fideism. After all, if the Spirit is able to create faith through the preaching of the Word, could he not do the same through the agency of apologetic activity in service of that same Word? As it is, Barth has made it virtually impossible for those who reject the gospel, or have intellectual difficulty in believing it, to be confronted with the claims of Christ, because of his negative attitude toward Christian apologetics. 2. Curiously enough, Barth’s motive behind his fideism is itself at least