Chrześcijaństwo i religie niechrześcijańskie w myśli Karla Bartha
Christianity and Non-Christian Religions in the Thought of Karl Barth

Summary/Abstract: The aim of the article is to present Christianity and non-Christian religions in the thought of Karl Barth. The ideas of the Swiss theologian about religions are characterized by a deep evolution, which allows to single out three basic phases of shaping his thought. In the first phase, present in the first edition of The Letter to the Romans (Der Römerbrief, Zürich 1919), the author allows a view that pagans who are aided by the light of reason may get to cognition of God. Religions in such a view present themselves as meaningful testimony to human rising towards God. This vision is given up in the next phase, in the second edition of The Letter to the Romans (Der Römerbrief, Zürich 1922), and in The Church Dogmatics (Die Kirchliche Dogmatik, 1932–1966). Religions are viewed here as the “unbelief” (Unglaube), an expression of human hubris and an attempt of self-justification. In the third phase of his theological activity Barth revised and slightly moderated his views by stressing universality of the Word of God and the whole work of Creation as possible means of conveying God’s truth. In the modern theology of religion the position of Barth is described as Christocentric exclusivism and considered to be overcome. In the last part of the article a critical evaluation of Barth’s concept has been performed, showing its strong and weak points.

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