Addition: I had not adequately checked my facts before I posted this, it seems the relationship was ambiguous and not necessarily sexual. Still, the accusations that I react to have been made and I leave the following post unchanged as a chronicle of a reaction….
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I just found out that Karl Barth had a 35 year, live-in affair while being married, and I must say I’m bummed! I’ve always admired Barth, I even considered naming my second son after him: Karl Bartik, a pun that would only get credit at theological college.
Am I missing something? For someone who has plumbed the depths of Christian theology soo deeply, a man unchallenged as the greatest theologian of the 20th century. How could he continue in such a clearly forbidden private life. Did he believe in polygamy? Did he believe in sanctification? Did he simply justify fulfilling his urges as a means to focus more intently on his studies in some kind of retrieval ethic? Was sexual impropriety something he allowed only for himself or did he think it was ok for everyone? Why, Barth, why?
I can understand a moral indescretion, a moment of weakness. But 35 years is by no means a moment. I can also understand that Kirschbaum was critical in shaping Barth’s work, but was it necessary to have a sexual relationship?
I’m not about to throw out his writings based on this. He is no less an important theologian to engage with, and even thank God for. I guess I’m just really disappointed by it.
Karl Barth and Charlotte von Kirschbaum
In all fairness (to a now deceased, Barth), it seems that this was never proven to be correct. There is much speculation, but there seem to be no “facts.”
Yes, thanks for pulling me up on this. Just before I read your comment, it occurred to me that it might have been an emotional affair rather than sexual. I’ve just seen the comments in this post of Ben Myer’s blog, which seems to confirm this. I still think the intensity of the intimacy was adulterous, but I find it a little less outrageous.
I’m not sure whether I should delete this post or not…. perhaps it still has value as an initial reaction to gross indescretion. Or perhaps as an example of not checking your facts before blogging about someone’s personal life.
I think I’ll add a caveat to the beginning of the post.
It’s interesting that more hasn’t been made of this. For example Zwingli’s or Augustine’s sexual hangups and dalliances are well known in church history. I hope it’s not a case of “do as I say not as do!”
LOL, that should read “do as I say not as I do.”
hi, i am just preparing my doctoral thesis oral defence this afternoon. and yes, i wrote on Karl Barth’s anthropology.
just before i started my work, i went through all the things i could find on this issue. and at the end, i think i still love him and respect him and want to learn from him.
I won’t say too much about what i think about it, only want to say that, according to me, the best and honest info are from Eberhard Busch’s book . few guesses and judgements, only facts.
i can not be the same person as i am now if i did not spend my years on reading him.
by the way, i am in HK, and i am Chinese.
Thanks Yy. Good luck on your thesis defence! I think I agree, whatever the relationship was it was in murky territory that was by no means ‘above reproach’, and thus unbecoming of a leader of God’s people. Still, there is no doubt that Barth’s contribution to theology transcends his personal failures. It sounds like Busch is the way to go – I’ll check it out!
I could write an exactly same post I’m commenting on (along with the addition on the top)! I’m an MDiv student admiring Barth and I also learned today from my roommate about Barth’s “female life-time companion”, and I also was bummed. So I’m browsing Internet for the last hour trying to come to peace with this. Well, I guess we need to have surprises like this to gain a better perspective of what it means to be human. For one, when Barth comes down in my eyes from the mount Olympus this way, I can relate to him even more. So, when you write in your comment that what Barth did was “unbecoming of a leader of God’s people”, such simple and even cheesy examples as David or Solomon come to my mind.
Hi Yevgeniy,
Thanks for visiting. I’m glad there’s other people out there who feel like I do about this. I still think Barth is exciting to read, and we can’t ignore his vast achievements, but as you say this is something we need to really think hard about in order to come to some peace about it.
I think you are right about relating to him more. I am disappointed in his behaviour, but I guess I make some pretty big mistakes too. Even some that I don’t think are mistakes at the time…
I just ran across this little factoid myself and had the same reaction. In fact, I typed in “I’m disappointed in Karl Barth” and got a chuckle out of the fact that someone thought the same thing.
There are good responses here, and I suppose the reality is that this happens all the time. We just didn’t type in “I’m disappointed in Jimmy Swaggart” because we didn’t ever expect as much from him.
I’ve been at this a long time, and you’d think I’d learn. Everytime you start to think there’s a perfect example of a “real” Christian out there, it seems something happens or something is discovered that lets you down, whether the icon was a personal mentor, or a right- or left-leaning preacher. As if to underscore Barth’s Christo-centric emphasis, no? Whatever anyone may think about other components of Barth’s theology, that part seems to be relentlessly and repeatedly true.
Thanks for dropping by Steve! True, true, it’s about Christ and not about us. Barth was practicing what he preached in an ironic kinda way there wasn’t he.
My reaction to this living arrangement was pure disgust. “It’s never been proven to be sexual”, ok, but then why move in? People don’t just move in for no reason; they’re either desperate for someone to help pay rent, they’re homeless, or for sexual convenience. It seems to me that a good reason for her moving in has to be made. If there was such a reason, we could put the rumors aside.
I think that your reaction is legitimate Maire. Apparently Barth’s Christian contemporaries were scandalised by it too. Check out the link to Ben Myer’s blog in the second comment from the top. Those guys have read really deeply into Barth and his life.
I know the feeling you’re expressing, but why do we feel this way? I know sometimes I hold people up to standards that are too high, and in the end humans will always fail you in that case. And every great theologian (I’m guessing) has confessed that he / she is a great sinner more-so than a great saint. So we still love them anyways, and their work still has value in our lives.
Maybe she was just a 30 year-old woman who had given up on finding someone, but still wanted companionship and purpose. Everyone wants a companion in life…maybe Barth was just being a good christian in letting her into his and his wifes life. Look at how many people live with a married brother or sister and help raise kids or act as live in nannies…Yes, where there is smoke many times there is fire, but sometimes its not fire just speculation (gossip). Kind of reminds me of FBI’s Hoover with his secretary (female) and colleague (male). People always assume the worst, because it makes them not feel as bad about their own indiscretions. Jesus hung out with prostitutes and Mary Magdalene…does that mean he was sleeping with them? I think we should give two theologians of religion the benefit of the doubt.