Theo-Drama Theological Dramatic Theory: The Last Act

by Balthasar, Hans Urs von

Edition: 1st

ISBN13: 9780898706895

ISBN10: 0898706890

Format: Hardcover

Pub. Date: 1998-04-01

Publisher(s): Ignatius Press

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Summary

This is the final volume of this series on "theological dramatic theory" by the great 20th century theologian Balthasar. This series is the second part of Balthasar's trilogy on the good, the beautiful and the true which is his major work. The first series in the trilogy is The Glory of the Lord, and following this Theo-Drama series will be Theo-Logic. In this series "the good" has been the focus. Balthasar maintains that it is in the theater that man attempts a kind of transcendence to observe and to judge his own truth about himself. He sees the phenomenon of theater as a source of fruitfulness for theological reflection on the cosmic drama that involves earth and heaven. This fifth volume is trinitarian, focusing on the mystery of God. He draws heavily on Scripture and many passages from the works of the mystic Adrienne von Spyer. Some of the topics covered include "A Christian Eschatology," "The World is from the Trinity," "Earth moves Heavenward," "The Final Act: A Trinitarian Drama."

Author Biography

Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905–1988) was a Swiss theologian widely regarded as one of the greatest theologians and spiritual writers of modern times. Named a cardinal by Pope John Paul II, he died shortly before being formally inducted into the College of Cardinals. He wrote over one hundred books, including Prayer, Heart of the World, Mary for Today, Love Alone Is Credible, Mysterium Paschale and his major multi-volume theological works: The Glory of the Lord, Theo-Drama and Theo-Logic.

Note

(2)

Abbreviations

(4)

INTRODUCTION

(42)

A. The Idea of a Christian Eschatology

(36)

1. Christ the Governing Center

(5)

2. The Johannine Emphasis

(10)

3. The Synoptic Discourses on the "End" and the Johannine Emphasis

(6)

4. The Day of the Lord and the Judgment

(9)

5. Jewish and Pagan Ideas of the "End" Are Fulfilled and Transcended

(6)

B. The Subject Matter of This Volume

(6)

I. THE WORLD IS FROM GOD

(130)

A. The World Is from the Trinity

(50)

1. The Scholastic Axiom

(5)

2. Implications

(33)

a. Being--Event--Becoming

(15)

b. Positivity of the "Other"

(4)

c. Positivity of Letting Go

(6)

d. Positivity of Time and Space

(4)

e. The Absolute Quality of Prayer

(4)

3. The Idea of the World

(12)

a. Time is from Eternity and to Eternity

100

(2)

b. The Self-Transcendence of Essence and Nature

102

(3)

c. Relationship, Reciprocity, Exchange

105

(6)

B. Earth Moves Heavenward

111

(80)

1. Dimensions of the World

111

(7)

2. Fulfillment in Christ and the Church

118

(23)

a. Christ the Trinitarian Meaning of the World

118

(13)

b. The Church as Prolongation of Christ

131

(10)

3. The Shape of Christian Hope

141

(50)

a. The Vertical Dimension

141

(11)

b. Horizontal Hope?

152

(1)

Alpha. Teilhard de Chardin

153

(1)

The Path to a Single Goal for the World

154

(4)

The Dimensions of Incarnation

158

(5)

Twilight Eschatology

163

(5)

Beta. Jurgen Moltmann

168

(1)

Salvaging Bloch

168

(7)

Integrating the Horizontal Dimension

175

(6)

c. God's Hope

181

(10)

II. ASPECTS OF THE FINAL ACT

191

(182)

A. The Final Act as Tragedy

191

(56)

1. The Difficulty: Human Refusal versus the Trinitarian Embrace

191

(3)

2. Judgment in the New Testament

194

(9)

a. Judgment in Paul

194

(3)

b. Judgment in the Synoptics

197

(2)

c. Johannine Judgment

199

(4)

3. The Devil

203

(9)

4. The Pain of God

212

(35)

a. In the Biblical Realm

214

(1)

Alpha. The Old Covenant and the Rabbis

214

(1)

Beta. The New Covenant

215

(1)

b. The Fathers

216

(1)

Alpha. God Is Both Impassible and (in the Son) Passible

216

(2)

Beta. The Opposite of "Apatheia"

218

(3)

Gamma. "Pathos" in the Impassible God

221

(1)

Delta. Conclusion

221

(2)

c. The Modern Period

223

(1)

Alpha. Theological Approaches

223

(1)

Beta. Hegel's Approach

224

(3)

Gamma. Theologies that Speak of Pain and Death in God's Essence

227

(1)

Jurgen Moltmann's Crucified (Trinitarian) God

227

(2)

Gerhard Koch's Dying and Rising God

229

(2)

Kazoh Kitamori's Theology of the Pain of God

231

(3)

Delta. Outlines of Creation and Covenant Theology

234

(1)

Bertrand R. Brasnett: "The Suffering of the Impassible God"

234

(2)

Karl Barth: God's Trinitarian Suffering in Christ

236

(3)

Jean Galot: The Question of the Pain of God

239

(3)

Epsilon. A Basis in the Immanent Trinity

242

(5)

B. The Final Act: A Trinitarian Drama

247

(76)

1. The Descent of the Son

247

(22)

a. Existence in Time as a Representation of Eternal Life

247

(3)

b. Death/Life; Sorrow/Joy

250

(6)

c. Separation as a Mode of Union

256

(9)

d. A Darkness Reserved to God Himself

265

(4)

2. The Question of Universal Salvation

269

(22)

a. The Problem

269

(3)

b. From the Old Aeon to the New

272

(7)

c. A Comprehensive Redemption

279

(6)

d. The Serious Possibility of Refusal

285

(6)

3. The Judgment of Christ

291

(9)

a. Man Judges Himself

291

(3)

b. Approaching the Verdict

294

(6)

4. Approaching the Reality of Hell

300

(23)

a. The Absolute Good: Freedom

300

(5)

b. Analogies of Timelessness

305

(6)

c. Kinds of Forsakenness

311

(3)

d. The Unusable Residue

314

(2)

e. Can Hope Deceive?

316

(7)

C. Man in God's Undergirding

323

(50)

1. Existence in the Life/Death of Christ

323

(23)

a. Death Underlies Everything

323

(9)

b. Living in Christ's Death, Christ's Life

332

(7)

c. Dying into Christ's Life, Christ's Death

339

(7)

2. The One Judgment

346

(27)

a. Judgment Universal and Personal

346

(5)

b. Resurrection and Exaltation

351

(5)

c. Holding Fast to the One Judgment

356

(4)

d. The One Judgment and the Purification

360

(13)

III. THE WORLD IN GOD

373

A. Embedded in God

373

(38)

1. He Ascends to Prepare a Place for Us

375

(10)

2. Recourse to the Idea

385

(9)

3. The Creature in God

394

(8)

4. Freedom, Vision and Creation

402

(9)

B. Reciprocity

411

(14)

1. Heaven to Earth

411

(6)

2. Earth to Heaven

417

(8)

C. In the Triune Life

425

(64)

1. Participation

425

(45)

a. Born of God and Endowed with the Spirit

425

(4)

b. Breathing with the Spirit: John of the Cross

429

(4)

c. "The Birth of the Son": Rhenish-Flemish Mysticism

433

(1)

Eckhart

434

(10)

Tauler

444

(8)

Suso

452

(5)

Ruysbroeck

457

(5)

d. The Birth of the Logos and Mary (or the Church)

462

(8)

2. Meal and Marriage

470

(19)

a. The Dialectic of Images

470

(5)

b. The Body and Self-Surrender

475

(7)

c. Communio Sanctorum

482

(7)

D. "If You Comprehend It, It Is Not God"

489

1. A Faceless Drama?

489

(9)

2. "This Slight Momentary Affliction"?

498

(8)

3. What Does God Gain from the World?

506

Theo-Drama Theological Dramatic Theory: The Last Act

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