Karl Barth (pronounced "Bart," as if there is no "h" on the end) was born on May 10, 1886, in Basel. After studying theology with some of the most prominent liberal Protestant theologians of his day, Barth was ordained to be the pastor of a Reformed church in Safenwil, a small town on the border of Germany and Switzerland. The challenge of preaching the gospel to his congregation led Barth to question much of what he had been taught in seminary. He began to study the Bible intensively in order to prepare to preach. In 1919, he published his revolutionary commentary on the book of Romans, in which he argued that God is radically "other" than human beings.

Barth became Professor of Reformed Theology at the University of Gottingen in 1921. He moved to the University of Munster a few years later, and to the University of Bonn after that. However, in the 1930's Barth's resistance to the Nazi party shown in his refusal to salute Hitler and his resistance to Hitler's attempts to control the church led to his dismissal from Bonn.

Bibliography:

Works by Barth: Barth’s most famous work is his multi-volume Church Dogmatics. An easier introduction can be found in Dogmatics in Outline. Another brief summary work is: Learning Jesus Christ through the Heidelberg Catechism.

Works about Barth:

The Cambridge Companion to Karl Barth, edited by J. B. Webster, is a great collection of articles and studies about Barth’s theology. Other good introductions are How to Read Karl Barth: The Shape of His Theology by George Hunsinger and

Links:

Here’s a nice summary of the structure and main content of the Dogmatics.http://www.island-of-freedom.com/BARTH.HTM

Links to five interesting articles about Barth and one fascinating article by Barth himself as he reflects on the evolution of his own theological thinking:http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll/listcatitems?cat_id=29

Website of the Center for Barth Studies at Princeton Theological Seminary:
http://www.ptsem.edu/grow/Barth/index.htm

A fine article on Barth from Christian History magazine: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/2000/001/5.23.html