In succession to worldliness, Barth's second cardinal attribute of God's language as God's mystery is one-sidedness.

4. The Speech of God as the Mystery of God "God's language as God's mystery" forms the third series of attributes of the Word of God.  Barth is still working on the question, "What is the Word of God?" (I/1/132) by exploring the three forms of the Word of God (in §4) and then "in … Continue reading I/1 § 5: The Nature of the Word of God

3. The Speech of God As the Act of God It must be recalled from §2 that “We shall have to regard God’s speech as also God’s act, and God’s act as also God’s mystery.” (I/1/133).  This is (to repeat) the fundamental structure of Church Dogmatics §5, The Nature of the Word of God. Consequently … Continue reading I/1 § 5: The Nature of the Word of God

2. The Word of God the Speech of God It must be recalled from §1 that God and God's Word are never presented to humans in the way in which natural or historical entities are presented to humans: we can never retrospectively define or prospectively predict what God's Word is.  God's Word "is something God … Continue reading I/1 § 5: The Nature of the Word of God

1. The Question as to the Nature of the Word of God (Excursus) This excursus marks a significant shift in Barth's thinking from his original publication of Die christliche Dogmatik to the present Die kirchliche Dogmatik.  In this excursus, Barth summarizes two significant objections, what they signified to him, and why he changed his mind.  … Continue reading I/1 § 5: The Nature of the Word of God

1. The Question as to the Nature of the Word of God The entire fifth section of I/1 attempts to answer the question,a "natural and popular question, also found not infrequently on the lips of theologians: What is the Word of God?" (I/1/132)  Barth faces the unique difficulty of theology here: "God and His Word … Continue reading I/1 § 5: The Nature of the Word of God