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Karl Barth: His Life from Letters and Autobiographical Texts
This new paperback edition of Busch's acclaimed work again makes available what remains a truly distinctive, unparalleled account of the life of one of the greatest theologians in modern times. A long, new foreword offers Busch's current perspective on what he wrote "fairly quickly" almost 20 years ago, by using Barth's own correspondence and notes.
596 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1976
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 23, 2024
This is the most Incredibly Revealing and Thorough book on Barth, the man, you’ll EVER read.
You’ll learn infinitely more about him here than anywhere else. You get a beautifully rich and variegated composite portrait of the vast human scope of this great man’s life.
All those dark years that Hitler raged, Karl Barth, writing and reading and preaching nonstop over in neighbouring Switzerland, STOOD HIS GROUND against him.
A broken but ever-renewed voice of compassionate Protestant humanity squaring off against the Nazi Monstrosity with the simple words of Jesus - unafraid, quivering perhaps a bit in his old age, but STANDING UP TO ITS DAEMONIC VIOLENCE with stern, Existentialist authority,
For it had been many years before when, a shy pastor mulling over Historical Criticism - and being gun shy of its downward slide into apathy - he had taken up the work of Soren Kierkegaard, and thereby changed Christendom TOTALLY.
When he released his groundbreaking Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans at the opening of he twentieth century, he gave the Gospel a sharp CUTTING EDGE. He would devote his life to sharpening that edge.
Never faltering until well into the Cold War era, and completing a staggeringly inspirational - and voluminous - Church Dogmatics that STILL has educated Christians talking...
And he read VORACIOUSLY - ALL kinds of modern and classical literature - as well. This book so beautifully guides you through the novels that shaped his core humanity and gave him an unquenchably nonconformist temperament.
I don’t know if this gold mine of gleanings from Barth’s life has been often reprinted, but it NEEDS to be.
Years ago, Barth’s ethical acumen sliced through my flabby twenty-year-old life like a factory-honed Exacto Knife!
And much, much later it added a much-needed depth and a glimmer of radiance to my dark post-burnout years, after 2005.
MAGNIFICENT (but very pricey)!
FIVE STARS.
You’ll learn infinitely more about him here than anywhere else. You get a beautifully rich and variegated composite portrait of the vast human scope of this great man’s life.
All those dark years that Hitler raged, Karl Barth, writing and reading and preaching nonstop over in neighbouring Switzerland, STOOD HIS GROUND against him.
A broken but ever-renewed voice of compassionate Protestant humanity squaring off against the Nazi Monstrosity with the simple words of Jesus - unafraid, quivering perhaps a bit in his old age, but STANDING UP TO ITS DAEMONIC VIOLENCE with stern, Existentialist authority,
For it had been many years before when, a shy pastor mulling over Historical Criticism - and being gun shy of its downward slide into apathy - he had taken up the work of Soren Kierkegaard, and thereby changed Christendom TOTALLY.
When he released his groundbreaking Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans at the opening of he twentieth century, he gave the Gospel a sharp CUTTING EDGE. He would devote his life to sharpening that edge.
Never faltering until well into the Cold War era, and completing a staggeringly inspirational - and voluminous - Church Dogmatics that STILL has educated Christians talking...
And he read VORACIOUSLY - ALL kinds of modern and classical literature - as well. This book so beautifully guides you through the novels that shaped his core humanity and gave him an unquenchably nonconformist temperament.
I don’t know if this gold mine of gleanings from Barth’s life has been often reprinted, but it NEEDS to be.
Years ago, Barth’s ethical acumen sliced through my flabby twenty-year-old life like a factory-honed Exacto Knife!
And much, much later it added a much-needed depth and a glimmer of radiance to my dark post-burnout years, after 2005.
MAGNIFICENT (but very pricey)!
FIVE STARS.
July 11, 2022
What a tome. Not always exciting, but certainly informative. Colours in so much of the context around Barth’s work.
July 14, 2011
A man with the complexities of Karl Barth requires a biography that is as complex. Busch attempts to bridge the gap between biography and autobiography by developing this work from Barth’s own letters, correspondence, and conversations. As Barth’s assistant in his final years, Busch occupied a unique position which allowed him to see the man as few did. In this work, Busch chronicles the life and development of Barth by examining him as the consummate student, pastor, theologian, political activist (or lack thereof in some cases to the chagrin of some) and person.
As a student, Barth was raised in the vein of Schleimarcher’s liberalism, which had sat upon the throne as the queen of disciplines. Sitting under the teaching of Harnak and Hermann, Barth received a world class education in the existentialism of liberalism. Barth read widely during his years as a student, including Kant and Ritschl, followed by a steady dose of primarily Calvin then Luther. This investigative mentality of Barth is well-detailed (perhaps too much so) throughout the work as Barth is shown, until his dying day, holding correspondence with both friend and foe alike.
As a pastor, Barth was somewhat aloof. He made no apologies that his primary responsibility was the preparation of sermons, which at times invited the criticism of those who wanted a more relational pastor. As a pastor Barth was never able to fully separate himself from the political struggles of the day, perhaps rightly so. Involving himself in the struggles of labor unions and socialism, Barth argued vehemently for both, while never fully having his concerned addressed about his early perception of the problems of socialism. Barth is shown to repudiate socialism, yet later receives criticism for not publically denouncing communism.
As a theologian Busch traces Barth’s development from an embracing and embraced liberal, to a dialectical theologian, and eventually an ecumenical champion. Never able to escape the shadow of Schleimarcher, Barth continually seeks to clarify the necessity of special revelation over and against natural revelation, and how Jesus Christ is central to God’s revelation. Barth’s never completed Dogmatics becomes his obsession that causes him the greatest joy while never fully bringing satisfaction.
As a person, Barth is shown to be a fun-loving father to his five children and a grandfather who has much delight in spending time with his grandchildren. Little attention is shown of his relationship to his wife, Nellie, while the curious relationship of Charlotte von Kirschbaum grows evermore conspicuous. Barth’s sole indulgence was to listen to Mozart while smoking his pipe.
Busch has written a brilliant biography in that it uniquely demonstrates the life and thought of Barth on all levels of existence. One finds themselves cheering the heroics of Barth on one page while subsequently casting stones at his villainous acts on the page that follows. The approach of using Barth’s own words with very little intrusion from Busch is brilliant in what it shows that otherwise would remain hidden, yet the brilliance is at times dulled due to the virtual impossibility of being able to smoothly transition from one thought to the next.
As a student, Barth was raised in the vein of Schleimarcher’s liberalism, which had sat upon the throne as the queen of disciplines. Sitting under the teaching of Harnak and Hermann, Barth received a world class education in the existentialism of liberalism. Barth read widely during his years as a student, including Kant and Ritschl, followed by a steady dose of primarily Calvin then Luther. This investigative mentality of Barth is well-detailed (perhaps too much so) throughout the work as Barth is shown, until his dying day, holding correspondence with both friend and foe alike.
As a pastor, Barth was somewhat aloof. He made no apologies that his primary responsibility was the preparation of sermons, which at times invited the criticism of those who wanted a more relational pastor. As a pastor Barth was never able to fully separate himself from the political struggles of the day, perhaps rightly so. Involving himself in the struggles of labor unions and socialism, Barth argued vehemently for both, while never fully having his concerned addressed about his early perception of the problems of socialism. Barth is shown to repudiate socialism, yet later receives criticism for not publically denouncing communism.
As a theologian Busch traces Barth’s development from an embracing and embraced liberal, to a dialectical theologian, and eventually an ecumenical champion. Never able to escape the shadow of Schleimarcher, Barth continually seeks to clarify the necessity of special revelation over and against natural revelation, and how Jesus Christ is central to God’s revelation. Barth’s never completed Dogmatics becomes his obsession that causes him the greatest joy while never fully bringing satisfaction.
As a person, Barth is shown to be a fun-loving father to his five children and a grandfather who has much delight in spending time with his grandchildren. Little attention is shown of his relationship to his wife, Nellie, while the curious relationship of Charlotte von Kirschbaum grows evermore conspicuous. Barth’s sole indulgence was to listen to Mozart while smoking his pipe.
Busch has written a brilliant biography in that it uniquely demonstrates the life and thought of Barth on all levels of existence. One finds themselves cheering the heroics of Barth on one page while subsequently casting stones at his villainous acts on the page that follows. The approach of using Barth’s own words with very little intrusion from Busch is brilliant in what it shows that otherwise would remain hidden, yet the brilliance is at times dulled due to the virtual impossibility of being able to smoothly transition from one thought to the next.
July 20, 2023
This is, in every respect, a serious biography. Though a bit dated now, having been penned in the 1970s, especially in relation to the major news regarding his coworker, Charlotte, it is, nevertheless, a solid work, just this side of excellent. Busch does a good job of tracing the arc of his career from student to pastor to professor to author to celebrity theologian to old man. He explains well in an in-depth but not exhaustive way the major controversies of his career, such as his expulsion from Germany under the Nazis. Along the way, Busch succeeds where biographies of writers often fail, in that he largely describes for us the man rather than the man's work. Of course, Busch does comment and/or explain major aspects of Barth's thinking/thought process on numerous subjects but primarily shows us the man here rather than the man's thought. On the negative side, and it is a serious flaw, Busch largely fails to show us the reality of Barth's day to day life in relation to his home, his marriage, and his children. They are mentioned here or there, but never unpacked or examined in the context of the impact these things have on a man's life.
...and the man I found was unimpressive, dramatically so. Make no mistake, Barth was brilliant and it shows. I read the book because I had zero practical knowledge of the 20th century's most famous theologian and I wanted to fix that. I did. Prior to reading this biography I had no desire to read Barth's works; now, having finished the biography, I positively will not read Barth's work. I suspected I would have little patience with Germanic theologians and I was right. Ivory tower. Word salad. Nebulous attempts to bridge the gap between liberal and orthodox positions. An enormous amount of work put into rather useless discussions of minute points of theology. Little genuine ministry. It was all an endless round of pipe-smoking, conversation, colloquiums, doctorates, words, ecumenicism, and thought. And for as much as Barth spoke of and pointed toward Christ he seemed to know Him very little. Certain it is that Barth's theology is not biblical; it is Barthian. Topped off by perhaps the most important negative of all, his life-long adulterous relationship with his research assistant/partner, now confirmed by Barth's own children decades after the publishing of this biography.
Barth was brilliant, not the flawed brilliance like that from a marred diamond, but a useless brilliance, like a bright light pointed in the exact wrong direction. For the discerning reader, Busch shows us this clearly.
...and the man I found was unimpressive, dramatically so. Make no mistake, Barth was brilliant and it shows. I read the book because I had zero practical knowledge of the 20th century's most famous theologian and I wanted to fix that. I did. Prior to reading this biography I had no desire to read Barth's works; now, having finished the biography, I positively will not read Barth's work. I suspected I would have little patience with Germanic theologians and I was right. Ivory tower. Word salad. Nebulous attempts to bridge the gap between liberal and orthodox positions. An enormous amount of work put into rather useless discussions of minute points of theology. Little genuine ministry. It was all an endless round of pipe-smoking, conversation, colloquiums, doctorates, words, ecumenicism, and thought. And for as much as Barth spoke of and pointed toward Christ he seemed to know Him very little. Certain it is that Barth's theology is not biblical; it is Barthian. Topped off by perhaps the most important negative of all, his life-long adulterous relationship with his research assistant/partner, now confirmed by Barth's own children decades after the publishing of this biography.
Barth was brilliant, not the flawed brilliance like that from a marred diamond, but a useless brilliance, like a bright light pointed in the exact wrong direction. For the discerning reader, Busch shows us this clearly.
December 2, 2022
I began this book in 2019, set it aside, then picked it up again recently and completed it. IMHO it is an excellent introduction to Karl Barth's life and the historic setting which surrounded him. he lived a fully active life, even after illness caused him to have to cease teaching. Eberhard Busch has done an excellent job weaving Barth's journals, letters and writings into his life story - not an easy feat, considering the amount of material which was available to him by or about Barth.
Busch divided the book into periods by years, corresponding to the various periods of Barth's life. More than one hundred pictures, a genealogical chart, and a list of Barth's literary works also accompany the text, as well as hundreds of reference notes which point readers to the original sources. The book motivated me to learn more abut Karl Barth and to read his Church Dogmatics- at least, as many parts of his massive work as I can possibly read in the next few years.
Busch divided the book into periods by years, corresponding to the various periods of Barth's life. More than one hundred pictures, a genealogical chart, and a list of Barth's literary works also accompany the text, as well as hundreds of reference notes which point readers to the original sources. The book motivated me to learn more abut Karl Barth and to read his Church Dogmatics- at least, as many parts of his massive work as I can possibly read in the next few years.
September 11, 2024
I have learned so much about Herr Barth, and yet there is still so much to learn. What is journey through his life, but this is only the beginning.
March 21, 2017
What a deeply moving book!
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August 11, 2023Reference Book for my Philosophical study with my chief sources being Van Til and Aristotle
Second Revised Edition
Second Revised Edition
October 27, 2007
A great insight into a great man. He was not perfect, but he did see the problem of theology in a new and radical way.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews