Theology in the Second Person

The aim of the chapter is to explore the irreducibly second-personal dimension of properly ordered theological inquiry. The first (and longest) section sketches a component of a larger ontology of Holy Scripture, one indicative of a second-person dimension to Holy Scripture, namely Scripture as divine speech or address. And if Holy Scripture as the principal ground of dogmatics is irreducibly second-personal at some level, then arguably the well-formed dogmatic task ought to be carried out in the manner of interpersonal relatedness to God, a “prayerful dogmatics.” The second section offers some historical reflections from the work of Karl Barth on the inseparability of dogmatics and prayer. The third and final section explores how the notion of prayerful dogmatics can serve as a guard rail that keeps the dogmatic task properly theological and thereby formational (2 Cor. 3: 18).