Karl Barth's views on Mary
Karl Barth's views on Mary agreed with much Roman Catholic dogma but disagreed with the Catholic veneration of Mary. Barth, a leading 20th-century theologian, was a Reformed Protestant. Aware of the common dogmatic tradition of the early Church, Barth fully accepted the dogma of Mary as the Mother of God. Through Mary, Jesus belongs to the human race. Through Jesus, Mary is Mother of God. Background Theology of Karl Barth Karl Barth (May 10, 1886 – December 10, 1968) a Swiss Reformed theologian, was one of the most important Christian thinkers of the 20th century. Beginning with his experience as a pastor, he rejected the predominant liberal theology typical of 19th-century Protestantism, especially German, and instead embarked on a unique theological path, often labelled neo-orthodoxy by critics (a label emphatically rejected by Barth himself), that emphasized the sovereignty of God particularly through his innovative doctrine of election. Barth's theology swept through Europe and Britain. Barth was originally trained in German Protestant Liberalism under such teachers as Wilhelm Herrmann, but reacted against this theology at the time of the First World War. His reaction was fed by several factors, including his commitment to the German and Swiss Religious Socialist movement surrounding