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Balthasar, Hans Urs von
Balthasar, Hans Urs von (1905–88). Roman Catholic theologian. In 1969, he was appointed to the International Theological Commission, and in 1988 was nominated to be a cardinal but died before this could be put into effect. As a philosophical theologian, von Balthasar emphasized the necessary openness of human nature to exploration and creativity. In his Herrlichkeit: Eine theologische Asthetik (Eng. tr., The Glory of the Lord: A Theological Aesthetics, 1982, 1984, 1986), he insisted on the importance of the form which is more than the sum of its parts: to perceive the beauty of an object or of a harmony is to grasp the wholeness of it which is never exhausted. Thus God reveals himself, not simply in truth and goodness, but as beauty. Here is the perfected form of love, which is so urgent in its self-giving that it draws the one who contemplates it into a corresponding act of unreserved giving. On this basis, von Balthasar completed his massive trilogy with his Theodramatik (1973, 1976, 1978) and Theologik (1985, 1985, 1987): because God has dramatically expressed his love and displayed his glory in his Son, so we can know that he has spoken a definitive word of truth.
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JOHN BOWKER. "Balthasar, Hans Urs von." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN BOWKER. "Balthasar, Hans Urs von." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-BalthasarHansUrsvon.html JOHN BOWKER. "Balthasar, Hans Urs von." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-BalthasarHansUrsvon.html |
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Balthasar, Hans Urs von
Balthasar, Hans Urs von (1905–88), Swiss theologian. In 1929 he became a Jesuit. From 1940 to 1948 he was university chaplain at Basle. Here he met Adrienne von Speyr, a medical doctor and mystic; he became the amanuensis of her visions and editor of her works. In 1950 he left the Jesuits to set up a Secular Institute under her inspiration. He was nominated a cardinal in 1988 but died before admitted to the office.
His literary output was enormous and varied. His greatest achievement lay in his incomplete Herrlichkeit (1961–9; Eng. tr., The Glory of the Lord, 1982–91) and its subsidiary volumes. God's glory was seen as the central concept of the biblical revelation, primarily beautiful, then also true and good. This concept broadens the basis of theology by uniting knowledge and love in contemplation. |
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Cite this article
E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Balthasar, Hans Urs von." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Balthasar, Hans Urs von." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-BalthasarHansUrsvon.html E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Balthasar, Hans Urs von." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-BalthasarHansUrsvon.html |
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