In this Book

Saving Karl Barth: Hans Urs von Balthasar's Preoccupation

Book
By D. Stephen Long
2014
buy this book Buy This Book in Print
summary
Challenging recent rejections of Hans Urs von Balthasar’s groundbreaking study of Karl Barth’s theology, Stephen Long argues that these interpreters are myopically impatient with the nuances of Balthasar’s reading of Barth and fail to appreciate the longstanding theological friendship that perdured. Even more, current readings threaten to repristinate the embattled divide hallmarking Protestant-Catholic relations prior to Vatican II. Long contends against these contemporary trajectories in a substantial defense of Balthasar’s theological preoccupation with Barth’s thought. This book offers one of the first full contextualizations of the friendship that developed between Balthasar and Barth, which lasted from the 1930s until Balthasar’s death in the 1980s. Re-evaluating Balthasar’s theological work on Barth, the present volume provides a critical new reading of not only Balthasar’s original volume but a wider account of the systematic engagement Balthasar carried on throughout his career. Within this, a paradigm for fruitful, generous ecumenical dialogue emerges.

Table of Contents

Cover

pp. C-C

Title Page, Copyright

pp. i-vi

Contents

pp. vii-viii

Introduction

pp. 1-6

1 An Unlikely Friendship: Balthasar’s “Conversations” with Barth

pp. 7-36

2 Presenting and Interpreting Karl Barth

pp. 37-88

3 Collapse of Balthasar’s Interpretation

pp. 89-128

4 The Realm of God

pp. 129-176

5 The Realm of Ethics

pp. 177-238

6 The Realm of the Church: Renewal and Unity

pp. 239-282

7 Conclusion

pp. 283-288

Bibliography

pp. 289-298

Index of Names and Subjects

pp. 299-305
Back To Top