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

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The knowledge <strong>of</strong> <strong>this</strong> saving word comes in two complementary ways. In the firstinstance, the constructs <strong>of</strong> the Christian faith create a framework that enables believers toconnect with the innermost and deepest reality <strong>of</strong> their lives. In his meditation ‘God <strong>of</strong>my life’ (chapter 1) Rahner demonstrates his Christian understanding that theincomprehensible mystery <strong>of</strong> infinity is calling him personally to a relationship <strong>of</strong> love:‘You are ordering something that my own inclinations would never dare to suggest: tolove You, to come intimately close to You, to love Your very life’ 40 . In ‘God <strong>of</strong> my LordJesus Christ’ (chapter 2) Rahner celebrates the idea <strong>of</strong> God’s disposition towardshumanity expressed in a human <strong>for</strong>m:Jesus has really told me that He loves me, and His word has come from the depths<strong>of</strong> His human heart. And His heart is Your heart, O God <strong>of</strong> our Lord Jesus41Christ .In ‘God <strong>of</strong> my knowledge’ (chapter 4) Rahner celebrates the experiential knowledge <strong>of</strong>the love <strong>of</strong> God empowered through the function <strong>of</strong> Christian sacrament: ‘You havedescended upon me in water and the Spirit, in my baptism’42 . In ‘God <strong>of</strong> my vocation’(chapter 9) Rahner recognises the necessity <strong>of</strong> the ‘visible Church’ with its tangiblecommunity: people experience ‘internal worship’ in, around and through signs andaudible words. In their search <strong>for</strong> an experience <strong>of</strong> ‘Spirit’ in <strong>this</strong> context, people discernmore than a caricature <strong>of</strong> ‘God’ made in the reflection <strong>of</strong> their own spirit. Christian faithcreates a place <strong>of</strong> safety, promise, direction and tangible access: a community withinwhich believers dare to explore the experience <strong>of</strong> love and intimacy with the divine.In the second movement, knowledge comes through experience. This knowledge—notthe knowledge <strong>of</strong> data but the knowledge that comes through the experience <strong>of</strong> love—is<strong>for</strong> life.Thanks to Your mercy, O Infinite God, I know something about You not onlythrough concepts and words, but through experience. I have actually known Youthrough living contact; I have met You in joy and suffering. For You are the firstand last experience <strong>of</strong> my life 43 .40 Ibid, 8.41 Ibid, 17.42 Ibid, 30.43 Ibid, 30.65

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