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Theo-Logic: Theological Logical Theory #2
Theo-Logic: Theological Logical Theory: Truth of God
Theo-Logic is the third part of the great trilogy of the masterwork of theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar, following his first two parts, The Glory of the Lord and Theo-Drama. Theo-Logic is a variation of theology, it being about not so much what man says about God, but what God speaks about himself. Balthasar does not address the truth about God until the first reflects on the beauty of God (The Glory of the Lord). Then he follows with his reflections on the great drama of our salvation and the goodness and mercy of the God who saves us (Theo-Drama). Now, in this work, he is ready to reflect on the truth that God reveals about himself, which is not something abstract or theoretical, but rather the concrete and mysterious richness of God's being as a personal and loving God.
371 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2004
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88 people want to read
About the author
Hans Urs von Balthasar
439 books315 followersHans 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.
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.
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March 17, 2019
In this book von Balthasar explores the nature of Jesus Christ as the expositor of God; the only being who understands God (since he is God) and also understands man (since he is man), and so the only being who can speak both languages, in a manner of speaking. Jesus' words and actions during his mortal life were insufficient to this task; all 4 gospels make clear that even his apostles did not understand his sayings until after his death, resurrection, and ascension.
And so von Balthasar also tackles Our Lord's experience in Hell on Good Saturday; these pages being the source of much of the controvery surrounding von Balthasar. Von Balthasar takes Our Lord's words on the Cross ("My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?") in a different way, as applying to his whole being (Jesus having two natures, but a single personality, hence a single subject, so that everything Jesus experiences, he experiences fully as both man and God). Von Balthasar explores what it means for the persons of the Trinity to be absent from each other.
It is already hard enough to grasp the Trinity, so I am even more unable to grasp the idea of subsistent relationships (this being a technical term for the relationship of the persons in the Trinity to each other) being truly forsaken. As we all know, the greatest of theologians and saints go astray at times; Thomas Aquinas considered and rejected the idea of the Immaculate Conception. So even if von Balthasar is mistaken in this matter - and I am not sure either way - he remains a substantial and original thinker, full of insight, while never suggesting or encouraging or even considering the possibility of a rupture with the Church.
And so von Balthasar also tackles Our Lord's experience in Hell on Good Saturday; these pages being the source of much of the controvery surrounding von Balthasar. Von Balthasar takes Our Lord's words on the Cross ("My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?") in a different way, as applying to his whole being (Jesus having two natures, but a single personality, hence a single subject, so that everything Jesus experiences, he experiences fully as both man and God). Von Balthasar explores what it means for the persons of the Trinity to be absent from each other.
It is already hard enough to grasp the Trinity, so I am even more unable to grasp the idea of subsistent relationships (this being a technical term for the relationship of the persons in the Trinity to each other) being truly forsaken. As we all know, the greatest of theologians and saints go astray at times; Thomas Aquinas considered and rejected the idea of the Immaculate Conception. So even if von Balthasar is mistaken in this matter - and I am not sure either way - he remains a substantial and original thinker, full of insight, while never suggesting or encouraging or even considering the possibility of a rupture with the Church.
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