Hans Urs von Balthasar

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Hans Urs von Balthasar (August 12, 1905—June 26, 1988) was a Swiss theologian and was nominated to be a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.

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[edit] Life and significance

Born in Lucerne, Switzerland on August 12, 1905, he studied at Vienna, Berlin and Zurich, gaining a doctorate in German literature. He joined the Jesuits in 1928, 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 new religious order for laity. He joined the diocese of Chur. From being banned from teaching at this time his reputation 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 the 26th June 1988, 2 days before the ceremony. Hans Urs von Balthasar was interred in the Hofkirche cemetery in Lucern.

Along with Karl Rahner and Bernard Lonergan, Balthasar is one of the most important, if controversial, Roman Catholic theologians of the 20th century. All three 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 and all philosophical assumptions.[1]

Balthasar is very eclectic in his approach, sources, and interests and remains difficult to categorize. [2] 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 Roman 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.

[edit] Writings and contributions

Balthasar is a controversial figure who some believe departs from the Christian faith. This is particularly the case with respect to Mysterium Paschale, where he asserts that hell may be empty. Some believe this contradicts the Book of Revelation, the tradition of the Roman Catholic Church and the Papally-approved 'Vision of Hell' apparition at Fatima. However, He has never been condemned for this position by the magisterium and he died just before he was to become a cardinal. At Balthasar's funeral, Cardinal Ratzinger said "What the pope intended to express by this mark of distinction, and of honor, remains valid, no longer only private individuals but the Church itself, in its official responsibility, tells us that he is right in what he teaches of the faith" (http://www.nationalcatholicreporter.org/word/word112803.htm) Mysterium Paschale explores the meaning of Holy Saturday, where Jesus Christ dies and descends to the dead, to be resurrected by God the Father and His own power. Balthasar extrapolates that God can endure and conquer godlessness, abandonment, and death.

Balthasar is perhaps most well known for his works in three parts (his trilogy): The Glory of the Lord, a 7-volume work on 'theological aesthetics' (a theology of belief based on contemplation of the good, the beautiful, and the true); Theo-Drama: Theological Dramatic Theory, a 5-volume work on 'theodramatics', the action of God and the human response, especially in the events of Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday; and Theo-Logic, 3 volumes describing the relation of the nature of Jesus Christ (christology) to reality itself (ontology, or the study of being). .[3][4]


While of minor significance, he also wrote a forward for Valentin Tomberg's Méditations sûr les 22 arcanes majeurs du Tarot, a series of personal meditations on the relationship between Christianity and Theosophy. Tarot is censured as superstitious and possibly diabolic by traditional Christianity. Another distinctive thought in Balthasar's work is that our first experience after birth is the face of love of our mothers, where the I encounters for the first time the Thou, and the Thou smiles in a relationship of love and sustenance.[5]

Balthasar also wrote of the lives of saints and church fathers. Saints appear as an example of the lived Christian life throughout his writings. Instead of merely systematic analysis of theology, Balthasar described his theology as a "kneeling theology," deeply connected to contemplative prayer, and as a "sitting theology," intensely connected to faith seeking understanding guided by the heart and mind of the Catholic Church.[6]

As a Roman Catholic priest and member of a religious order, Balthasar was very concerned that he address spiritual and practical issues. He insisted that his theology never be divorced from the mystical experiences of his long-time friend and convert, the physician Adrienne von Speyr. Many question his devotion to von Speyr and his uncritical acceptance of the validity of her alleged 'mystical experiences'.

Balthasar has varied published works, spanning many decades, fields of study (e.g., literature and literary analysis, lives of the saints, and the Church Fathers), and languages. Balthasar has an enduring legacy as one of the most important Roman Catholic theologians of the 20th century. Most, but not all, of his major writings have been translated into English, and the journal he co-founded with Henri de Lubac, Walter Cardinal Kasper, and Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI), Communio, currently appears in twelve languages, including Arabic. [7]

[edit] References

  1. ^ (2004) in Edward T. Oakes, SJ, and David Moss: The Cambridge Companion to Hans Urs von Balthasar. Cambridge University Press, 262. ISBN 0521891477. 
  2. ^ (2004) in Edward T. Oakes, SJ, and David Moss: The Cambridge Companion to Hans Urs von Balthasar. Cambridge University Press, 2. ISBN 0521891477. 
  3. ^ Pitstick, Alyssa Lyra (2007). Light in Darkness: Hans Urs Von Balthasar and the Catholic Doctrine of Christ's Descent into Hell. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISBN 0802840396. 
  4. ^ Grisez, Germain Gabriel (1983). The way of the Lord Jesus, Volume 1: Christian Moral Principles. Franciscan Press. ISBN 0819908614. 
  5. ^ (2004) in Edward T. Oakes, SJ, and David Moss: The Cambridge Companion to Hans Urs von Balthasar. Cambridge University Press, 236. ISBN 0521891477. 
  6. ^ (2004) in Edward T. Oakes, SJ, and David Moss: The Cambridge Companion to Hans Urs von Balthasar. Cambridge University Press, 265. ISBN 0521891477. 
  7. ^ Colón-Emeric, Edgardo Antonio (May 31, 2005). "Symphonic Truth: Von Balthasar and Christian Humanism". The Christian Century: 30. 

[edit] External links

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