Theological Aesthetics After Von Balthasar

This collection of essays by distinguished authors explores the present-day field of theological aesthetics: from von Balthasar’s contribution and parallel developments to correctives and alternatives to his approach. A tribute to von Balthasar’s own project expands into a dialogue with ancient and medieval traditions in search of revelatory aesthetics. The contributors outline challenges to his approach (including Protestant perspectives) and introduce new ways of viewing the field of theological aesthetics, which ultimately opens up to the idea of concrete cultural contexts and practical human needs determining the use of the arts and aesthetic sensibilities in theology.

opens with a critical review of developments in Protestant and Catholic theology since the Reformation which have led to the steady neglect of aesthetics in Christian theology. Then, von Balthasar turns to the central theme of the volume, the question of theological knowledge. He re-examines the nature of Christian believing, drawing widely on such theological figures as Anselm, Pascal and Newman.

Critically assessing Balthasar's interpretation of scripture in The Glory of the Lord: A Theological Aesthetics, Dickens demonstrates the extent to which his approach to scripture abides by certain pre-modern interpretive conventions.

Art and theology are two different ways of making meaning. Art is a matter of inspiration and intuition. It needs neither standards, nor guidelines. It does not follow predictable patterns, nor is it determined by any specific goal. Theology is similar in that it generates meaning in order to understand and communicate faith. It explores the continuities and discontinuities between divine and human creations through metaphors, images and the play of ideas. Unlike art however, theology is primarily a matter of reason. It follows patterns of consistency and coherence, and is shaped by the will to clarify and explain. Can art offer a way of understanding the nature of theology despite these differences? The twentieth century Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988) wrote a seven volume masterpiece on theological aesthetics. He restructured theology around basic aesthetic concepts like form and beauty. The present study offers a critical analysis of Balthasar's work against the background of contemporary debates on theological foundations. The author approaches this task through a careful rereading of two of Balthasar's key sources: Nicholas of Cusa and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling. In this way the author rediscovers hidden undercurrents in modernity from Renaissance aesthetics to German Idealism. The result is a theological aesthetics rooted in tradition and capable of understanding and communicating faith in the face of present day challenges.

*Presents a rigorous reexamination of von Balthasars interpretation of major ancient and medieval texts*

The publication of Hans Urs von Balthasar's seven-volume The Glory of the Lord established von Balthasar as one of the greatest and most influential Catholic theologians of the twentieth-century.