Dialectical theology – What is it?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

Dialectical theology refers to a way of thinking about God that highlights the tension between His holiness and human sinfulness. It argues that the distance between God and humanity is so great that human reason collapses when it tries to explain Him (Matthew 11:27; 1 Timothy 6:16). Karl Barth brought this view to prominence, and his work shaped what became known as neo-orthodoxy. He rejected liberal theology’s trust in human experience and insisted that God can be known only through His revelation, not through a natural theology that reasons from creation to a true knowledge of God. Yet neo-orthodoxy treated Scripture as a fallible human witness through which God may choose to speak, weakening the Bible’s authority.

Scripture agrees with Barth on several points. The Bible teaches that sinful people cannot reach God by reason and that true knowledge of Him depends on faith in His self-disclosure (Hebrews 11:6; 1 Peter 1:23). It also affirms that God’s holiness exposes guilt, a theme Barth emphasized in his study of Romans. But Scripture also presents itself as God’s authoritative Word (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21) and explains that creation reveals enough of God’s power and character to hold humanity accountable (Romans 1:18–23). In the end, Barth’s strong reaction to liberal theology and to natural theology led him into other theological errors.

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• The Old Testament emphasizes both God’s transcendence and His communication with His people, which helps frame the ideas behind dialectical theology. Verses like Isaiah 6:1–3, where Isaiah sees the Lord “high and lifted up,” show that God is far above human understanding and utterly holy, echoing the dialectical theme of the vast distance between God and humanity.
• Passages such as Psalm 14:1–3 and Isaiah 59:2 highlight that all people are sinful and cannot approach God on their own. Humans cannot know God fully by reason alone.
• God provides His instructions through the Law, prophets, and His Word (Deuteronomy 6:6–9; Psalm 19:1–4). While humans cannot reach God by intellect, He does reveal Himself so His people can obey and be accountable.

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• Neo-orthodoxy rejected the infallible authority of Scripture, treating the Bible as a fallible human witness that God may choose to use rather than the very words God has given. The New Testament, however, presents Scripture as the Spirit-inspired Word of God. Paul writes that “all Scripture is breathed out by God” (2 Timothy 3:16), and Peter explained that “men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). Scripture is not a flawed human testimony but the Spirit’s own trustworthy revelation through men.
• Dialectical theology affirms Scriptures teaching that God is transcendent and far above His creatures. Paul writes that God “dwells in unapproachable light” and that no one has seen or can see Him (1 Timothy 6:16). Jesus also speaks of the uniqueness of God’s nature when He says that “no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Matthew 11:27). These passages show that God is not discovered by human searching but stands above all creation in glory and holiness.
• Additionally, neo-orthodoxy aligns with the Bible in teaching that we know God savingly only through faith in what He reveals. Hebrews explains that “without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). Peter says that believers are “born again … through the living and abiding Word of God” (1 Peter 1:23), This confirms that salvation never comes from reason, intuition, or human insight, but from receiving God’s revealed truth with faith.
• Yet the New Testament also states that God reveals enough of Himself in creation to render all people accountable. Paul wrote that God’s “invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). He said that men and women suppress that knowledge because of their sin (Romans 1:18). This means that while creation does not reveal the gospel, it does reveal enough of God’s power and divine nature to demonstrate humanity’s guilt and need for the salvation He offers in Christ.

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

Students spend hundreds on college textbooks, each one containing the information on a particular subject and authored by an expert in the field. But only one book contains everything we need for life here and now and for life eternally. That one book is reliable because it is authored by the Almighty God: the Bible.

We can only know God fully and savingly through what He has revealed in His Word. The gospel–that God sent His Son into the world to save sinners— is not learned from nature or reason. That’s why we should “hit the books” of the Bible every morning to learn what God has communicated to us.

But there’s also the book of nature. Scripture teaches that every person already knows God exists through what He has made (Romans 1:18-23). When people claim they do not believe in God, God Himself contradicts that claim by saying He has already shown them the truth. The result is that no one is neutral about God, and people will not be able to claim ignorance when standing before Him because they didn’t read the Bible.

Who do you know who hasn’t ever opened the most important book ever written? Share a copy with them today. Offer to meet with them to discuss it. We know the truth. We must share it.

UNDERSTAND

• Dialectical theology emphasizes the vast gap between God’s holiness and human sinfulness.
• Dialectical theology teaches that humans cannot know God savingly through reason, only through His revealed Word.
• While God’s transcendence is absolute, creation still shows enough of Him to make humanity accountable.

REFLECT

• How do you rely on God’s revelation in His Word to know Him?
• How do you respond to the truth that God wants to be known and has given us His Word to know Him?
• What does creation reveal to you about God’s power, and how does God’s Word explain what creation cannot?

ENGAGE

• How do you explain the importance of God’s Word revealing God and salvation in ways that other means cannot?
• How can we ensure we are trusting God’s Word over all else in understanding God?
• How does knowing that humanity is accountable for responding to what God has revealed about Himself shape the way we share the gospel?