French liberal theologians and Karl Barth: a complicated relation
The case of Auguste Lemaître
Abstract
The relationship between French-speaking liberal theologians and Karl Barth was complicated, from the 1920s until Barth’s death in December 1968. The reasons for these difficulties are many and have much to do with the significant increase of interest in doctrinal and dogmatic issues, in Barth’s footsteps, in those years, especially since the 1930s and 1940s. Auguste Lemaître, who taught dogmatics at the University of Geneva during thirty-six years, was among those who, while remaining on friendly terms with Barth (for the most part), opposed his theology. The present article retraces the various phases of the exchanges between the two theologians.