Body, Soul, and (Holy) Spirit: Karl Barth's Theological Framework for Understanding Human Ontology

Abstract:  Interpretations of Karl Barth's anthropological ontology are often characterized by significant disagreement as to whether it is best understood in essentially dualist or monist terms. Such arguments are misguided in that they miss the thrust of Barth's argument. This article will show that Barth's christological understanding of the mind–body relationship generates a number of important ontological implications, which can in turn serve as a basis for developing a christologically adequate mind/body theory, but that it does not provide the actual development of such a theory.