A THEOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

by Hans Urs Von Balthasar ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 15, 1967

Basic to the present Catholic trend toward a greater involvement in ""the world"" is a recognition, at least implicit, that traditional Christianity can no longer claim an exclusive, all-embracing vision of the universe or even of man's place in it. There is, then, a need for the development of a ""theological anthropology"" which considers man under the aspect of a being open to transcendence. Dr. Von Balthasar, an eminent Swiss theologian, lays the groundwork for such a science in this book. His purpose is not to compile a comprehensive treatise on the theology of man in history, but simply to outline a middle way between the extremes of either a wholly secularized Christianity or an impossibly sacralized society: ""the program of the Lamb."" It is a program which is ""traditional"" in that it builds upon Augustine's radical doctrine of time, but revolutionary in that the author proposes solutions that contravene, or at least contradict, the devotion of both traditionalists and progressives to a psychologically satisfying, but intellectually untenable, integralism. Like the author's earlier A Theology of History, A Theological Anthropology is a highly original and creative contribution, but one which, because of its area of concern and the abstract nature of its considerations, will be of interest only to the professional theologian.

Pub Date: Nov. 15, 1967

ISBN: 1608995291

Page Count: -

Publisher: Sheed & Ward

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1967

Categories: NONFICTION