Religion: THEOLOGY FOR THE COMMUNITY

The science that Karl Barth pursues gets its subject matter from God; but it would fail, he says, if it did not serve the community of men the way a pendulum serves a clock. Barth's theological output is so vast that only a handful of men have ever read all his works. But for those willing to try them, his books offer wisdom and wit as well. A sampler of Barth's views:

ON HEAVEN: People have often made fun of this idea of "ascending into heaven." They have asked whether Christ did it like some...