Here is a sobering quote of the evening/morning. Barth writes,

Our comment is that, so long as we understand by Christianity the creaturely and cultural reality of a view of life and the world alongside Platonism, Aristotelianism, etc., and so long as we understand by a form or picture of Christianity the representation of it in its creatureliness according to the laws of the knowledge of such a reality, then the construction of an impressive form of Christianity without believing in it for better or for worse is certainly an attractive and rewarding possibility. But there can be no question of this on dogmatics. In dogmatics Christianity means the proper content of talk about God ventured in the fear of God.”

Sobering words indeed. Earlier in the chapter, Barth argues that the study of God is to be done within the context of the living body of Christ. Here he goes even further. The study of God must be rooted in and grow out of the fear of God. Even more sobering is the reality that a proper fear of God is borne out of encounter with God. How many of us engage in dogmatics, or proper talk about God, as Barth defines it?