Karl Barth: A Life in Conflict PDF
Preview Karl Barth: A Life in Conflict
OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,1/2/2021,SPi Karl Barth OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,1/2/2021,SPi OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,1/2/2021,SPi Karl Barth fl A Life in Con ict CHRISTIANE TIETZ Translated by VICTORIA J. BARNETT 1 OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,1/2/2021,SPi 3 GreatClarendonStreet,Oxford,OX26DP, UnitedKingdom OxfordUniversityPressisadepartmentoftheUniversityofOxford. ItfurtherstheUniversity’sobjectiveofexcellenceinresearch,scholarship, andeducationbypublishingworldwide.Oxfordisaregisteredtrademarkof OxfordUniversityPressintheUKandincertainothercountries ©VerlagC.H.BeckoHG,München2019FortheEnglishlanguageedition(c)ChristianeTietz2021 ThistranslationisbaseduponthecorrectedsecondGermanedition. Themoralrightsoftheauthorshavebeenasserted FirstEditionpublishedin2021 Impression:1 Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedin aretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,withoutthe priorpermissioninwritingofOxfordUniversityPress,orasexpresslypermitted bylaw,bylicenceorundertermsagreedwiththeappropriatereprographics rightsorganization.Enquiriesconcerningreproductionoutsidethescopeofthe aboveshouldbesenttotheRightsDepartment,OxfordUniversityPress,atthe addressabove Youmustnotcirculatethisworkinanyotherform andyoumustimposethissameconditiononanyacquirer PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyOxfordUniversityPress 198MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NY10016,UnitedStatesofAmerica BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData Dataavailable LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2020952990 ISBN 978–0–19–885246–9 PrintedandboundintheUKby TJBooksLimited LinkstothirdpartywebsitesareprovidedbyOxfordingoodfaithand forinformationonly.Oxforddisclaimsanyresponsibilityforthematerials containedinanythirdpartywebsitereferencedinthiswork. OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,1/2/2021,SPi ForEberhardJüngel OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,1/2/2021,SPi OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,1/2/2021,SPi Preface “Compared with Karl Barth we are all mere dwarfs.”¹ This verdict, coming not fromafriendbutfromanenemy,goestotheheartoftheepochalsignificanceof the theologian Karl Barth. For decades he dominated the debates far beyond his owndiscipline.Hedisagreedwiththedominanttheologicalconvictions,opposed societal trends,and battled against political developments. Invariablyhe didthis withcourageandwithoutmincingwords. Barth’slastingsignificance,whichisalsohislastingdisruptivepotential,restsin thefactthatheemphaticallyclarifiedtheabsoluteothernessofGodoveragainst the “world.” In an era in which God and religion had become understood culturally, interpreted psychologically, and instrumentalized politically, the impact of this insight on theology was similar to that of Heidegger’s stress on the fundamental difference between “Being” (Sein) and “Beings” (Seiendes) on philosophy,ortheExpressionistprotestinartagainstNaturalism. KarlBarthwasSwiss,butformanyyearswasaprofessorinGermany.Hewas criticalofNationalSocialismandtheGermanchurch’sconformitytoit.Evenafter his dismissal from the university by the National Socialists and his return to Switzerland he remained tied to Germany as a critical contemporary. After the Second World War he summoned the Germans to confess their guilt and the SwisstofriendshipwiththeGermans.HefoughtagainstGermanrearmamentas againstnucleararmamentduringtheColdWar.HisSwissheritagegavehimthe freedom to take political positions while at the same time bringing him under attackasanoutsider. Barthalwaysstoodupforhisconvictionsclearly.Evenoutsidethetheological worldmanyadmiredhisincorruptibility.Othersweresharplycriticalofthestands hetook.Hiswritingswerecensoredandhehimselfwasundersurveillance. Similarly,hisprivatesituationwasdifficult.Foralmostfortyyearshelivedwith hiswifeandhismistressunderoneroof.Allofthemsufferedunderthisarrange- mentbutfoundnowayout. IntheearlydecadesfollowinghisdeathBarth’sapproachremainedinfluential. In more recent years however many have put aside his theology as static and outdated,anddescribedhispersonalityasauthoritarian. Barth’s personal and professional life, and the times in which he lived, were markedbyconflict.Itisnowtime,fromagreaterhistoricaldistance,totakeanew ¹ Paul AlthausaccordingtoLoewenich,ErlebteTheologie,60. OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,1/2/2021,SPi viii lookatBarth’scentralconcerntospeakofGodentirelydifferentlyfromwhatwas customary, and to reconstruct how his life, so filled with contradictions, and his thought, which sought to make contradictions and conflicts fruitful, influenced eachother.Barthwasunwavering,yethealsoexperiencedself-doubtandloneli- ness.Hewasaharshjudgeofothers,butcouldalsosurprise,withhishumorand twinklingeyes.Andhewasafriendtohumanbeings. KarlBarth:HisLifefromLettersandAutobiographicalTexts,thebiographyby EberhardBusch,Barth’spersonalassistantinthefinalyearsofhislife,isfounda- tional for any biographical treatmentof Barth.This book owes much to Busch’s work. I dedicate this work to Eberhard Jüngel, a critical student of Barth and my professor,whotaughtmehowinspiringBarth’stheologyis. InHorgen,atownnearthe“Bergli,”May10,2018. ChristianeTietz OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,1/2/2021,SPi Acknowledgments Workonthisbiographywouldnothavebeenpossiblewithoutthesupportofthe KarlBarth-ArchiveinBaselanditsdirector,Dr.PeterZocher.Iamdeeplygrateful tohimforhispromptattentioninprovidingmewithmaterialsandinformation. Dr.Hans-AntonDrewes,thepreviousdirectoroftheKarlBarth-Archive,and Dr.NiklausPeter,boardmemberoftheKarlBarth-FoundationBasel,tookonthe workofreadingthemanuscriptandofferingcriticalsuggestionsthatimprovedit. In the past few years Niklaus Peter has been an important conversation partner aboutBarth’scontemporarysignificance. Pastor Dieter Zellweger, president of the commission that oversees Barth’s literary estate, followed and supported my project with sympathetic interest, permittingthecitationsfromNellyBarth’sletters. Jakob and Thomas Lindt agreed to the publication of previously unpublished passagesfromaletterfromBarthtotheirmotherGertrudLindt. IwouldliketoexpressmydeepthankstotheBertaHess-CohnFoundationof BaselforapublicationstipendfortheGermanedition. I would not have been able to complete this book without my colleagues Johanna Breidenbach, Liliane Frei, Michael Pfenninger, and Dominik Weyl. They helped me collect the literature and in the final months of work spent their evenings, weekends, and holidays reading and correcting the manuscript. Throughtheir encouragingfeedback they—as well asnumerousfriends—helped meperseverethroughoutthearduousperiodsofwritingthisbook. I am deeply grateful to C. H. Beck publishers who published the original GermaneditionofthisbookandtoitseditorDr.UlrichNolteforhisencourage- mentofthisprojectandhisvaluablesupport.IamfilledwithjoythattheEnglish editionofthisbookisnowbeingpublishedbyOxfordUniversityPress. Finally, my sincere thanks go to Victoria J. Barnett, who so wonderfully translatedthisbook,withallherscholarlyexpertiseandlinguisticsensitivity.
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