Hans Urs von Balthasar and the Phenomenology of Art

Hans Urs von Balthasar and the Phenomenology of Art
Author: Brett David Potter
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 221
Release: 2022-09-23
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1793645507

The work of the influential Jesuit theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905–1988) has become a common point of reference in discussing the relationship of theology and the arts. However, the full significance of his theological aesthetics for both the emerging field of theology and the arts, as well as for interdisciplinary conversation with contemporary art and theory, remains to be unfolded. This book explores the ways in which Balthasar's theo-aesthetics, when taken together with his theological dramatics and theo-logic, yield a theologically informed phenomenology of the work of art with rich implications for contemporary theologies of art. By investigating the nature and disclosure of beauty and being through art, Balthasar's theological re-reading of Heidegger, his theo-dramatic relation of all forms to Christ, and his phenomenology of truth, Balthasar's philosophical and theological insights into the nature of art are presented as a resource for a constructive theology of art which "springs" from the depths of his theological aesthetics.

Hans Urs Von Balthasar and the Phenomenology of Art

Hans Urs Von Balthasar and the Phenomenology of Art
Author: Brett David Potter
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2022
Genre: Art
ISBN: 9781793645494

"This book uncovers the theological aesthetics of Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988), by sketching out a phenomenological approach to art and revelation, providing unexpected resources for a contemporary theology of art"--

Balthasar and Anxiety

Balthasar and Anxiety
Author: John R. Cihak
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 649
Release: 2011-10-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0567628175

This study offers a theological response to the problem of anxiety from the point of view of Hans Urs von Balthasar. It is a systematic presentation, analysis and development of Balthasar's original theology of anxiety found in his only work on the subject, Der Christ und die Angst. The study takes a thematic approach based upon the four types of analysis found in Der Christ und die Angst: phenomenological, anthropological, theological and ecclesial. These four approaches to the topic correspond to the phenomenon, origins, redemption and transformation of anxiety. Through this thematic approach, Balthasar's thought is examined in relation to some of the important figures on anxiety. The phenomenon of anxiety is presented in relation to modern psychiatry. The examination of anxiety's origins places him in dialogue with Kierkegaard on anxiety from discursive reasoning and Freud on anxiety from ego-consciousness. The redemption of anxiety places Balthasar in relation to Aquinas in order to clarify Balthasar's interpretation and to show its significance in the theological tradition. The transformation of anxiety places our author in dialogue with Luther on the shape of anxiety in the Christian life. The final chapter begins to unravel the construct of anxiety, with a brief exploration of how it is transformed in the Church according to Balthasar, something he had never explicitly developed. The influence of Bernanos on Balthasar's thought is felt throughout the study. The entire study is framed by the two Gardens wherein transpire the most significant events concerning anxiety for Balthasar: the Garden of Eden and the Garden of Gethsemane.

Theo-Logic, Vol. 1

Theo-Logic, Vol. 1
Author: Hans Urs von Balthasar
Publisher: Ignatius Press
Total Pages: 347
Release: 2000-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0898707188

Theo-Logic is the third and crowning 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. This is the third volume of Theo-Logic. 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 he 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.

The Contemplative Self After Michel Henry

The Contemplative Self After Michel Henry
Author: Joseph Rivera
Publisher: Thresholds in Philosophy and Theology
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2015
Genre: Ego (Psychology)
ISBN: 9780268040604

In The Contemplative Self after Michel Henry: A Phenomenological Theology, Joseph Rivera provides a close and critical reconstruction of the philosophical anthropology of Michel Henry (1922-2002) while also addressing the question of how theology contributes to Henry's phenomenology. In conversation with other French figures such as Derrida, Marion, Lacoste, and Barbaras, Rivera undertakes a global thematic study of Henry's work. He shows how, for Henry, the theological debate is shifted onto a phenomenological problem, with a coincident will to pursue the epistemological efforts of Husserl and Heidegger. The chapters tackle some of the most pressing debates in contemporary Continental philosophy, such as the "modern ego," the nature and experience of temporality, and the constitution of the body and otherness, and how a theological discourse may illumine those anthropological structures. The book expands on the modern narrative of the self from Descartes to Nietzsche, opens up the particular lines of inquiry Henry advances in dialogue with those figures and phenomenology in particular, and highlights the surprising theological turns in Henry's late work on Christianity. Because Henry's work is difficult, it is often misunderstood; Rivera's own vision of the self, one that is shaped by Henry but not in full agreement with him, advances insights internal to Henry but also brings into sharp focus many problematic points in Henry's phenomenological theology. An array of classical theological voices appear in the final chapters, such as St. Augustine, Tertullian, Irenaeus, Pseudo-Dionysius, and Gregory of Nyssa, all of whom are set in dialogue with Henry. A fresh and creative articulation of contemplation and selfhood, the volume is a valuable addition to the continuing conversation that seeks to build bridges between phenomenology and theology.

The Sacramentality of the World and the Mystery of Freedom

The Sacramentality of the World and the Mystery of Freedom
Author: Elisa Zocchi
Publisher:
Total Pages: 363
Release: 2021-02-18
Genre: Creation
ISBN: 9783402137413

The book offers the first in-depth study of Origen's presence in Hans Urs von Balthasar, not only considering his books on Origen, but also analyzing Origenian ideas that played a decisive role in his theological building. Starting from the historical context, the book connects Balthasar's reading of Origen to the main issues of 20th-century Catholic theology and to theologians like Henri de Lubac, Karl Rahner, and Karl Barth. The book moves then to the main theological elements traceable in the relationship between Origen and Balthasar: Eros, spiritual senses, freedom, and universal salvation. Throughout these ideas, Balthasar's attitude towards Origen emerges as dynamic and multifaceted.

Christ the Form of Beauty

Christ the Form of Beauty
Author: Francesca Aran Murphy
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 274
Release: 1995-03-04
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780567097088

Reveals the importance of the sacramental imagination as the key to the renewal of Christology and of modern Christian literature.

The Cambridge Companion to Hans Urs von Balthasar

The Cambridge Companion to Hans Urs von Balthasar
Author: Edward T. Oakes, S. J.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 403
Release: 2004-08-05
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1139826808

Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905–1988) is one of the most prolific, creative and wide-ranging theologians of the twentieth century who is just now coming to prominence. But because of his own daring speculations about the meaning of Christ's descent into hell after the crucifixion, about the uniqueness of Christ as savior of a pluralistic world, and because he draws so many of his resources for his theology from literature, drama, and philosophy, Balthasar has never been an easily-categorized theologian. He is neither liberal nor conservative, neither Thomist nor modernist and he seems to elude all attempts to capture the exact way he creatively reinterprets the tradition of Christian thought. For that reason, this Companion is singularly welcome bringing together a wide range of theologians both to outline and to assess the work of someone whom history will surely rank someday with Origen, John Calvin, and Karl Barth.

Hans Urs von Balthasar and the Critical Appropriation of Russian Religious Thought

Hans Urs von Balthasar and the Critical Appropriation of Russian Religious Thought
Author: Jennifer Newsome Martin
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Pess
Total Pages: 275
Release: 2015-09-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0268158754

In Hans Urs von Balthasar and the Critical Appropriation of Russian Religious Thought, Jennifer Newsome Martin offers the first systematic treatment and evaluation of the Swiss Catholic theologian’s complex relation to modern speculative Russian religious philosophy. Her constructive analysis proceeds through Balthasar’s critical reception of Vladimir Soloviev, Nicholai Berdyaev, and Sergei Bulgakov with respect to theological aesthetics, myth, eschatology, and Trinitarian discourse and examines how Balthasar adjudicates both the possibilities and the limits of theological appropriation, especially considering the degree to which these Russian thinkers have been influenced by German Idealism and Romanticism. Martin argues that Balthasar’s creative reception and modulation of the thought of these Russian philosophers is indicative of a broad speculative tendency in his work that deserves further attention. In this respect, Martin consciously challenges the prevailing view of Balthasar as a fundamentally conservative or nostalgic thinker. In her discussion of the relation between tradition and theological speculation, Martin also draws upon the understudied relation between Balthasar and F. W. J. Schelling, especially as Schelling's form of Idealism was passed down through the Russian thinkers. In doing so, she persuasively recasts Balthasar as an ecumenical, creatively anti-nostalgic theologian hospitable to the richness of contributions from extra-magisterial and non-Catholic sources.

Simone Weil's Philosophy of Culture

Simone Weil's Philosophy of Culture
Author: Richard H. Bell
Publisher: CUP Archive
Total Pages: 344
Release: 1993-03-04
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780521432634

This is an excellent treatment, by fourteen distinguished scholars, of some of the central strands in the philosophy of Simone Weil.