Hans Boersma
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199229642
- eISBN:
- 9780191710773
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199229642.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology, Church History
This chapter shows that Hans Urs von Balthasar and Marie-Dominique Chenu were particularly insistent on the goodness of the created order. Their sacramental approach highlighted the ‘downward’ ...
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This chapter shows that Hans Urs von Balthasar and Marie-Dominique Chenu were particularly insistent on the goodness of the created order. Their sacramental approach highlighted the ‘downward’ direction of grace, and they were more insistent than de Lubac and Bouillard on the autonomy of the created order. Balthasar's reading of Irenaeus, Denys, and Maximus regarded analogy of being as the key to their theology, a doctrine Balthasar also defended in dialogue with Karl Barth. At the same time, Balthasar had deep appreciation for Barth's starting-point in Christology. The sacramental character of Chenu's theology stemmed from his focus on theology as contemplation and from his reliance on Denys's symbolism. At the same time, Chenu's accentuation of the autonomy of the created order and his positive evaluation of the desacralizing that set in during the High Middle Ages meant that his sacramental ontology was not always consistent.Less
This chapter shows that Hans Urs von Balthasar and Marie-Dominique Chenu were particularly insistent on the goodness of the created order. Their sacramental approach highlighted the ‘downward’ direction of grace, and they were more insistent than de Lubac and Bouillard on the autonomy of the created order. Balthasar's reading of Irenaeus, Denys, and Maximus regarded analogy of being as the key to their theology, a doctrine Balthasar also defended in dialogue with Karl Barth. At the same time, Balthasar had deep appreciation for Barth's starting-point in Christology. The sacramental character of Chenu's theology stemmed from his focus on theology as contemplation and from his reliance on Denys's symbolism. At the same time, Chenu's accentuation of the autonomy of the created order and his positive evaluation of the desacralizing that set in during the High Middle Ages meant that his sacramental ontology was not always consistent.
Michael Patrick Murphy
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195333527
- eISBN:
- 9780199868896
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195333527.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
The chapter serves both as a brief biography of Balthasar and a protracted bibliography of his work. The consideration of Balthasar's monumental opus (The Glory of the Lord, Theo‐drama, and ...
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The chapter serves both as a brief biography of Balthasar and a protracted bibliography of his work. The consideration of Balthasar's monumental opus (The Glory of the Lord, Theo‐drama, and Theo‐logic) provides a critical “system” in which to read texts and begins to illustrate Balthasar's unique contribution to current discussions about the intersection between theology, history, philosophy, and narrative art. The chapter demonstrates that not only is Balthasar one of the most important Catholic theologians of the twentieth century, but also his work has practical contributions to make to discourses in critical theory. Like critical theory, Balthasar's work is theological, literary, anthropological, philosophical, psychological, political, and historical, which are critical theory's main components. In the spirit of the ressourcement theology that shaped him, Balthasar is primarily interested in renewing attention to older sources in order to critique the idealistic excesses of modernity. In this sense, Balthasar reveals a postmodern temperament: he too is concerned with issues of language and difference, with aporia, with plurality, with surplus, and with horizons of meaning, to name a few. The difference between Balthasar and the majority of critical theorists resides in ontological and theological orientation: it is therefore a difference of imagination and of grammar. The chapter elaborates on these and other dynamic relationships.Less
The chapter serves both as a brief biography of Balthasar and a protracted bibliography of his work. The consideration of Balthasar's monumental opus (The Glory of the Lord, Theo‐drama, and Theo‐logic) provides a critical “system” in which to read texts and begins to illustrate Balthasar's unique contribution to current discussions about the intersection between theology, history, philosophy, and narrative art. The chapter demonstrates that not only is Balthasar one of the most important Catholic theologians of the twentieth century, but also his work has practical contributions to make to discourses in critical theory. Like critical theory, Balthasar's work is theological, literary, anthropological, philosophical, psychological, political, and historical, which are critical theory's main components. In the spirit of the ressourcement theology that shaped him, Balthasar is primarily interested in renewing attention to older sources in order to critique the idealistic excesses of modernity. In this sense, Balthasar reveals a postmodern temperament: he too is concerned with issues of language and difference, with aporia, with plurality, with surplus, and with horizons of meaning, to name a few. The difference between Balthasar and the majority of critical theorists resides in ontological and theological orientation: it is therefore a difference of imagination and of grammar. The chapter elaborates on these and other dynamic relationships.
Francis X. Clooney
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195138542
- eISBN:
- 9780199834099
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195138546.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
Hindu God, Christian God, an exercise in comparative theology, proposes that theology today is an interreligious discipline and illustrates this with reference to Christianity and ...
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Hindu God, Christian God, an exercise in comparative theology, proposes that theology today is an interreligious discipline and illustrates this with reference to Christianity and Hinduism. Thinkers in many religious traditions share similar theological questions and problems in their quest to understand their faith, and so too use comparable methods for seeking right answers. However, much traditions emphasize their uniqueness and the necessity of faith, their thinkers usually teach, and often such teachings are recorded and become available as books that can be read and understood, and even translated. Religions are partially intelligible to outsiders; reasoning inquirers, in beginning to understand various beliefs and practices, cross even the most firmly fixed religious boundaries. In the process, they learn from the new tradition and also see their own tradition anew, by a comparative reading process. The best theology is therefore not only interreligious but also comparative, well versed in how different traditions have dealt with the same concerns.It is also dialogical, since authors must explain their ideas in ways that at least make sense to thinkers in the other traditions being discussed; they also need to be willing to learn from the critiques and responses of those other thinkers. Lastly, the discovery of common ground and shared concerns does not mean agreement; believers can still disagree and continue to hold views at odds with what others believe. Apologetics remains an issue. Hindu God, Christian God argues these points by bringing into conversation Christian theological beliefs – exemplified by the writings of Richard Swinburne, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Karl Rahner, and Karl Barth — and beliefs from some major Hindu traditions, including Nyaya [Logic], Vaisnavism [devotion to Visnu], and Saivism [devotion to Siva], as expressed in classic Sanskrit‐ and Tamil‐language texts. Issues discussed include Hindu and Christian views of God's nature; proofs for God's existence; the true religion; incarnation or divine embodiment; revelation as offering definitive knowledge of religious truth.Less
Hindu God, Christian God, an exercise in comparative theology, proposes that theology today is an interreligious discipline and illustrates this with reference to Christianity and Hinduism. Thinkers in many religious traditions share similar theological questions and problems in their quest to understand their faith, and so too use comparable methods for seeking right answers. However, much traditions emphasize their uniqueness and the necessity of faith, their thinkers usually teach, and often such teachings are recorded and become available as books that can be read and understood, and even translated. Religions are partially intelligible to outsiders; reasoning inquirers, in beginning to understand various beliefs and practices, cross even the most firmly fixed religious boundaries. In the process, they learn from the new tradition and also see their own tradition anew, by a comparative reading process. The best theology is therefore not only interreligious but also comparative, well versed in how different traditions have dealt with the same concerns.
It is also dialogical, since authors must explain their ideas in ways that at least make sense to thinkers in the other traditions being discussed; they also need to be willing to learn from the critiques and responses of those other thinkers. Lastly, the discovery of common ground and shared concerns does not mean agreement; believers can still disagree and continue to hold views at odds with what others believe. Apologetics remains an issue.
Hindu God, Christian God argues these points by bringing into conversation Christian theological beliefs – exemplified by the writings of Richard Swinburne, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Karl Rahner, and Karl Barth — and beliefs from some major Hindu traditions, including Nyaya [Logic], Vaisnavism [devotion to Visnu], and Saivism [devotion to Siva], as expressed in classic Sanskrit‐ and Tamil‐language texts. Issues discussed include Hindu and Christian views of God's nature; proofs for God's existence; the true religion; incarnation or divine embodiment; revelation as offering definitive knowledge of religious truth.
Joshua Furnal
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780198754671
- eISBN:
- 9780191816307
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198754671.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Chapter 4 examines the writings of de Lubac’s protégé, Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905–1988) to re-evaluate Balthasar’s critique of Kierkegaard’s view of anxiety and aesthetics. It argues that there is ...
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Chapter 4 examines the writings of de Lubac’s protégé, Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905–1988) to re-evaluate Balthasar’s critique of Kierkegaard’s view of anxiety and aesthetics. It argues that there is a particular Christological problem in Balthasar’s thematization of ‘distance’ in his theology of anxiety and beauty, which could be better addressed if Balthasar attended to Kierkegaard’s dialectical view of anxiety and aesthetics.Less
Chapter 4 examines the writings of de Lubac’s protégé, Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905–1988) to re-evaluate Balthasar’s critique of Kierkegaard’s view of anxiety and aesthetics. It argues that there is a particular Christological problem in Balthasar’s thematization of ‘distance’ in his theology of anxiety and beauty, which could be better addressed if Balthasar attended to Kierkegaard’s dialectical view of anxiety and aesthetics.
Bruce L. McCormack
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198269564
- eISBN:
- 9780191600678
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198269560.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This introductory chapter begins with a discussion on how the interpretation of Karl Barth’s theological development has been dominated by Hans Urs von Balthasar’s book, Karl Barth: Darstellung und ...
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This introductory chapter begins with a discussion on how the interpretation of Karl Barth’s theological development has been dominated by Hans Urs von Balthasar’s book, Karl Barth: Darstellung und Deutung seiner Theologie (1951) for over forty years. It identifies three studies that have challenged von Balthasar’s thesis: Eberhard Jüngel’s ‘Von der Dialektik zur Analogie’, Ingrid Spieckermann’s Gotteserkenntnis, and Michael Beintker’s Die Dialektik in der’dialektischen Theologie. A new paradigm for interpreting Barth’s development is then presented.Less
This introductory chapter begins with a discussion on how the interpretation of Karl Barth’s theological development has been dominated by Hans Urs von Balthasar’s book, Karl Barth: Darstellung und Deutung seiner Theologie (1951) for over forty years. It identifies three studies that have challenged von Balthasar’s thesis: Eberhard Jüngel’s ‘Von der Dialektik zur Analogie’, Ingrid Spieckermann’s Gotteserkenntnis, and Michael Beintker’s Die Dialektik in der’dialektischen Theologie. A new paradigm for interpreting Barth’s development is then presented.
Michael Patrick Murphy
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195333527
- eISBN:
- 9780199868896
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195333527.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
In addition to laying out a general groundwork for the Catholic imagination as a critical lens—and suggesting a variety of ways that the work of Hans Urs von Balthasar aids critics in articulating ...
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In addition to laying out a general groundwork for the Catholic imagination as a critical lens—and suggesting a variety of ways that the work of Hans Urs von Balthasar aids critics in articulating such a theological vision—the chapter also attempts to locate the particular phenomena of postmodernism and deconstruction within the intersection of theology and narrative art. Balthasar anticipates the tendency of current critical theory to privilege and emphasize the amorphous breadth of both linguistic and cultural expression; and he anticipates the critical tension between those who read Catholicism as theological truth and those that might read Catholicism as a “fluctuating signifier,” as a cultural and/or literary text. Under this general theme, a dialog is opened with such diverse critics as William Lynch, Paul Giles, Michel De Certeau, and Jacques Derrida. Like them, Balthasar's theology plots a route for appreciating the aesthetic complexity and theological possibility of a broadly canvassed intertextuality and interdisciplinarity. However, Balthasar's program also defends the critical uniqueness of certain theological commitments (e.g., the transcendentals, the Incarnation, and the trinitarian structure of being) and looks to the arts to demonstrate the formal expression and aesthetic span of these phenomena. The chapter concludes with the proposition that it is the recognition of these essential questions that both challenge and aid the articulation of a Catholic imagination and that a turn to representative work in literature, poetry, and film will aid in such an articulation.Less
In addition to laying out a general groundwork for the Catholic imagination as a critical lens—and suggesting a variety of ways that the work of Hans Urs von Balthasar aids critics in articulating such a theological vision—the chapter also attempts to locate the particular phenomena of postmodernism and deconstruction within the intersection of theology and narrative art. Balthasar anticipates the tendency of current critical theory to privilege and emphasize the amorphous breadth of both linguistic and cultural expression; and he anticipates the critical tension between those who read Catholicism as theological truth and those that might read Catholicism as a “fluctuating signifier,” as a cultural and/or literary text. Under this general theme, a dialog is opened with such diverse critics as William Lynch, Paul Giles, Michel De Certeau, and Jacques Derrida. Like them, Balthasar's theology plots a route for appreciating the aesthetic complexity and theological possibility of a broadly canvassed intertextuality and interdisciplinarity. However, Balthasar's program also defends the critical uniqueness of certain theological commitments (e.g., the transcendentals, the Incarnation, and the trinitarian structure of being) and looks to the arts to demonstrate the formal expression and aesthetic span of these phenomena. The chapter concludes with the proposition that it is the recognition of these essential questions that both challenge and aid the articulation of a Catholic imagination and that a turn to representative work in literature, poetry, and film will aid in such an articulation.
Michael Patrick Murphy
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195333527
- eISBN:
- 9780199868896
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195333527.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
Chapter 4 isolates several essential aspects of Balthasar's theodramatic theory and discusses how they “play” in and through Lars von Trier's dramatic film Breaking the Waves (1996), the first ...
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Chapter 4 isolates several essential aspects of Balthasar's theodramatic theory and discusses how they “play” in and through Lars von Trier's dramatic film Breaking the Waves (1996), the first installment of his Golden Heart trilogy. It is no coincidence that Balthasar places his theodramatic program precisely between his Aesthetics and Logic in order to emphasize the spatial centrality of God's dramatic action in, with, and through the world. In addition to examining theological mysteries (such as kenosis and the “events” of Holy Saturday), the chapter demonstrates more acutely the many contributions that Balthasar provides the contemporary religious critic. The chapter finds that the retrieval of this powerful relationship between theology and narrative art—between theological rhetoric and dramatic representation—is a main topic of Balthasar's Theodrama and that a serious study of the implications of his theodramatics bears ripe fruit for theorists of contemporary literature.Less
Chapter 4 isolates several essential aspects of Balthasar's theodramatic theory and discusses how they “play” in and through Lars von Trier's dramatic film Breaking the Waves (1996), the first installment of his Golden Heart trilogy. It is no coincidence that Balthasar places his theodramatic program precisely between his Aesthetics and Logic in order to emphasize the spatial centrality of God's dramatic action in, with, and through the world. In addition to examining theological mysteries (such as kenosis and the “events” of Holy Saturday), the chapter demonstrates more acutely the many contributions that Balthasar provides the contemporary religious critic. The chapter finds that the retrieval of this powerful relationship between theology and narrative art—between theological rhetoric and dramatic representation—is a main topic of Balthasar's Theodrama and that a serious study of the implications of his theodramatics bears ripe fruit for theorists of contemporary literature.
Niels Christian Hvidt
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195314472
- eISBN:
- 9780199785346
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195314472.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Revelation is complete with Christ but does not come to a close with him. There is a deep unity between the Christ event and its unfolding through the action of the Holy Spirit in the life of the ...
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Revelation is complete with Christ but does not come to a close with him. There is a deep unity between the Christ event and its unfolding through the action of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church. In this sense, Christianity is not a final but a preliminary stage between Christ's first and his last coming. This recognition is important for the understanding of the concept of tradition. Tradition should not be seen in the sense of traditional, but signifies a living reality in which Christ continues to unfold and actualize his truth in every new generation. Prophecy is one of the realizations of this dynamic actualization process. In fact, most of the instances in which revelation is actualized through time (Scripture, Magisterium, theology, dogma, pious traditions, liturgy) have been inspired by prophecy.Less
Revelation is complete with Christ but does not come to a close with him. There is a deep unity between the Christ event and its unfolding through the action of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church. In this sense, Christianity is not a final but a preliminary stage between Christ's first and his last coming. This recognition is important for the understanding of the concept of tradition. Tradition should not be seen in the sense of traditional, but signifies a living reality in which Christ continues to unfold and actualize his truth in every new generation. Prophecy is one of the realizations of this dynamic actualization process. In fact, most of the instances in which revelation is actualized through time (Scripture, Magisterium, theology, dogma, pious traditions, liturgy) have been inspired by prophecy.
W. T. Dickens (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780814724439
- eISBN:
- 9780814760642
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814724439.003.0020
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies
This chapter provides an account of the theology of salvation for both Hans Urs Balthasar and Karl Rahner, eminent Roman Catholic, Jesuit theologians of the twentieth century. Dickens explores both ...
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This chapter provides an account of the theology of salvation for both Hans Urs Balthasar and Karl Rahner, eminent Roman Catholic, Jesuit theologians of the twentieth century. Dickens explores both the similarities between these two theologians, such as their disdain for the neoscholastic theological method, and their differences, which primarily exist in their conception of the person, distinctive views of sin, and the scope of the reconciliation of God in Christ.Less
This chapter provides an account of the theology of salvation for both Hans Urs Balthasar and Karl Rahner, eminent Roman Catholic, Jesuit theologians of the twentieth century. Dickens explores both the similarities between these two theologians, such as their disdain for the neoscholastic theological method, and their differences, which primarily exist in their conception of the person, distinctive views of sin, and the scope of the reconciliation of God in Christ.
Sander van Maas
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- March 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780823230570
- eISBN:
- 9780823236695
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fso/9780823230570.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter examines the connection and convergence between the religious music composition of Olivier Messiaen and the works and philosophy of Swiss theologian Hans Urs von ...
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This chapter examines the connection and convergence between the religious music composition of Olivier Messiaen and the works and philosophy of Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar. Messiaen considers von Balthasar a major influence. However, the music of Messiaen appears to fall beyond the theological schemes that it alleges to adhere to, and these theological schemes have the greatest difficulty in maintaining what they actually assert. An analysis of von Balthasar's philosophy indicates that he bases his musical theology on the notations of Gestalt and on the information of the total Idea in the arts, in the form of a flowing rhythm, evolving melody, and theatrical plot of development.Less
This chapter examines the connection and convergence between the religious music composition of Olivier Messiaen and the works and philosophy of Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar. Messiaen considers von Balthasar a major influence. However, the music of Messiaen appears to fall beyond the theological schemes that it alleges to adhere to, and these theological schemes have the greatest difficulty in maintaining what they actually assert. An analysis of von Balthasar's philosophy indicates that he bases his musical theology on the notations of Gestalt and on the information of the total Idea in the arts, in the form of a flowing rhythm, evolving melody, and theatrical plot of development.
Edward T. Oakes
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199552870
- eISBN:
- 9780191731037
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199552870.003.0019
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This chapter argues that, for all his debt to the ressourcement theology that he learned at the Jesuit theologate in Lyon, Hans Urs von Balthasar is in fact quite nuanced in his appropriation of the ...
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This chapter argues that, for all his debt to the ressourcement theology that he learned at the Jesuit theologate in Lyon, Hans Urs von Balthasar is in fact quite nuanced in his appropriation of the theology of that school, especially of Henri de Lubac's theology of the supernatural. Indeed, he is not just nuanced but also often critical of de Lubac. Even more, for all of his important work in patristics, Balthasar can be quite critical of the project of the church fathers to bring Platonism and the worldview of the Bible into harmony. In both these areas, Balthasar finds himself much more in agreement with the insights of contemporary neo‐Thomism than is usually recognized by contemporary scholarship.Less
This chapter argues that, for all his debt to the ressourcement theology that he learned at the Jesuit theologate in Lyon, Hans Urs von Balthasar is in fact quite nuanced in his appropriation of the theology of that school, especially of Henri de Lubac's theology of the supernatural. Indeed, he is not just nuanced but also often critical of de Lubac. Even more, for all of his important work in patristics, Balthasar can be quite critical of the project of the church fathers to bring Platonism and the worldview of the Bible into harmony. In both these areas, Balthasar finds himself much more in agreement with the insights of contemporary neo‐Thomism than is usually recognized by contemporary scholarship.
Niels Christian Hvidt
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195314472
- eISBN:
- 9780199785346
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195314472.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Although Christian prophecy has had a significant impact in the life of the church, it has received rather scarce theological elaboration. This is strange, for with Hans Urs von Balthasar one can ...
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Although Christian prophecy has had a significant impact in the life of the church, it has received rather scarce theological elaboration. This is strange, for with Hans Urs von Balthasar one can rightly ask why God continues to provide prophetic revelations, when apparently they hardly need to be heeded by the church and theology. One of the reasons for the scarce theological elaboration of prophecy is that theology has been highly diversified and specialized in different sub-disciplines. Such necessary specialization constitutes a challenge for the unity of theology. It equally constitutes a challenge for Christian prophecy that calls for diversified theological treatment including dogmatic theology, fundamental theology, exegesis, church history, and mystical theology.Less
Although Christian prophecy has had a significant impact in the life of the church, it has received rather scarce theological elaboration. This is strange, for with Hans Urs von Balthasar one can rightly ask why God continues to provide prophetic revelations, when apparently they hardly need to be heeded by the church and theology. One of the reasons for the scarce theological elaboration of prophecy is that theology has been highly diversified and specialized in different sub-disciplines. Such necessary specialization constitutes a challenge for the unity of theology. It equally constitutes a challenge for Christian prophecy that calls for diversified theological treatment including dogmatic theology, fundamental theology, exegesis, church history, and mystical theology.
Michael P. Murphy
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195333527
- eISBN:
- 9780199868896
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195333527.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
The turn of the millennium has brought with it a vigorous revival in the interdisciplinary study of theology and art. The notion of a Catholic imagination, however, as a specific category of ...
More
The turn of the millennium has brought with it a vigorous revival in the interdisciplinary study of theology and art. The notion of a Catholic imagination, however, as a specific category of aesthetics, lacks thematic and theological coherence. More often, the idea of a Catholic imagination functions at this time as a deeply felt intuition about the organic connections that exist among theological insights, cultural background, and literary expression. The book explores the many ways that the theological work of Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905–1988) provides the model, content, and optic for demonstrating the credibility and range of a Catholic imagination. Since Balthasar views arts and literatures precisely as theologies, the book surveys a broad array of poetry, drama, fiction, and film and sets these readings against the central aspects of Balthasar's theological program. A major consequence of this study is the recovery of the legitimate place of a distinct “theological imagination” in the critical study of literary and narrative art. The book also argues that Balthasar's voice both complements and challenges contemporary critical theory and contends that postmodern interpretive methodology, with its careful critique of entrenched philosophical assumptions and reiterated codes of meaning, is not the threat to theological meaning that many fear. On the contrary, postmodernism can provide both literary critics and theologians alike with the tools that assess, challenge, and celebrate the theological imagination as it is depicted in literary art today.Less
The turn of the millennium has brought with it a vigorous revival in the interdisciplinary study of theology and art. The notion of a Catholic imagination, however, as a specific category of aesthetics, lacks thematic and theological coherence. More often, the idea of a Catholic imagination functions at this time as a deeply felt intuition about the organic connections that exist among theological insights, cultural background, and literary expression. The book explores the many ways that the theological work of Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905–1988) provides the model, content, and optic for demonstrating the credibility and range of a Catholic imagination. Since Balthasar views arts and literatures precisely as theologies, the book surveys a broad array of poetry, drama, fiction, and film and sets these readings against the central aspects of Balthasar's theological program. A major consequence of this study is the recovery of the legitimate place of a distinct “theological imagination” in the critical study of literary and narrative art. The book also argues that Balthasar's voice both complements and challenges contemporary critical theory and contends that postmodern interpretive methodology, with its careful critique of entrenched philosophical assumptions and reiterated codes of meaning, is not the threat to theological meaning that many fear. On the contrary, postmodernism can provide both literary critics and theologians alike with the tools that assess, challenge, and celebrate the theological imagination as it is depicted in literary art today.
James Voiss
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- March 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780823228089
- eISBN:
- 9780823236954
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fso/9780823228089.003.0013
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Hans Urs von Balthasar's theological project has often been juxtaposed to Karl Rahner's theological methodology and optimistic tenor. If Rahner was hopeful about the Catholic Church's engagement with ...
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Hans Urs von Balthasar's theological project has often been juxtaposed to Karl Rahner's theological methodology and optimistic tenor. If Rahner was hopeful about the Catholic Church's engagement with modernity and the progress of Vatican II, von Balthasar was highly critical of what he called the epic pretensions of the modern theological project. Von Balthasar's starting point in theological aesthetics is a markedly different starting point than Rahner's Transcendental Thomism. The two theologians, often at odds in their theological judgment of the other's work, continue to represent two competing visions of theological investigation today. This chapter offers a conciliatory reading of Rahner and von Balthasar and argues against the notion that Rahner lacks a theological aesthetic. In effect, it helps both to expose the somewhat artificial gap that exists between Rahner and von Balthasar's theology and to extend paths in which future Rahner scholarship might lead.Less
Hans Urs von Balthasar's theological project has often been juxtaposed to Karl Rahner's theological methodology and optimistic tenor. If Rahner was hopeful about the Catholic Church's engagement with modernity and the progress of Vatican II, von Balthasar was highly critical of what he called the epic pretensions of the modern theological project. Von Balthasar's starting point in theological aesthetics is a markedly different starting point than Rahner's Transcendental Thomism. The two theologians, often at odds in their theological judgment of the other's work, continue to represent two competing visions of theological investigation today. This chapter offers a conciliatory reading of Rahner and von Balthasar and argues against the notion that Rahner lacks a theological aesthetic. In effect, it helps both to expose the somewhat artificial gap that exists between Rahner and von Balthasar's theology and to extend paths in which future Rahner scholarship might lead.
Ed Block
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199795307
- eISBN:
- 9780199932894
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199795307.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
The theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar points out that life is the drama of God's action in the world. Drama has a unique capacity to illuminate that life and what it reveals about God. By its nature, ...
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The theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar points out that life is the drama of God's action in the world. Drama has a unique capacity to illuminate that life and what it reveals about God. By its nature, drama is the most incarnational of the literary genres: for its full realization it needs to be enfleshed, or incarnated. The play provides a glimpse of eternity. It also provides those who experience it with an opportunity for transcendence. The action beckons and invites audiences to approach a transformative truth that can be personally revelatory. The interplay of relationships is the essence of theater, and in this interplay the nature and ambiguity of existence itself can be revealed. Some plays with a distinctly Catholic sensibility are especially attuned to and revelatory of the relationship of the human and the divine. Two that deserve careful attention are Robert Bolt's A Man for All Seasons and Brian Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa. Both emphasize the interplay of relationships with the eternal meaning that springs from true self-knowledge. It is this interplay that allows individuals to enter into relationship with God and their neighbor.Less
The theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar points out that life is the drama of God's action in the world. Drama has a unique capacity to illuminate that life and what it reveals about God. By its nature, drama is the most incarnational of the literary genres: for its full realization it needs to be enfleshed, or incarnated. The play provides a glimpse of eternity. It also provides those who experience it with an opportunity for transcendence. The action beckons and invites audiences to approach a transformative truth that can be personally revelatory. The interplay of relationships is the essence of theater, and in this interplay the nature and ambiguity of existence itself can be revealed. Some plays with a distinctly Catholic sensibility are especially attuned to and revelatory of the relationship of the human and the divine. Two that deserve careful attention are Robert Bolt's A Man for All Seasons and Brian Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa. Both emphasize the interplay of relationships with the eternal meaning that springs from true self-knowledge. It is this interplay that allows individuals to enter into relationship with God and their neighbor.
Hans Boersma
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199552870
- eISBN:
- 9780191731037
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199552870.003.0011
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This chapter argues that nouvelle théologie was characterized by a sacramental sensibility that offered to the modern world a theological recovery of mystery and that this sensibility comes to the ...
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This chapter argues that nouvelle théologie was characterized by a sacramental sensibility that offered to the modern world a theological recovery of mystery and that this sensibility comes to the fore particularly in the understanding of truth as developed by theologians such as Henri Bouillard, Marie‐Dominique Chenu, Louis Charlier, and Hans Urs von Balthasar. This sacramental view of truth expanded the traditional Thomist doctrine of ‘analogy of being’ (analogia entis) from the area of ontology to that of epistemology. Just as one could say that creaturely being participated in God's being, so also creaturely truth participated in God's truth; at the same time, both divine being and divine truth infinitely transcended human being and human truth. A sacramental or analogical view of truth enabled the nouveaux théologiens to avoid the univocity and extrincisism of neo‐Thomism as well as the equivocity and relativism of Modernism.Less
This chapter argues that nouvelle théologie was characterized by a sacramental sensibility that offered to the modern world a theological recovery of mystery and that this sensibility comes to the fore particularly in the understanding of truth as developed by theologians such as Henri Bouillard, Marie‐Dominique Chenu, Louis Charlier, and Hans Urs von Balthasar. This sacramental view of truth expanded the traditional Thomist doctrine of ‘analogy of being’ (analogia entis) from the area of ontology to that of epistemology. Just as one could say that creaturely being participated in God's being, so also creaturely truth participated in God's truth; at the same time, both divine being and divine truth infinitely transcended human being and human truth. A sacramental or analogical view of truth enabled the nouveaux théologiens to avoid the univocity and extrincisism of neo‐Thomism as well as the equivocity and relativism of Modernism.
Michael Patrick Murphy
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195333527
- eISBN:
- 9780199868896
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195333527.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
Chapter 5 presents a reading of David Lodge's novel Therapy (1995) in light of Balthasar's Theo‐logic. Lodge does well to illustrate that the erasure of God that preoccupies postmodern consciousness ...
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Chapter 5 presents a reading of David Lodge's novel Therapy (1995) in light of Balthasar's Theo‐logic. Lodge does well to illustrate that the erasure of God that preoccupies postmodern consciousness significantly affects contemporary conceptions about “subject formation” and “people in relation.” Lodge develops these themes by constructing a narrative that mirrors both the theological trajectory of Balthasar's tripartite program and the existential progression identified by the Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard—namely, the aesthetic, ethical, and religious “stages” of human experience. Importantly, a close consideration of Kierkegaard's stages reveals a direct analogy with the transcendentals, which, in turn, illuminates one of the many reasons why Balthasar admired Kierkegaard and why Lodge's novel is a fertile literary example of Balthasar's Theologic. By a close consideration of the triadic structure of being presented by a variety of sources, the chapter begins to discern how God's logic—how human logic—exists in a trinitarian dynamic.Less
Chapter 5 presents a reading of David Lodge's novel Therapy (1995) in light of Balthasar's Theo‐logic. Lodge does well to illustrate that the erasure of God that preoccupies postmodern consciousness significantly affects contemporary conceptions about “subject formation” and “people in relation.” Lodge develops these themes by constructing a narrative that mirrors both the theological trajectory of Balthasar's tripartite program and the existential progression identified by the Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard—namely, the aesthetic, ethical, and religious “stages” of human experience. Importantly, a close consideration of Kierkegaard's stages reveals a direct analogy with the transcendentals, which, in turn, illuminates one of the many reasons why Balthasar admired Kierkegaard and why Lodge's novel is a fertile literary example of Balthasar's Theologic. By a close consideration of the triadic structure of being presented by a variety of sources, the chapter begins to discern how God's logic—how human logic—exists in a trinitarian dynamic.
Charles M. Stang
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199640423
- eISBN:
- 9780191738234
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199640423.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies, Religion and Literature
This chapter charts the reception of the CD from its first appearance in the sixth century to modern scholarship in the twentieth and twenty‐first centuries. This survey focuses on the manner in ...
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This chapter charts the reception of the CD from its first appearance in the sixth century to modern scholarship in the twentieth and twenty‐first centuries. This survey focuses on the manner in which readers have attended to questions of the authentic authorship of the CD, the relationship of its author and his theological enterprise to the life and writings of Paul, and the significance both of pseudonymity in general and of the particular pseudonym, Dionysius the Areopagite. The first section covers the contested reception of the CD in the sixth century. The second section leaps forward to the end of the nineteenth century and surveys the history of modern scholarship on Dionysius. The third and final section considers three promising leads from four scholars, Alexander Golitzin, Andrew Louth, Christian Schäfer, and Hans Urs von Balthasar, who have attempted to explain the significance of the pseudonym and the relevance of Paul.Less
This chapter charts the reception of the CD from its first appearance in the sixth century to modern scholarship in the twentieth and twenty‐first centuries. This survey focuses on the manner in which readers have attended to questions of the authentic authorship of the CD, the relationship of its author and his theological enterprise to the life and writings of Paul, and the significance both of pseudonymity in general and of the particular pseudonym, Dionysius the Areopagite. The first section covers the contested reception of the CD in the sixth century. The second section leaps forward to the end of the nineteenth century and surveys the history of modern scholarship on Dionysius. The third and final section considers three promising leads from four scholars, Alexander Golitzin, Andrew Louth, Christian Schäfer, and Hans Urs von Balthasar, who have attempted to explain the significance of the pseudonym and the relevance of Paul.
Michael Patrick Murphy
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195333527
- eISBN:
- 9780199868896
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195333527.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
Chapter 6 provides a short synthesis of the book. Balthasar's program challenges us to first “see the form” in the world, but also to see the Beautiful, the Good, and the True at work in a broad ...
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Chapter 6 provides a short synthesis of the book. Balthasar's program challenges us to first “see the form” in the world, but also to see the Beautiful, the Good, and the True at work in a broad variety of narrative art. The book finds that, while Balthasar presents us with some practical directives that aid in elucidating the presence and veracity of such a vision, the Catholic imagination proposed does not have a monopoly on such tendencies. At minimum, the examination of the Catholic imagination helps recover the legitimate place of a “theological imagination” in the critical study of literary and narrative art. One conclusion posited is that the careful restoration of the theological imagination to discourses in meaning will aid in reestablishing “a theology of criticism,” that is, the kind of criticism that cultivates a more inclusive array of epistemologies. Another conclusion is that many aspects of postmodern critical thought are helping develop a more grounded—and interdisciplinary—theology of language.Less
Chapter 6 provides a short synthesis of the book. Balthasar's program challenges us to first “see the form” in the world, but also to see the Beautiful, the Good, and the True at work in a broad variety of narrative art. The book finds that, while Balthasar presents us with some practical directives that aid in elucidating the presence and veracity of such a vision, the Catholic imagination proposed does not have a monopoly on such tendencies. At minimum, the examination of the Catholic imagination helps recover the legitimate place of a “theological imagination” in the critical study of literary and narrative art. One conclusion posited is that the careful restoration of the theological imagination to discourses in meaning will aid in reestablishing “a theology of criticism,” that is, the kind of criticism that cultivates a more inclusive array of epistemologies. Another conclusion is that many aspects of postmodern critical thought are helping develop a more grounded—and interdisciplinary—theology of language.
Paul M. Blowers
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780199673940
- eISBN:
- 9780191815829
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199673940.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies, Philosophy of Religion
This book contextualizes the achievement of a strategically crucial figure in Byzantium’s turbulent seventh century, the monk and theologian Maximus the Confessor (580–662). Building on newer ...
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This book contextualizes the achievement of a strategically crucial figure in Byzantium’s turbulent seventh century, the monk and theologian Maximus the Confessor (580–662). Building on newer research and international scholarship, as well as on fresh examination of its literary corpus, the book develops a profile integrating Maximus’s two principal initiatives: his reinterpretation of the christocentric economy of creation and salvation as a framework for expounding the spiritual and ascetical life of monastic and non-monastic Christians; and his involvement in the last phase of the ancient christological debates, the monothelete controversy, wherein Maximus helped lead an East–West coalition against Byzantine imperial attempts doctrinally to limit Christ to a single (divine) activity and will devoid of properly human volition. The book identifies what it terms Maximus’s “cosmo-politeian” worldview, a contemplative and ascetical vision of the participation of all created beings in the novel politeia, or reordered existence, inaugurated by Christ’s “new theandric energy.” Maximus ultimately insinuated his teaching on the christoformity and cruciformity of the human vocation with his rigorous explication of the precise constitution of Christ’s own composite person. In outlining this cosmo-politeian theory, the book sets forth a “theo-dramatic” reading of Maximus, inspired by Hans Urs von Balthasar, which depicts the motion of creation and history according to the christocentric “plot” or interplay of divine and creaturely freedoms. The book also amplifies how Maximus’s cumulative achievement challenged imperial ideology in the seventh century—the repercussions of which cost him his life—and how it generated multiple recontextualizations in the later history of theology.Less
This book contextualizes the achievement of a strategically crucial figure in Byzantium’s turbulent seventh century, the monk and theologian Maximus the Confessor (580–662). Building on newer research and international scholarship, as well as on fresh examination of its literary corpus, the book develops a profile integrating Maximus’s two principal initiatives: his reinterpretation of the christocentric economy of creation and salvation as a framework for expounding the spiritual and ascetical life of monastic and non-monastic Christians; and his involvement in the last phase of the ancient christological debates, the monothelete controversy, wherein Maximus helped lead an East–West coalition against Byzantine imperial attempts doctrinally to limit Christ to a single (divine) activity and will devoid of properly human volition. The book identifies what it terms Maximus’s “cosmo-politeian” worldview, a contemplative and ascetical vision of the participation of all created beings in the novel politeia, or reordered existence, inaugurated by Christ’s “new theandric energy.” Maximus ultimately insinuated his teaching on the christoformity and cruciformity of the human vocation with his rigorous explication of the precise constitution of Christ’s own composite person. In outlining this cosmo-politeian theory, the book sets forth a “theo-dramatic” reading of Maximus, inspired by Hans Urs von Balthasar, which depicts the motion of creation and history according to the christocentric “plot” or interplay of divine and creaturely freedoms. The book also amplifies how Maximus’s cumulative achievement challenged imperial ideology in the seventh century—the repercussions of which cost him his life—and how it generated multiple recontextualizations in the later history of theology.
