To Know the Mystery: The Theologian in the Presence of the Revealed God (Concluded)

TO KNOW THE MYSTERY: THE THEOLOGIAN IN THE PRESENCE OF THE REVEALED GOD (Concluded) PART II IV. THE NoN-CONCEPTUAL IN THE DYNAMISM OF OuR THEOLOGICAL THOUGHT WE HAVE elaborated a certain dynamism present in our theological knowledge of the divine Reality. In so doing we showed the possibility of by-passing certain problems in theology (e. g., in reference to Malet) by realizing i) that our concepts, though expressing something that was formally in God, looked for their verification in an order of infinite simplicity, where God is indeed the "Ineffable One," and ii) that these concepts were affirmed of the divine Reality as concretely given in salvation history. Of itself, this would indicate a certain necessary dynamism in our knowledge before the transcendent Reality of the revealed God. It indicates, too, the direction in which we should look for a non-conceptual depth in our theological knowledge, in that the Reality that is presented to our intelligences can be apprehended only in and through faith, with its firm, dark, personal " Yes " to all that God is and has done. Accordingly, insofar as faith has a non-conceptual element, and because theology is a reflection-in-the-faith, we may look for a nonconceptual element in our theological thought. In this way we shall be able to see the realism of the theological noetic, in its attainment of its object, in that the conceptual element lives from a non-conceptual element which grounds it and gives it a depth of realism that any purely notional knowledge would not have. In other words, here is a chance to see how the " objective orientation" of our concepts occurs, to use the phrase of 171 17~ ANTHONY J. KELLY E. Schillebeeckx.Ho He has drawn our attention to the fact of the non-conceptual in our knowledge, but in so doing he has lessened the formal role of the concept in our knowledge of God who was known merely in a non-conceptual way. In this process of knowing, the whole knowing subject is involved; to this extent there must be not only an objective signification in our knowing but also a depth of personal significance.141 This aspect of significance surrounding and enveloping our notional knowledge calls for close consideration. And an increasing number of theologians have become interested in the question.142 On the philosophical level the problem of our non-conceptual knowledge has been one of the great preoccupations of the modern post-Kantian era.143 This contribution will be made from the " Thomistic standpoint " (in the sense explained, with the necessary speculative flexibility in the face of more modern insights) and with a necessary limitation , for here we must be content with sketching merely the basic principles. Implied in the notion of faith is the assent to the divine Reality through a conceptual determination. 144 Our study uo Revelation et theol., 108 ff. Cf. also 343: "a proprement parler nous n'appliquons pas le concept lui-meme a Dieu, mais le contenu conceptuel tend vers Dieu." Here we take up the question of how does the concept " tend towards " the divine Reality, having shown the fact that the concept is, in a sense, properly applied to God, not as representing Him but as formally directing our affirmation of the divine Reality. " 1 " Signification " I here define as the abstract conceptual, expressable content of our concepts. " Significance" is the non-fully conceptualizable "plus " in our consciousness, in that our whole personal life is axiologically orientated toward a given reality and implicitly recognized as such. " 2 E. Schillebeeckx, op. cit., 106-110; ~3~-~84, 34~ ff., etc. J. Mouroux, "Presence de Ia raison dans la foi," loc. cit., 181-~00; C. Cirne-Lima, Der Personale Glaube (Innsbruck, 1959), engl. Personal Faith (New York, 1965); L. Melevez, "Theologie contemplative et theologie discursive," Nouvelle Revue Theologique, 86 (1964), ~~5-~69; M. Dupuy, "Experience spirituelle et theologie comme science," ibid. (1964)' 1137-1162. 148 Cf. J. Girardi, "Les facteurs extra-intellectuels de la connaissance," Revue Philosophique de Louvain, 6~ (1964), ~99-364; 477-500; G. Klubertanz, "Where is the evidence for Thomistic Metaphysics," ibid., 56 (1958), ~94-315. 144 " Ad fidem duo requiruntur...