Karl Barth: Comments of the Evangelicals

Karl Barth is widely considered to be the greatest theologian of the twentieth century. Some leading evangelical theologians sharply criticized Barth him at first, but many evangelicals have warmly praised in the past few decades. The first part of this article briefly examines the reasons of these praises, which include: his personality, his literary style, his theological method, and many features of his theology. The second and longer part of the article shows why other evangelicals have sharply criticized him for his confusing writing style, dialectical theological method, faulty biblical exegesis and - primarily - the content of his theology. In general, the author tends to the evangelical viewpoint that Karl Barth departed significantly not only from his Reformed heritage but, more importantly, from the teachings of the Scriptures.