Theology in History

by Henri de Lubac

The unique insight and impressive scholarship of the eminent French theologian Cardinal Henri de Lubac are clearly evident in this volume of collected articles and essays. An article of great timeliness on the priesthood according to St. John Chrysostom as well as an important study of the long debate over the salvation of Origen are among the texts included in the first section, devoted to patristics and Christian humanism. The second section, comprised entirely of an unpublished work on tripartite anthropology tracing the body-soul-spirit distinction from St. Paul, the patristic tradition, St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, up to the modern period, will prove an invaluable guide for further study and reflection. The section concludes with a beautiful text entitled "The Light of Christ", a prayerful meditation written during the dark hours of Nazi domination. Section three deals with disputed theological questions such as the internal causes of the disappearance of the sense of the sacred, the mystery of the supernatural, and the development of dogma. He also has a section on Christian resistance to Nazism and anti-semitism, as well as two sections on the thought and writings of several important modern spiritual writers.

625 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1996

About the author

Henri-Marie de Lubac, SJ (1896-1991) was a French Jesuit priest who became a Cardinal of the Catholic Church, and is considered to be one of the most influential theologians of the 20th century. His writings and doctrinal research played a key role in the shaping of the Second Vatican Council.

De Lubac became a faculty member at Catholic Faculties of Theology of Lyons, where he taught history of religions until 1961. His pupils included Jean Daniélou and Hans Urs von Balthasar. De Lubac was created cardinal deacon by Pope John Paul II on February 2, 1983 and received the red biretta and the deaconry of S. Maria in Domnica, February 2, 1983. He died on September 4, 1991, Paris and is buried in a tomb of the Society of Jesus at the Vaugirard cemetery in Paris.