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Theology for the Third Millennium: An Ecumenical View by Kung, Hans
Discusses theological issues, the principles of Christian theology, the relationship between Christianity and the world's religions, and the postmodernism of Karl Barth
316 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 24, 2024
KÜNG's PROPOSALS FOR A 21ST CENTURY CHRISTIANITY
Hans Küng (born 1928) is a Swiss Catholic priest, theologian, and author, who was famously censured by the Vatican in 1979 (see ‘Kung in Conflict,’ ‘The New Inquisition? The Case of Edward Schillebeeckx and Hans Kung,’ ‘The Kung Dialogue: Facts and Documents’) and declared no longer authorized to teach "Catholic theology," though he remains a priest in good standing. He has written many other books, such as 'On Being a Christian,' 'Does God Exist?: An Answer for Today,' 'Eternal Life?: Life After Death as a Medical, Philosophical and Theological Problem,' etc.
He wrote in the Foreword to this 1988 book, "This book is a document of a theologian's intellectual career. It discloses the standards and guidelines I have followed as I do theology and as I intend to go on doing it. This path led in a period of around three decades through confrontation with various Christian traditions to a truly ecumenical theology... 'My' hermeneutics... has always been seeking internal Catholic and ecumenical consensus..."
He observes that "the death of religion expected in late modernity has not taken place... Not religion, but its dying off, was the grand illusion." (Pg. 7) He suggests that each confession (Protestantism, Orthodoxy, Catholicism) "should preserve what is good in its own tradition, but it should overcome its sectarian limitations and accept what is good in the other confessions." (Pg. 59) He argues that the "unconditionally reliable reality... is not the Bible texts and not the Fathers of the Church, nor the Church's magisterium, but God himself, as he spoke for believers through Jesus Christ." (Pg. 62) He asserts that "Through historico-critical research on Jesus, Christian faith is historically justified ... and protected against both churchly and unchurchly misinterpretations... There must be no contradiction between the Christ of faith and the Jesus of history." (Pg. 111)
Later, he concludes that "We must not forget the followers of other religions are to be respected as such, and not to be subsumed in a Christian theology." (Pg. 236) Other religions can have a "positive validity," and are "conditionally true," which, "so far as they do not contradict the Christian message on decisive points, can by all means complete, correct, and enrich the Christian religion." (Pg. 254)
All of Kung's theological works are challenging and well worth reading; this one is particularly noteworthy for its focus on theological "method."
Hans Küng (born 1928) is a Swiss Catholic priest, theologian, and author, who was famously censured by the Vatican in 1979 (see ‘Kung in Conflict,’ ‘The New Inquisition? The Case of Edward Schillebeeckx and Hans Kung,’ ‘The Kung Dialogue: Facts and Documents’) and declared no longer authorized to teach "Catholic theology," though he remains a priest in good standing. He has written many other books, such as 'On Being a Christian,' 'Does God Exist?: An Answer for Today,' 'Eternal Life?: Life After Death as a Medical, Philosophical and Theological Problem,' etc.
He wrote in the Foreword to this 1988 book, "This book is a document of a theologian's intellectual career. It discloses the standards and guidelines I have followed as I do theology and as I intend to go on doing it. This path led in a period of around three decades through confrontation with various Christian traditions to a truly ecumenical theology... 'My' hermeneutics... has always been seeking internal Catholic and ecumenical consensus..."
He observes that "the death of religion expected in late modernity has not taken place... Not religion, but its dying off, was the grand illusion." (Pg. 7) He suggests that each confession (Protestantism, Orthodoxy, Catholicism) "should preserve what is good in its own tradition, but it should overcome its sectarian limitations and accept what is good in the other confessions." (Pg. 59) He argues that the "unconditionally reliable reality... is not the Bible texts and not the Fathers of the Church, nor the Church's magisterium, but God himself, as he spoke for believers through Jesus Christ." (Pg. 62) He asserts that "Through historico-critical research on Jesus, Christian faith is historically justified ... and protected against both churchly and unchurchly misinterpretations... There must be no contradiction between the Christ of faith and the Jesus of history." (Pg. 111)
Later, he concludes that "We must not forget the followers of other religions are to be respected as such, and not to be subsumed in a Christian theology." (Pg. 236) Other religions can have a "positive validity," and are "conditionally true," which, "so far as they do not contradict the Christian message on decisive points, can by all means complete, correct, and enrich the Christian religion." (Pg. 254)
All of Kung's theological works are challenging and well worth reading; this one is particularly noteworthy for its focus on theological "method."
February 14, 2020
Still timely
My interest in this book came from his treatment of Karl Barth. It was truly enjoyable to read the entirety of it. I would recommend it to all.
My interest in this book came from his treatment of Karl Barth. It was truly enjoyable to read the entirety of it. I would recommend it to all.
August 14, 2013
I've just read this book for the second time. It is a little uneven in places (maybe not surprising given that much of the material was originally published in journal articles) and by no means are all the arguments Küng puts forth equally compelling. But I believe this an important work and, frankly, I found it quite engaging. In a nutshell, this book tries to provide a framework for truly ecumenical theology. Throughout the bulk of the work, this means ecumenical in the context of Christianity (Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox), though he does have some interesting, and tantalizing, comments about world religions. I wish they had been developed more fully.
The idea of paradigm shift in the sense of Kuhn's "Structure of Scientific Revolutions" is central to the development, and a theme to which Küng returns again and again is an emerging ecumenical post-modern paradigm. I think most readers today will find his concept of post-modernity a bit idiosyncratic, but rather than argue over terminology, I think it is best to accept the book on its own terms. Clearly, the book is meant to be an exploration of ideas, and an attempt to grapple with the question of how to do theology in an intellectually and historico-critically honest fashion.
Some readers may be dissuaded from picking up this book because they are not Catholic. The author, of course is a Catholic theologian, though he lost his license to teach over various disagreements with Rome, notably papal infallibility. It is interesting that the university (I believe this was Tübingen) created a chair in ecumenical theology, allowing him to continue to teach! The author writes as a committed Catholic, but perhaps paradoxically as astringent supporter (and friend) of the famous Swiss Protestant theologian Karl Barth. Frankly, I'm not sufficiently familiar with Barth's theology to really appreciate the final section of this book which is devoted to Barth. But is interesting and thought provoking, and I'm sure I will return to it. This a book that warrants being read more than once.
The idea of paradigm shift in the sense of Kuhn's "Structure of Scientific Revolutions" is central to the development, and a theme to which Küng returns again and again is an emerging ecumenical post-modern paradigm. I think most readers today will find his concept of post-modernity a bit idiosyncratic, but rather than argue over terminology, I think it is best to accept the book on its own terms. Clearly, the book is meant to be an exploration of ideas, and an attempt to grapple with the question of how to do theology in an intellectually and historico-critically honest fashion.
Some readers may be dissuaded from picking up this book because they are not Catholic. The author, of course is a Catholic theologian, though he lost his license to teach over various disagreements with Rome, notably papal infallibility. It is interesting that the university (I believe this was Tübingen) created a chair in ecumenical theology, allowing him to continue to teach! The author writes as a committed Catholic, but perhaps paradoxically as astringent supporter (and friend) of the famous Swiss Protestant theologian Karl Barth. Frankly, I'm not sufficiently familiar with Barth's theology to really appreciate the final section of this book which is devoted to Barth. But is interesting and thought provoking, and I'm sure I will return to it. This a book that warrants being read more than once.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews