit to the United States, where he made the cover of Time. In the end, Barth would leave his Dogmatics unfinished. Though thousands of pages were written, he never got to Part 5, the part in which he would lay out his eschatological vision.

For those who wish to know the person behind the books, this is the biography to consult. It's thorough, scholarly, and yet readable. Barth's influence may be on the wane, and there are reasons for that (he's very European and male) but he is still a person whose work is worthy of our attention, even if there is a dark side to his life.

[Henry Sturcke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This biography appeared in 2018, the fiftieth anniversary of Swiss theologian Karl Barth’s death and the centenary of the first edition of his Römerbrief, which first brought him international prominence. It is the second major biography of Barth, following that by Barth’s final assistant, Eberhard Busch, which appeared in 1975. Much public interest in Tietz’s biography focussed on the fact that hers was the first to treat (with permission of Barth’s heirs), his ménage-à-trois with his wife, Nelly, their five children, and his secretary and researcher, Charlotte von Kirschbaum. The arrangement was more-or-less an open secret (it was immediately clear to me decades ago when I first visited the Hörnli cemetery in Basel, where the three are buried side-by-side); no one before Tietz, though, had access to their private correspondence. 
The resulting book, however, is not a gossipy tell-all. The importance of Barth lies above all in his theology, and that is the prime focus here. Tietz is ideally suited for the task. She is a leading systematic theologian in her own right (a doctoral “grand-daughter” of Barth, since she studied with Eberhard Jüngel, a student of Barth’s). I was impressed by the way Tietz consistently has the non-specialist reader in mind. For instance, when she first uses the term “systematic theology,” she immediately follows with the explicatory phrase, “the intellectual reflection on the content of faith” (my own translation from German).
Tietz traces both the continuity in Barth’s thinking (central themes of which are already present in Barth’s inaugural sermon in Safenwil, his first pastorate) and its development. As the first edition of his Römerbrief sold out, for instance, Barth asked his publisher not to do another press run. Instead, he rewrote the book from beginning to end.
One surprise for me was the degree to which Barth’s theology was conditioned by events of the time (the exploitation of factory workers, the shock of the First World War, the Nazi era, the Cold War). This, despite Barth’s insistence that the centrality of God’s self-revelation in Christ is timeless. He criticized the liberal theology he absorbed as a student and the social-religious message he embraced in his Safenwil years as failing to reflect the gap between divine revelation and human endeavor. Tietz’s subtitle, “Ein Leben im Widerspruch” (“A Life in Contradiction”) is well-chosen since it captures not only the pathos of his personal life but also the fact that many of his positions were forged in contradiction to dominant trends, both theological and political. 
Tietz is sympathetic but critical in her treatment of Barth’s theological thought. For instance, in discussing Barth’s 1938 lecture, “Rechtfertigung und Recht” (a title that defies adequate English translation; “Justification and Right” only begins to convey it), in which he seeks to clarify his view of the relation of theology and politics, she notes his “arbitrary exegesis of New Testament passages.” She also notes Barth’s rueful resolution, after he replied intemperately to criticism of one of his texts, to be more measured in the future. “Doch selten soll dies ihm gelingen,” she notes drily (“Yet this is something he would rarely succeed in doing”). She also treats his disappointing contribution to an ecumenical discussion of the role of women in the church.
In an epilogue, Tietz discusses Barth’s standing today. He is still widely read in the U. S. and Asia, yet often criticized in German-speaking Europe. A repeated complaint is that his emphasis on divine revelation leaves no possible interplay with human concerns (an ironic criticism, given his frequent pronouncements on issues of the day).
For me, consideration of Barth’s approach leads to a reflection of how much the intellectual climate in the West has changed in recent decades. Barth could assert the centrality of Christ as the word of God made flesh as the basis of his entire theological structure, including civic responsibility. Not only are many Christians today less dogmatic in their assertion of the incarnation (as well as of the resurrection), but they are very much aware that theirs is but one voice (a minority voice at that) in a pluralistic, multi-cultural, inter-religious society. Nevertheless, as Tietz shows, Barth himself moved in his last working years to consideration of the way God’s purpose applied to all humanity and how the “light” (wisdom) of God was present to a degree in every culture. While Barth was not interested in founding a school of “Barthianer” (despite supervising 35 dissertations), I feel that there is much in his theology that can serve as a point of departure for those concerned with the “intellectual reflection of the content of faith” in our day.

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m still fairly new to Barth. There’s plenty to like and plenty to disagree with and plenty that I’m still confused by. However, what this book sets out to do, it does so masterfully. It’s an intellectual biography of sorts, so not just dates and names, but genuine elaboration on his thoughts. It helped me a ton. The chapters on the love triangle and the one on Church Dogmatics were my favorite / the most interesting.

[Lee Downen · Rating 4 out of 5]

“‘What was Aristotle's life?’ Well, the answer lay in a single sentence: ‘He was born, he thought, he died.’ And all the rest is pure anecdote.” - Heidegger

I wish I would've accepted that answer to the question of Barth's life. This biography is quite good (and written by an impressive theologian in her own right) but die Sache is surprisingly boring. All this guy did was read, write books, and run a thruple. Anyone could do that.

[Stephen Rhodes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent biography and theological overview of Karl Barth, who was considered the greatest theologian of the 20th century. One of the reasons I chose to read this book was to better understand Barth’s role in opposing Hitler and the rise of Nazism in Germany in the 1930s. He was essential to the drafting of the Barmen Declaration and to the founding and organizing of the Confessing Church in Germany. I also appreciated his political views. Early on, he was known as the “red” pastor for his participation in socialist party politics.

[Glenn Wishnew III · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Karl Barth attacked the world with the gospel. His thought and his life was the collective attempt to show that ‘God’ is a joyful word.”

[Jeff Garrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m in a clergy group that reads theology and then gets together once a year to discuss the readings. This year, we’ve been reading Karl Barth. It’s been 30 years since I read Barth, reading his Commentary on Romans a few years after graduating from seminary. When I was a student in seminary, I had the sense that Barth’s influence on theology was beginning to wane. This didn’t bother me for I often found Barth so wordy that it took him forever to make a point. Yet, when I read a review for this book which has just been translated into English, I knew I should read it.

Barth was Swiss, but found an early following in Germany, where he studied and became a distinguished professor of theology. In the years after World War 1, he broke with the 19th Century liberal tradition and began to embark on a new direction of theology. This brought him attention around the world. Critical of human ability to understand God, he insisted that only God could speak for God (364). He placed high regard for Scripture. While Jesus Christ is the foundation of the church, the church access to God through Christ is from Scripture.

Then came the rise of Nazism. Barth denounce the Nazis. He involved himself in the Confessing Church movement that challenged the mainstream church who either supported or remained quiet as the Nazis solidified their power. The book goes into detail about Barth’s role with the Barmen Declaration that declared that God alone is owned our allegiance. Early in the Nazi movement, pastors and professors in Germany had a “pledge allegiance” to Hitler. This offended Barth and he refused. His thoughts and actions led to his removal from Germany and his honorary doctoral degree being revoked (It was reinstated after the war).

Returning home to Switzerland, he continued to keep an active role what was happening in Germany. For a former pacifist, he even joined the Swiss version of the National Guard and trained for a potential German invasion. At the end of the war, he sought to make peace with Germany and to help both the Jews and the Germans who suffered so much. He also strove to ease the conflict that existed between Eastern Europe and the West. I would be interested in reading more of his thoughts about how the church should conduct itself when under a hostile government as many of the Eastern Europe Churches found themselves as these countries came under communism control. Would Barth provide an insight into how the church might continue in a world that is more hostile to its mission?

I knew Barth was Eurocentric. He certainly carried on a dialogue with European scholars but seemed to ignore American and even British theologians. In another book I have been recently given by Barth on 19th Century Protestant Theology, he limits his survey to the continent. I suspect Barth’s Eurocentric focus has led to his decline in status as voices from theologians from around the world became more available. It wasn’t till after the war that he made it to the United States (where his son Marcus was teaching). Later in his life, his thoughts even influenced Catholic theology and Vatican II.

While I have not read other biographies of Barth, what I suspect makes this book stand out is the access Tietz had to personal papers and letters between Barth, his wife Nelly, and Charlotte von Kirschbaum. Kirschbaum served as Barth’s secretary, but they developed a 40-year relationship (“Notgemeinschaft” was the term they used to describe this relationship). Of course, this put great strain on his marriage, his family, and his teaching. This conflict peaked in the early 30s, as Barth was consumed with the rise of Nazism. While Tietz covers this factually, I found myself playing “psychologist” and wondering how the stress of the world may have led to this relationship which seems to cast a shadow on the remaining decades of Barth’s work. Yet, would Barth had been able to complete his massive “Church Dogmatics” without her aid?

I would recommend this book to those interested in 20th Century Theology.

[David Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exzellent geschriebene und arrangierte Biografie über Karl Barth, der die Theologie des 20. Jahrhunderts wie vielleicht kein Anderer und keine Andere geprägt hat.
Christiane Tietz kennt sich sichtlich meisterhaft in Leben und Theologie Karl Barths aus und ihre Vertrautheit und tiefe Auseinandersetzung mit Barths Person und Werk macht sich immer wieder bemerkbar.
Gerade die Kapitel über die gedankliche Entwicklung des jungen Karl Barths und die Auseinandersetzungen zu Beginn des Nationalsozialismus sind mir nahe gegangen. Es ist erschreckend zu lesen, wie selbst in der innerkirchlichen Opposition gegen die Gleichschaltung der Kirche so viel Zustimmung zu Autoritarismus, Militarismus, und völkischem Gedankengut herrschte. Umso beeindruckender der konsequente und klarsichtige Widerspruch Barths gegen dieses System. Davon kann zu jeder Zeit und insbesondere heute bei weltweit erstarkenden
nationalistischen Strömungen viel gelernt werden.

Die Darstellung der komplizierten Lebenssituation zwischen Barth, seiner Ehefrau und Charlotte von Kirschbaum ist gelungen. Ich hätte mir gewünscht, dass die Machtverhältnisse, unter denen diese Konstellation stattfand, deutlich expliziter diskutiert werden.

Die am Ende stehende kurze Darstellung und Einordnung der „kirchlichen Dogmatik“, des Mammutwerkes Barths, ist prägnant, verständlich und sicherlich einer der stärkeren Teile des Buches.

In der hier erfolgten Darstellung haben mich viele Dinge an Barth beeindruckt, andere sehr befremdet.

Insgesamt für mich eine beeindruckende Biografie, sowohl wegen ihres Gegenstandes in der Person Karl Barth als auch wegen der außerordentlich gelungenen Struktur und Darstellung.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never known quite what to think about Barth and even after this magnificent book I still don't although I do know him better. He is a polarizing figure in theology, especially in my own evangelical circles. He stands in a weird position of rejecting the hyper german liberalism of his day but he never moved towards American fundamentalism.

Much of the book focuses on the conflict in Barth's own life, his 40-year-long "affair" with his secretary. Affair is not quite the word to use. She lived in their house and his wife knew about it. Understandably, it caused a great deal of conflict in his marriage. We only get snippets of what she actually thought about the arrangement, but it is clear she had no options and wanted it to end. The book also does a good job of explaining Barth's inner thought process. He clearly and repeatedly knew it was wrong and contradictory, but he could not stop trying to justify himself.

The book itself is a marvelous achievement. It is accessible to the average reader of biographies and is filled with depth. It even includes some of the best summaries of Barth's books and theology I have encountered so far. If you are interested in reading about Barth's life, this is a great place to begin.

[Dale Hagwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this (like some other Barth writings) simply out of interest in someone I always heard mixed reviews on theologically. Tietz presents a very human and complex man who possessed an intellect few did/do. Barth said many good things and did so in a context that was responsive to the failure of modern liberal theology. There’s enough in Barth’s writings that make me think: “This man is a Christian.” However, the way Tietz describes his weird three-way relationship between himself, his wife Nelly, and his assistant should give one pause about the credibility of one’s theology that is matched with a man of poor relational integrity. Only the Lord can judge.

The most helpful parts of the book is how lucid Tietz’s summary of Barth’s Romans commentary and “Christian Dogmatics” really is. As someone who’s trying to read both, I’ll probably use her summaries to help me wrap my mind around it!

[Jordan J. Andlovec · Rating 4 out of 5]

A suburb work, taking one (major) theme in Barth’s life and showing the various angles at which it defined him and his work. It almost made me think Barth’s coincidental birth at the right time and place was somehow providential, as he seemed to always be in the right place at the right time (although I imagine he wouldn’t see it that way, given the hardships he endured). The way Tietz tells it, it’s like some industrious playwright wanted to demonstrate Calvinism to the world, and Barth’s life story is how he decided to do it.

It’s also a very sad story, a cautionary tale that brilliance (even theological brilliance) is no defense against impropriety. As Barth’s own mother said to him, “What good is the most discerning theology when it suffers a shipwreck in your home?"

Lastly, the chapter painting a broad picture of Church Dogmatics is incredible. She took 9,000 pages and summarized it in 13 pages.

[Tim Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Karl Barth (1886 - 1968) was a premier Systematic Theologian of the 20th century and didn't retreat from a fight; he overturned the liberal, romantic theology that located the divine in culture or individual sentiment. He also courageously offered a "Barmen Confession" that defied Hitlerism and "culture-Christianity" ( a kind of [christian nationalism], akin to 2024's Trumpism ). His lifework / master opus, Church Dogmatics, was not completed but remains influential with its emphasis on Transcendence; in 1966 during final sessions of Vatican II he met with Pope Paul VI as well as Karl Rahner & Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI). This volume (2021, OUP) had permission to quote from personal correspondence and sheds light on his personal life and marriage. Well worth reading!

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ich hatte ca. 4 Tage Zeit um diese (historische und theologische) Biographie zu lesen - und habe es geschafft, was v.a. eine beachtliche Leistung der Autorin darstellt, ein gut und gern lesbares Fachbuch zu schreiben, was ich in der deutschsprachigen Theologie sonst eigentlich immer vermisse.
Man bekommt einen sehr detaillierten, faszinierenden und lebhaften Einblick in Karl Barths Leben und Theologie. Es macht Lust auf mehr!

[Peter Kiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exceptional biography that also has a nice introduction to Barth's theology. I struggle to see how a man stuck in life-long adultery has been such a prominent theologian. I would think that would be a disqualifying sin from this field.

[Carson Knauff · Rating 4 out of 5]

As dense as this book can be the author, Christiane Tietz, deserves celebration. It is clear she dove head first into Barth’s life and work and you can feel hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of research to give you a complete picture of Bath’s life, writings, and theology.

[Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent scholarship. Well researched and well-written.

[Rahel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anschauliche & geschickte Verflechtung von Biographie & Theologie. Für alle mit Interesse an der Theologie Karl Barths: sehr lohnenswert als Einstiegslektüre.

Original auf deutsch gelesen.

[Lara Simone Bhasin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very fine biography, with a good mix of explanations of Barth’s theology and fascinating details about his personal life. Very readable.

[Anthony Spina · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an excellent resource. A wonderful, in-depth, examination into the life of this theological giant—one whose influences extend far beyond just the Church.

[Caleb Rolling · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great biography of the most significant theologian since the Reformation. As many have noted, Tietz's account of Barth's life is the first to seriously grapple with his difficult and unconventional relationship with von Kirschbaum and his wife. Thus, she offers a balanced and more holistic depiction of the man behind the Church Dogmatics. It's clearly written, and Barnett's translation is lucid. This is a good place to start one's journey into Barth's works--along with being a very suitable companion for more advanced work.