Hans Urs Von Balthasar and Protestantism

Description

This book examines Balthasar's engagement with Protestantism, primarily in the persons of Martin Luther and Karl Barth, a topic which has not yet been given the attention it deserves. Furthermore, instead of focusing on particular theological issues, such as soteriology or ecclesiology, the book examines the implications of this engagement for Fundamental Theology. At the very root of Luther's confrontation with the Catholic Church of the Late Middle Ages, lies his antipathy for Aristotle and for "natural theology." In other words, the Protestant difference has as much to do with its suspicion of the treatment of faith and reason in Catholic thought as it does of the Catholic treatment of faith and works. This is a suspicion that is only exacerbated in Barth's identification of the "analogy of being" with the Antichrist. Balthasar takes these criticisms very seriously, and, in addressing them, not only has much of relevance to say to the Catholic-Protestant differences, but also has much to say to the Yale-Chicago differences. In short, this study treats primarily Balthasar's dialogue with Luther and Barth, with the hope that this dialogue will shed light on the impasse that seems to have arisen between the so-called "correlation" and "revelocentric" schools of contemporary theology. If, indeed, Christ is the "concrete universal," then we shouldn't have to decide between the two. Part of this proposal, then, is to emphasize the fact that Balthasar refuses to separate Fundamental and Dogmatic theology.

Rodney A. Howsare is Associate Professor of Fundamental Theology, DeSales University, Center Valley, Pennsylvania, USA.

"This study is a welcome addition to the growing library of books on von Balthasar." "in setting out so clearly and systematically the ecumenical origins and influences upon his theology, Howsare's book makes a notable contribution to the interpretation of von Balthasar and his wider reception across the ecumenical scene." -- Stephen Wigley "This study shatters any attempt to place Balthasar neatly into oppositional categories, such as 'revelocentric' over 'correlational' or 'conservative' over 'liberal'. In fact, Howsare's suggestion that Balthasar presents a 'revelocentric-correlational' theology is, in my estimation, the most satisfying description to date of the thrust of the Swiss thinker's thought...The author ends the book with the following thought: 'If I have enticed the reader to take a new look at Balthasar by presenting him in a dialogical light, then I feel this study will have accomplished its purpose' (p. 165). This reviewer has been enticed and is convinced that others will be too." Randall S. Rosenberg, Heythrop Journal Reviewed in Bollettino ballthasariano, 2006 -- Andre Marie-Jerumanis 'As an ecumenical theologian, von Balthasar sought to honor the true concerns of Luther and Barth within a richly Catholic context. Balancing a remarkable grasp of the philosophical tradition with a marvelous sympathy for 'the dignity of the particular', Rodney Howsare here presents the heart of the ecumenical achievement of the greatest Catholic theologian of our times. Cardinal von Schoenborn has written that the profound reception of the inspiration of the Reformation in von Balthasar is 'a great ecumenical task waiting to be done.' In this very careful yet readable work of genuine dialogue, Howsare has accomplished this blessed task with erudition and grace.'--Raymond Gawronski, SJ, Associate Professor of Theology, Marquette University, Wisconsin, USA * Blurb from reviewer * 'Dr. Rodney Howsare's new text on Balthasar and the Catholic dialogue with Protestantism fills a much needed gap in the secondary literature on Balthasar. All too often Balthasar's theology is labeled as "confessional" or "dogmatic" and is viewed, therefore, as unsuitable for use in dialogue with the non-Catholic world. Howsare demonstrates that this approach to Balthasar comes loaded with a set of highly debatable "Liberal" assumptions about the proper methodology for theology in an academic setting: namely, that any theology that wants to dialogue with the "other" must begin by first bracketing the specific faith claims of one's own religious tradition and seek after the Archimedean common denominator provided by secular reason. Despite the post-modern critique of this Liberal methodology theologians such as Balthasar who do not make neat distinctions between fundamental and dogmatic theology are still accused of a crypto fideism that must be overcome by the critical reason of the academy. Howsare's text calls this view to task and insists that a properly post-modern understanding of theology must make room for non-Liberal accounts of the nature of Christian rationality. In so doing he makes a strong case for the dialogical and ecumenical relevance of Balthasar's theology and radically challenges the hegemony that "transcendental" approaches have enjoyed over the past half century. A magisterial achievement that should be read by anyone interested in the relevance of Balthasar's theology for contemporary ecumenical discussion.'--Larry Chapp, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, Desales University, Pennsylvania, USA * Blurb from reviewer * 'Rodney Howsare's Hans Urs von Balthasar and Protestantism belongs to the exciting new wave of Balthasar studies in which the great Swiss theologian is interpreted rather than simply exposited. Howsare uncovers the ecumenical possibilities of Balthasar's theology by showing how crucial is Balthasar's engagement with the thought of Luther and Barth. Howsare shows with exceptional economy how this engagement helped to promote a positive view of Protestantism, assisted Catholicism in its self-critique, while at the same time sharpening rather than blunting the real differences between Protestantism and Catholicism on such important issues as the relation between nature and grace, creation and redemption, and Christ and culture. In doing so, Balthasar instantiated a mode of ecumencal dialogue that demands attention as we seek away beyond tendentious rhetorical and an accommodationism that respects the integrity neither of Protestantism nor Catholicism. This is a fine book. The voice is intelligent; the treatment of the topic judicious and balanced; the tone civil even when critical; the writing graceful and lucid.'--Cyril O'Regan, Huisking Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA * Blurb from reviewer *