S øren K ierkegaard and K arl B arth: Reflections on a Relation and a Proposal for Future Investigation

K arl B arth's relationship to K ierkegaard is one that is complex but often solely understood by means of B arth's own explicit reflections on K ierkegaard near the end of his life. This article revisits this history not only to cast light on the reasons for B arth's explicit distancing of himself from K ierkegaard's work, but also to provide evidence that K ierkegaard's influence upon B arth's thinking may have ranged further and in more subtle ways than is often acknowledged. This is particularly seen when K ierkegaard's understanding of C hristology and the objectivity, rather than subjectivity, of faith is taken into account. Such an examination may provide warrant for a reappraisal of the relation between these two figures.