Introductory notes for readers of this thesis - Theses - Flinders ...

The anonymous Christian as a non-biblical construct:This thesis demonstrates that accusations that Rahner is a theologian who relies more ona philosophical worldview than on biblical and theological sources are understandable butnot justified. Chapter 2 demonstrates that Rahner’s spirituality is profoundly Ignatian,mystical and influenced by the Greek Patristic tradition. Chapter 3 demonstrates thatRahner’s spiritual theology of silence expresses itself in profoundly explicit Christianlanguage. Chapter 4 demonstrates that Rahner’s transcendental approach is influencedprimarily by a spirituality integrating a philosophical worldview. This chapterdemonstrates that Rahner’s spirituality is profoundly biblical, sacramental andChristological and that his theologising is ultimately an integration of these elements.This thesis also argues that the common criticism from the right that Rahner’suniversalism, and his theology as a whole, is more dependent on an extra-biblicalworldview than on the narrative of Holy Scripture is simply far too simplistic and doesnot do justice to the whole Rahner corpus, or the complexity of the integration of histheological sources, his theological method, and the relationship between his spiritualityand theology.The idea of the anonymous Christian is overly optimistic in its evaluation of the humancondition:This thesis accepts Worthing’s view that Rahner’s positive vision of the Christ whocomes as the climax of creation, and is the mystical way for the divinisation of the wholeworld, brings a welcome corrective to the negativity of the deficit mentality of theAugustinian–Protestant tradition. However, this thesis has not looked closely enough atRahner’s theologising of sin and guilt to adequately judge whether or not he does fulljustice to this negative theme in Christian theology. Rahner’s optimism has its basis in theIgnatian creation and Greek divinisation worldviews, and is strongly influenced by hispastoral concerns, and his conviction that it is important to communicate the essence offaith in constructs that have meaning for a contemporary society in which blood sacrificedoes not feature.173