ABSTRACT
In 1986 a centennial celebration was held for both Karl Barth and for Niels Bohr. Although seemingly worlds apart, Barth and Bohr share more than a centennial year, and it will be the initial task of this essay to show why that is the case. In the main section following, it will be shown how the dialectic in the theology of Karl Barth may find common ground with Niels Bohr’s concept of complementarity in postmodern physics. This is an unlikely convergence owing to Barth’s famous “Nein!” rejecting natural theology and, indeed, any compatibility between theology and the natural or human sciences. However, we will argue that this dichotomy is superficial. Even Barth himself altered his position in his later years. Although this essay is not primarily historical, this historical note is important since it is evidence that our argument does not depart from the essential structure of Barth’s position in order to make the case for a systematic connection between his dialectic and the philosophy of complementarity. On the scientific side, Bohr’s view of complementarity will be viewed as an asymmetric bipolarity in contrast to the way it is most commonly construed. Thus, being faithful to Bohr’s thought at a level deeper than usual will yield an unexpected compatibility with theology.
