Dialogue: Drawn into the Life of the Trinity

Abstract

This article seeks to outline a theology of dialogue by asking what the key Christian doctrine of the revelation of God in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit can teach us about the nature of dialogue. As background to the explicitly theological exploration, questions from the field of the philosophy of language are addressed to indicate that human agency is inherently dialogical: that we necessarily find ourselves in dialogue with language, culture, society, and with what is ultimately valuable. The argument then turns to Jesus' ministry and the whole Christ event, assessing the dimensions of the dialogue into which Christians find themselves drawn. A final section shows that the task of discerning the contemporary significance of the Christ event is itself empowered by the Holy Spirit. In authentic dialogue, then, Christians find themselves caught up in the life of the Trinity.