Studies in Theology, Society and Culture, Volume 3: Karl Rahner: Theologian for the Twenty-first Century ed. by Pádraic Conway and Fáinche Ryan (review)

In some circles it is taken for granted that the future of Roman Catholicism is Balthasarian and/or Ratzingerian, not Rahnerian. This volume collects essays that insist to the contrary that "the future of Karl Rahner's theology is still to come" (xii). It is composed largely of essays presented at a conference called "Karl Rahner: Theologian for the Twenty-first Century?" held in the spring of 2009 at University College, Dublin.

The book is arranged in three parts. Part 1, "Rahner's Legacy and Reputation Today," begins with Declan Marmion's "Some Aspects of the Theological Legacy of Karl Rahner" (3-22), which gives an overview of major themes in Rahner's theology, especially as they relate to Vatican ii, and situates Rahner within today's postmodern context as a "moderate" postmodern perspective. In "Rahner and Metaphysics" (23-38), Joseph O'Leary critiques the universalizing tendencies of Rahner's metaphysical system, especially as expressed in Foundations of Christian Faith (New York: Crossroad, 1978), and argues that theologians can rehabilitate his thought by using Rahner to go beyond Rahner.

Part 2, "Rahner in Dialogue," brings Rahner into conversation with three theologians. Fáinche Ryan's "Rahner and Aquinas: The Incomprehensibility of God" (41-60) discusses the relationship between Rahner's transcendental Thomism and the theology of Aquinas, particularly Rahner's shift from a neo-scholastic view of God as Absolute Being to Rahner's experiential view of God as Absolute Mystery. In "Rahner and Newman: Men of Letters" (61-76), Pádraic Conway explores the letters written by Rahner and John Henry Newman as a genre of theological writing. In "Rahner and Ratzinger: A Complex Relationship" (77-100), James Corkery sj narrates the theological and personal relationships between two men who have become so symbolic of different trajectories in the contemporary Catholic Church.

Part 3, "Rahner and the Twenty-First Century: Key Themes," begins with Werner Jeanrond's analysis of the relevance of Rahner's method for today in "Rahner's Theological Method and a Theology of Love" (103-119). In "Not Merely a Cognitive Subject: Rahner's Theological Anthropology" (121-140), Ethna Regan argues for a more complex understanding of the turn to the subject in Rahner's theology, as opposed to caricatures of his thought that have been criticized by Fergus Kerr and others. In "Rahner's 'Tough Love' for the Church: Structural Change as Task and Opportunity" (141-162), Eamonn Conway describes the vision of Church reform reflected in Rahner's post-retirement life and writings, especially in The Shape of the Church to Come (New York: Seabury, 1974). Linda Hogan carefully, but too briefly, outlines Rahner's influence on Roman Catholic liberation theologies, including feminist theologies, in "Rahner and Theologies of Liberation" (163-170). In "Karl Rahner: Theologian of Dialogue and Ecumenism" (171-186), Andrew Pierce ponders why Rahner has not been better received in Protestant theology. And finally, Dermot Lane, in "Rahner's Christology in Relation to Other Religions" (187-220), gives a detailed, appreciative, and critical analysis of Rahner's thought on inter-religious relations and its rootedness in his Christology.

Although the neglect of Rahner in theology today is perhaps overstated at times—from my perspective, his theology seems alive and well among Catholic theologians—this collection does signal the real decline in the "Rahnerian" theological approach in ecclesiastical circles, and in that sense its insistence on the need for a Rahnerian "revival" is a timely one. As with many collections of this nature, there is an uneven quality to the essays. The best are those that accomplish the task set forth in the book's introduction: to engage Rahner's theology with twenty-first-century questions to show the relevance of his thought for today. On that score...