NATURE AND GRACE: Dilemmas of the Modern Church

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Karl Rahner's name commands respect today not only in modern theological in which he probably ranks first, but among Christians in general -- lay and clerical. For that reason publishers are eager to add his distinguished name to their lists. This collection of random pieces from a variety of sources is representative anxiety. The title really applies solely to the last chapter. Certainly only by editorial stretching would the subtitle apply to it. The first three chapters do indeed deal with Dilemmas in the Modern Church and in unusually lucid form for theologish Rahner. (This cannot be said of the last chapter.) It is satisfying to follow Bahner as he describes three dangers; one which finds the individual immersing himself in the refuge of the mass of the people of the Church; the other which finds him making moral decisions as an individual without recognizing obligations to the universal law of the Church; and another showing the individual indulging in a new form of heresy which departs from the Church's teaching to create esoteric and utiligaroan theories. An odd chapter (worth the price of the book) emphasizes the sacramental basis of the layman's position in the Church. It somehow doesn't tie in except remotely with either the title or the subtitle. But even though this potpourri might be at best a Karl Rahner ""reader,"" those essays will be welcome.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Sheed & Ward

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1964

Categories: NONFICTION