Karl Barth is known as one of the most influential theologians of the 20th century. His most famous work, "The Church Dogmatics," has become one of the most influential writings of recent history. In this video, we will look at the life Barth led that created the foundation upon which the Church Dogmatics would take form.

Time Stamps:
0:00 Intro
0:54 Early Life
1:43 Education
2:26 Christian Liberalism
3:34 Pastorship
4:30 New Approach to Theology
5:39 Manifesto of the Ninety-Three German Intellectuals
7:18 The Book of Romans
9:00 Charlotte von Kirschbaum
10:08 University Professor
11:04 Barmen Declaration
13:20 Church Dogmatics
15:12 Life Outside of Professorship
17:39 Legacy


Karl Barth was born in Basel, Switzerland, on May 10, 1886. Barth's father was a conservative reformed pastor as well as a theology professor. Barth spent much of his early life pursuing a theological development that ran in a different direction than his father's Fritz-established beliefs. Barth attended multiple universities, most notably studying under Adolf von Harnack, a prominent theologian who embraced the higher critical and historical-critical method of interpreting scripture.

After his time in higher education, Barth became a pastor in the village of Safenwil in the canton of Aargau. Barth struggled to combine his education with the slow, traditional lifestyle of Safenwil. He eventually met the Moravian preacher Christoph Blumhardt who helped shape Barth's perspective on the victorious reality of Christ's resurrection.

At this time, Barth began to fall away from his previous contemporaries, which can be seen in Barth's reaction against the document titled "Manifesto of the Ninety-Three German Intellectuals to the Civilized world. This capped off his turn toward a new understanding of Scripture and the world and laid the foundation for his work on the Book of Romans that would be his catalyst to teaching in higher education.

As he began his professorship at Gottingen, he met his lifelong mistress and secretary Charlotte von Kirschbaum. She would go on to be instrumental in the production and development of the Church Dogmatics. Barth would bounce around teaching positions until 1934, when he helped to create the Barmen Declaration laying out the group's opposition to Germany's growing Nazi sentiment. This eventually led to Barth being forced out of his position at Bonn and taking up a new position in Basel. In Basel, his position as a leader in his field was cemented, and much of his work began to spread around the world.

Barth began attracting worldwide recognition and went on a tour of the US, visiting four major seminaries then. He appeared on the front of Time Magazine on April 20th, 1962. He also ended up visiting the Vatican as Pope Paul VI's guest. After a full life, on December 10, 1968, at the age of 82 Karl Barth passed away in his home with friends and family.

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