1 Paul connected it with idolatry, with changing the truth of God into a lie, with the adoration of the creature instead of the Creator (Rom 1:25). This is the physical, psychological and social sickness, the phenomena of perversion, decadence and decay, which can emerge when man refuses to admit the validity of the divine command in the sense in which we are now considering it. These first steps may well be symptoms of the malady called homosexuality.
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So anyone who stands upon this small-print section against homosexuality is stumbling.įor full disclosure, here are Barth's colorful criticisms of homosexuality from the controversial small-print section referenced above: Barth invited CVK to participate in the Church Dogmatics in a time (late 1940's to early 1950's) that women were rarely allowed to do more than secretarial work in seminaries.
How then shall we cite this small-print section to dismiss homosexuals and yet criticize Barth's opposition to women's rights? At this point, I am unable to resist criticizing Barth as well, because I do not believe that the Church Dogmatics would dwell in the same ivory tower as the Summa Theologica if Charlotte Von Kirschbaum (CVK) had followed the ethical imperatives of CD III/4 and had remained in the proverbial kitchen as CD III/4 directs instead of contributing to the Church Dogmatics as she did. Therefore, I believe that many people who cite this small-print section against homosexuality would at the same time reject Barth's view of Man and Woman that are the foundation of this small-print section. Students of Barth have said that Barth's views of women in CD III " needs to be corrected" and " his views of women in volume three are not essential to his project" (for example) and I believe this is justified based on what Barth said about women in this volume. Barth's strongest statements against homosexuality are located here in a small-print paragraph in the middle of a problematic section of CD III/4: §54 Freedom in Fellowship 1. Man and Woman. Karl Barth's infamous rejection of homosexuality in CD III/4ĬD III/4 is the final volume in Karl Barth's Doctrine of Creation and is devoted to Ethics-in other words, it explains how Barth's Doctrine of Creation should be applied to the Christian life and it includes many fascinating ethical loci, such as his rejection of capital punishment, and discussion on self-defense, suicide, prayer and marriage. First, I will review Barth's No and Yes to Homosexuality. However, this is not Barth's final word on homosexuality (according to the renown Barth scholar George Hunsinger) because Barth changed his mind on this controversial subject (near the end of his life after abandoning the Church Dogmatics) due to his discussions with medical doctors who provided Barth with modern scientific research on homosexuality that Barth thought should be considered when interpreting the plain sense of the scriptures. Near the midway point in the Church Dogmatics, there is a small print section of CD III/4 that contains these strong denunciations of homosexuality (quoted below) and is frequently cited to oppose homosexuality today.
III/4 (CD III/4) where he called it a " malady" and a " physical, psychological and social sickness" and a " phenomena of perversion, decadence and decay" and other colorful phrases. Karl Barth is infamous for his statements against homosexuality in his Church Dogmatics, Vol. Has been translated and added as an appendix.) (Updated on June 6th, 2016: Karl Barth's source letter
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