‘Yes!’ And ‘Thou’ in Dag Hammarskjöld’s Markings : A Theological Investigation

Abstract

Hammarskjöld’s Markings combines the spiritual, theological and ethical. This article engages with the journal in four stages. First, it briefly introduces the text (context, translation and overall purpose). Second, I explore Hammarskjöld’s faith guided by two words: ‘Yes’—to explore key ideas on union, discipleship, the ‘beyond,’ religious language, his use of the medieval mystics and the influence of the apophatic and kataphatic traditions on his consciousness. Third, under ‘Thou,’ follows an examination of this word’s role in Hammarskjöld’s religious awareness and, also, of the journal’s convergences with other authors, such as Bernard Haring and Andrew Tallon’s analysis of Martin Buber’s ‘I-Thou and the sapiential ethics of Thomas Aquinas. Finally, I briefly assess Markings and Hammarskjöld’s religious consciousness as Trinitarian and as indicative of the transforming process of theosis.