John Bowden (1) (1935–2010)

I picked this up at a used book sale. I know a little about Karl Barth and would like to know more. I knew nothing of John Bowden. If you are looking for a biographical sketch from someone who was not Barth's biggest fan this is the book for you. It was first published in 1971, only a few years after Barth's passing and makes the dubious argument (from my vantage point) that as much of a genius as Barth was, he would have no lasting impact on theology because none of Barth's students were as brilliant as him and there were problems with Barth's system. In particular, he takes issue with Barth's insistence of God's wholely-otherness (insisting that this paved the way for practical atheism in those who did not have Barth's theological commitments), he faults Barth for misunderstanding the liberal theological establishment (of which Bowden is sympathetic), and he faults the German theological educational system for setting up Barth as the patriarch without allowing sufficient dialog between other theologians (this criticism may have some traction, but I don't know enough).

But while I did not always agree with or appreciate Bowden's editorializing, his biographical sketch is primarly culled from comments in Barth's works and correspondence. So some good. I like this book enough to keep, but not to recommend. If any one has another Barth bio they'd like to recommend, I'd appreciate it.… (mehr)