Hans Urs von Balthasar

Author profile

born

in Lucerne, Switzerland

August 12, 1905

died

June 26, 1988

gender

male

website

http://www.ignatius.com/balthasarbooks/balthasa...

genre

Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, History

influences

Henri De Lubac, Karl Barth, Jean Daniélou, Adrienne von Speyr, Origen

About this author

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Hans Urs von Balthasar was a Swiss theologian and priest who was nominated to be a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He is considered one of the most important theologians of the 20th century.

Born in Lucerne, Switzerland on 12 August 1905, he attended Stella Matutina (Jesuit school) in Feldkirch, Austria. He studied in Vienna, Berlin and Zurich, gaining a doctorate in German literature. He joined the Jesuits in 1929, and was ordained in 1936. He worked in Basel as a student chaplain. In 1950 he left the Jesuit order, feeling that God had called him to found a Secular Institute, a lay form of consecrated life that sought to work for the sanctification of the world especially from within. He joined the diocese of Chur. From the low point of be...more Hans Urs von Balthasar was a Swiss theologian and priest who was nominated to be a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He is considered one of the most important theologians of the 20th century.

Born in Lucerne, Switzerland on 12 August 1905, he attended Stella Matutina (Jesuit school) in Feldkirch, Austria. He studied in Vienna, Berlin and Zurich, gaining a doctorate in German literature. He joined the Jesuits in 1929, and was ordained in 1936. He worked in Basel as a student chaplain. In 1950 he left the Jesuit order, feeling that God had called him to found a Secular Institute, a lay form of consecrated life that sought to work for the sanctification of the world especially from within. He joined the diocese of Chur. From the low point of being banned from teaching, his reputation eventually rose to the extent that John Paul II asked him to be a cardinal in 1988. However he died in his home in Basel on 26 June 1988, two days before the ceremony. Balthasar was interred in the Hofkirche cemetery in Lucern.

Along with Karl Rahner and Bernard Lonergan, Balthasar sought to offer an intellectual, faithful response to Western modernism. While Rahner offered a progressive, accommodating position on modernity and Lonergan worked out a philosophy of history that sought to critically appropriate modernity, Balthasar resisted the reductionism and human focus of modernity, wanting Christianity to challenge modern sensibilities.

Balthasar is very eclectic in his approach, sources, and interests and remains difficult to categorize. An example of his eclecticism was his long study and conversation with the influential Reformed Swiss theologian, Karl Barth, of whose work he wrote the first Catholic analysis and response. Although Balthasar's major points of analysis on Karl Barth's work have been disputed, his The Theology of Karl Barth: Exposition and Interpretation (1951) remains a classic work for its sensitivity and insight; Karl Barth himself agreed with its analysis of his own theological enterprise, calling it the best book on his own theology.

Balthasar's Theological Dramatic Theory has influenced the work of Raymund Schwager.(less)

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Hans Urs von Balthasar's Books

Average rating: 4.30 · 1,167 ratings · 98 reviews · 110 distinct works · Similar authors

	Prayer by Hans Urs von Balthasar, Graham Harrison (Translator) 4.45 of 5 stars 4.45 avg rating — 89 ratings — published 1955 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Love Alone is Credible by Hans Urs von Balthasar, D.C. Schindler (Translator) 4.19 of 5 stars 4.19 avg rating — 83 ratings — published 2005	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dare We Hope That All Men Be Saved? 4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 avg rating — 58 ratings — published 1988 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mysterium Paschale: The Mystery of Easter by Hans Urs von Balthasar, Aidan Nichols (Introduction) 4.34 of 5 stars 4.34 avg rating — 47 ratings — published 1920 — 5 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Heart of the World by Hans Urs von Balthasar, Erasmo Leiva (Translator) 4.62 of 5 stars 4.62 avg rating — 40 ratings — published 1979 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Glory of the Lord: A Theological Aesthetics: Seeing the Form (The Glory of the Lord, #1) 4.8 of 5 stars 4.80 avg rating — 35 ratings — published 1982 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Theology of Karl Barth by Hans Urs von Balthasar, Edward T. Oakes (Translator) 4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 avg rating — 34 ratings — published 1951	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Cosmic Liturgy: The Universe According to Maximus the Confessor 4.59 of 5 stars 4.59 avg rating — 27 ratings — published 2003	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Theology of History 4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 28 ratings — published 1994	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Credo: Meditations on the Apostles' Creed by Hans Urs von Balthasar, David Kipp (Translator), Medard Kehl (Introduction) 4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 28 ratings — published 1990 — 5 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Hans Urs von Balthasar…

Quotes by Hans Urs von Balthasar

“What you are is God's gift to you, what you become is your gift to God.”
― Hans Urs von Balthasar, Prayer

tags: catholicism, christian-living, christianity, gift, god, inspirational, philosophy, spirituality

186 people liked it

“We no longer dare to believe in beauty and we make of it a mere appearance in order the more easily to dispose of it. Our situation today shows that beauty demands for itself at least as much courage and decision as do truth and goodness, and she will not allow herself to be separated and banned from her two sisters without taking them along with herself in an act of mysterious vengeance. We can be sure that whoever sneers at her name as if she were the ornament of a bourgeois past -- whether he admits it or not -- can no longer pray and soon will no longer be able to love.”
― Hans Urs von Balthasar, The Glory of the Lord: A Theological Aesthetics: Seeing the Form

27 people liked it

“It is to the Cross that the Christian is challenged to follow his Master: no path of redemption can make a detour around it.”
― Hans Urs von Balthasar, Unless You Become Like This Child

tags: catholicism, christ, christianity, cross, crucifixion, jesus, jesus-christ, redemption, suffering, the-cross, theology

15 people liked it

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Hans Urs von Balthasar

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combine editionsHans Urs von Balthasar's Books

Quotes by Hans Urs von Balthasar

combine editions
Hans Urs von Balthasar's Books