Karl Barth & the Pietists: The Young Karl Barth’s Critique of Pietism and Its Response

Two years after his acclaimed biography of Karl Barth–Karl His Life from Letters and Autobiographical Texts–was translated into English and published, Eberhard Busch subsequently published a key volume on Barth’s relationship to Pietism. Until now, however, Karl Barth und die Pietisten was not translated into English. Consideration of this important exchange illuminates and puts into perspective emerging themes vital to Barth’s thought as he developed them throughout his theological works. Both Barth’s affinity to Pietism and his critique of the movement shed light on his interaction with the English-speaking evangelical world whose theology was significantly shaped by the Pietist movement. Many of the issues dealt with in this volume are the focus of intense debate on the contemporary American scene. Three key questions are the nature of scriptural authority, hell and universalism, and the relationship between believers and unbelievers. Other topics include the place of our experience in salvation, the preaching of repentance, the nature of conversion and the relationship between law and gospel. This work, translated by Daniel W. Bloesch, will make a significant contribution to Barth scholarship and to the ongoing discussion of Barth’s theology especially among evangelicals and others who share in the Pietistic theological heritage.