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The Glory of the Lord: A Theological Aesthetics #5
The Realm of Metaphysics in the Modern Age
In this second volume on the metaphysical traditions of the West, von Balthasar presents a series of studies of representative mystics, theologians, philosophers and poets and explores the three main streams of metaphysics which have developed since the 'catastrophe' of Nominalism.
The way of self-abandonment to the divine glory is traced through figures like Eckhart, Julian of Norwich, Ignatius, de Sales; the attempt to relocate theology in a recovery of antiquity's sense of being and beauty through figures like Nicholas of Cusa, Holderlin, Goethe, Heidegger; the metaphysics of spirit through Descartes, Leibniz, Spinoza, and the Idealists. The strengths and weaknesses of these ways are relentlessly exposed.
The volume ends with the search for the Christian contribution to metaphysics.
624 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1990
About the author
Hans Urs von Balthasar
406 books280 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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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 11, 2016
“Long, but worth it”, he said, the insistent way that is trying to not sound simply smug but is in fact and obviously proud of having finished such a long and difficult book that people use when they talk about Infinite Jest.
1/7; 2/16.
1/7; 2/16.
February 23, 2022
Hard to get bored with Balthasar (assuming mostly-Western philosophical and theological figures are entertaining)
February 16, 2016
This book reviews the history of Western metaphysics in some detail. In the first half von Balthasar reviews the metaphysics of the saints: St. Ignatius, St. John of the Cross; here he talks about self-abandonment and indifference (indifference not in the sense of apathy, but in the sense of accepting God's will). He also reviews "holy folly": the worldly foolishness of Don Quixote and Prince Myshkin (Dostoevsky's "Idiot").
In the second half von Balthasar reviews what we normally think of as metaphysics: long-winded German philosopher types like Schiller and Hegel. This part was pretty heavy going as I am not too familiar with German idealism.
The last two chapters summarize this volume and all 4 previous volumes: after the heavy philosophy comes the most amazing two chapters of just about any theology or philosophy I ever read. The last two chapters will bear many re-readings.
von Balthasar says the key question of all metaphysics is just this: Why is there anything, instead of nothing at all? Why does anything exist? He says the German idealists avoided this question; instead they asked Why are things the way they are? Which is a much different question than "Why is there anything that exists at all?"
In the last two chapters, he boils down metaphysics to four "distinctions":
1. The primal experience of the child: "I exist! I am distinct from the world". Everything after this is just so much more detail. The original philosophical wonder is this: I exist, I see the world!
2. "Other beings also exist - I share the world with my other beings!" Not only do I exist, but many other things exist too.
3. "The distinct separate existence of everything that actually exists, is not quite the same as BEING/EXISTENCE itself". All distinct 'existents' take part in BEING, but BEING is not the same as everything that exists.
Much of modern metaphysics is to reduce the relationship of distinct beings with BEING, to a relationship of necessity, or necessary progress. That is a major problem: it withdraws freedom from the world; it denies free will and agency. I learned a long time ago to ignore any philosopher that denies human agency and free will.
4. "Both distinct beings and BEING are grounded in a transcendent divine being, a creator that is not a distinct being and not BEING, but the sovereign and free creator of all that is."
This fourth distinction is the key step to make sense of the world (BEING) and our place in it (distinct beings). When philosophy leaves out this step, it becomes twisted and deformed, and ends up removing both freedom and love from the world:
In the last chapter von Balthasar challenges modern Christian metaphysics: to restore this 4th distinction, to show the true meaning of the world, to bring love and glory (indeed, "The Glory of the Lord") back to a mechanized and impoverished world.
I noticed this book was first published in 1965, which is the very year that everything changed. The year of the closing of the 2nd Vatican council; the year the Church effectively decided to abandon Christian metaphysics; the year the Church decided to conform to the world; the year the Church jettisoned the organic transcendent vertical Mass of the Lord's Body and Blood, and instead adopted a closed-in circular horizontal Protestantized "service".
It is only 51 years since then, and many people think the Church, or some significant groups within the Church, are finding their way back to God. I certainly hope so.
If more people read von Balthasar, maybe this reconstruction of sanity will proceed just a little faster.
In the second half von Balthasar reviews what we normally think of as metaphysics: long-winded German philosopher types like Schiller and Hegel. This part was pretty heavy going as I am not too familiar with German idealism.
The last two chapters summarize this volume and all 4 previous volumes: after the heavy philosophy comes the most amazing two chapters of just about any theology or philosophy I ever read. The last two chapters will bear many re-readings.
von Balthasar says the key question of all metaphysics is just this: Why is there anything, instead of nothing at all? Why does anything exist? He says the German idealists avoided this question; instead they asked Why are things the way they are? Which is a much different question than "Why is there anything that exists at all?"
In the last two chapters, he boils down metaphysics to four "distinctions":
1. The primal experience of the child: "I exist! I am distinct from the world". Everything after this is just so much more detail. The original philosophical wonder is this: I exist, I see the world!
2. "Other beings also exist - I share the world with my other beings!" Not only do I exist, but many other things exist too.
3. "The distinct separate existence of everything that actually exists, is not quite the same as BEING/EXISTENCE itself". All distinct 'existents' take part in BEING, but BEING is not the same as everything that exists.
Much of modern metaphysics is to reduce the relationship of distinct beings with BEING, to a relationship of necessity, or necessary progress. That is a major problem: it withdraws freedom from the world; it denies free will and agency. I learned a long time ago to ignore any philosopher that denies human agency and free will.
4. "Both distinct beings and BEING are grounded in a transcendent divine being, a creator that is not a distinct being and not BEING, but the sovereign and free creator of all that is."
This fourth distinction is the key step to make sense of the world (BEING) and our place in it (distinct beings). When philosophy leaves out this step, it becomes twisted and deformed, and ends up removing both freedom and love from the world:
In the last chapter von Balthasar challenges modern Christian metaphysics: to restore this 4th distinction, to show the true meaning of the world, to bring love and glory (indeed, "The Glory of the Lord") back to a mechanized and impoverished world.
I noticed this book was first published in 1965, which is the very year that everything changed. The year of the closing of the 2nd Vatican council; the year the Church effectively decided to abandon Christian metaphysics; the year the Church decided to conform to the world; the year the Church jettisoned the organic transcendent vertical Mass of the Lord's Body and Blood, and instead adopted a closed-in circular horizontal Protestantized "service".
It is only 51 years since then, and many people think the Church, or some significant groups within the Church, are finding their way back to God. I certainly hope so.
If more people read von Balthasar, maybe this reconstruction of sanity will proceed just a little faster.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews