This volume fills the gap in British and American knowledge about the liberal phase of Barth's theology, and also that phase in the literature dealing with nineteenth- and twentieth-century religious thought. It opens with a critical exposition of the philosophy and religious thought of the Marburg School, an extremely influential group of philosophers in Germany before 1914, focusing particular attention on the writings of its leader, Hermann Cohen, a prominent figure in the Jewish Community. There then follows a consideration of the Ritschlian theologian Wilhelm Herrman (1846-1968) who taught Barth and Bultmann. Finally, Dr Fisher offers a thorough discussion of Barth's earliest writings, most of which have not yet been translated from the German.