The paradox of dialectic: clarifying the use and scope of dialectic in theology

The meaning of the term 'dialectic' is often obscured by its chameleonic multiuse in contemporary theology, and is habitually confused with its sibling concept 'paradox'. This article narrates dialectic's theological foundations in the modern dialectical theology school, highlighting in particular Karl Barth's 'dialectical' relationship to dialectic, and dialectical theology's relationship to paradox. To illuminate and distinguish these concepts further, the article then briefly sketches four varied but conceptually consistent expressions of theological paradox (in Chesterton, Eckhart, Kierkegaard, and Milbank). It is argued that paradox may be exclusively distinguished from dialectical method, yet conceived within a broader dialectical scope. The conclusion offers four primary dialectical modes through which theological polarities interact (including paradox), before briefly reflecting upon the simultaneous essentiality and boundedness of dialectic for theological speech.