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

More documents

Recommendations

Info

In this positive re-framing and re-imagining of his sensory-deprived experience of‘praying’, Rahner has drawn on the theology of the dark night and similar materials tofind a basis for his interpretation of the silence of God.Dark mystery of incomprehensibility; a language of love beyond words or knowledgeApart from the Rahner’s explicit mention of the dark night, others’ references to the darkmystery of God 59 seem to offer further echoes of the apophatic tradition of silentspirituality. Rowan Williams describes this tradition as ‘an advance into darkness’ andrefers to Gregory of Nyssa (one of Rahner’s patristic influences) who combines the‘cloud’ of Exodus with the ‘night’ of Song of Songs to conceptualise a ‘darkness’ ofGod’s incomprehensibility where words and knowledge are inadequate and ‘love is[mystically] consummated’ 60 . The anonymous author of the fourteenth century text‘Cloud of Unknowing’ counsels the spiritual pilgrim to ‘learn to be at home in thisdarkness’, explaining that this darkness is ‘the absence of [intellectual] knowledge’; aspilgrims learns to live in this cloud they ‘take up the contemplative work of love’ 61 .Intrinsic to the concept of the mystical darkness of God is the idea of the via negativa 62which Bradley Holt ascribes to Dionysius’ text 63 The Mystical Theology:leave behind you everything perceived and understandable, all that is not and allthat is, and with your understanding laid aside, to strive upward as much as youcan toward union with him who is beyond all being and knowledge. By anundivided and absolute abandonment of yourself and everything…you will be64uplifted to the ray of the divine shadow which is above everything there is .Holt explains thatDionysus argued that since any human concept is inadequate for God, onlydenials of the likeness of God to human categories could properly apply. For59 Ibid, 11–12.60 ‘Dark Night, Darkness,’ in Wakefield, S. ed., A dictionary of Christian spirituality, (London: SCM Press,1983), 103. See also Egan, An anthology of Christian mysticism, 33.61 In Egan, An anthology of Christian mysticism, 369.62 The negative way63 A late fifth-century to early sixth-century Syrian monk writing under a pseudonym. .64 In Thirsty for God – a brief history of Christian spirituality (second edition), (Minneapolis: Fortress,2005), 74.71
example, it would limit God to say, ‘God is just’ (the positive way). It would bebetter to say, ‘God is not unjust’ (the negative way) 65 .Francis Schüssler Fiorenza notes that, in Rahner’s speculative philosophical theology, heuses the term philosophia negativa to emphasise his conviction that all philosophicalperspectives fall short of adequately expressing the mystery of human experience andreality66 . In light of the implicit theologia negativa in Encounters, Rahner’s philosophianegativa implies a natural extension of his thinking: he ascribes his essential theologicalunderstanding of the creator —an ‘unknowing’—to the creature.In Encounters, Rahner focuses on experiencing God as a direct personal encounter—notsimply engaging with an image of God that is the mere reflection of his own humanspirit 67 . Whilst he is tempted to shrink from ‘the darkness of Yourunboundedness…harsher than all my earthly nights’ 68 and embrace ‘things that are morecomprehensible’ 69 , he is driven by a greater, more powerful reward than banalintellectual security. Rahner’s vivid description seems to resonate with an apophaticspirituality of immediate experience and detachment from ‘things’.Love seizes me and carries me up to Your level, into You…when I love You,when I manage to break out of the narrow circle of self and leave behind therestless agony of unanswered questions, when my blinded eyes no longer lookmerely from afar and from the outside upon Your unapproachable brightness, andmuch more when You Yourself, O Incomprehensible One, have become throughlove the inmost centre of my life, then I can bury myself entirely in You, O70Mysterious God, and with myself all my questions .The metaphoric ‘word’ of God’s love pierces the darkness of intellectualincomprehensibility; the new ‘knowledge’—an experience of wordless transcendence —transforms the encounter with silence into a luminosity of divine communion, true life,and spirit.65 Ibid.66 ‘Method in theology,’ in The Cambridge companion to Karl Rahner, Marmion, D. & Hines, M. eds.(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), 72-73.67 Encounters, 9.68 Ibid, 1769 Ibid, 6.70 Ibid, 9.72
Page 1 and 2:
‘A Spirituality of silence’An i
Page 3 and 4:
Chapter 4: The human experience of
Page 5 and 6:
Summary of thesis:This thesis offer
Page 7 and 8:
The particular angle from which thi
Page 9 and 10:
somewhat superseded by more recent
Page 11 and 12:
Rahner: I have nothing against that
Page 13 and 14:
One brief but notable spiritual inf
Page 15 and 16:
dialectic between these two, has le
Page 17 and 18:
odies of knowledge, history and alt
Page 19 and 20:
superiors, having decided that he w
Page 21 and 22:
High School Week, Rahner began his
Page 23 and 24:
Earlier in this chapter, Rahner’s
Page 25 and 26:
These anecdotes testify that Rahner
Page 27 and 28:
As you see, at the top of the carto
Page 29 and 30: Central to Rahner’s thinking is t
Page 31 and 32: Kilby notes that in regard to this
Page 33 and 34: Introduced by Cardinal König to a
Page 35 and 36: influence will continue to spread a
Page 37 and 38: We see from Rahner’s pastoral con
Page 39 and 40: European power 4 , and that he was
Page 41 and 42: Over a period of days and weeks, th
Page 43 and 44: The outcome of this encounter: the
Page 45 and 46: Modras has pointed out that Ignatiu
Page 47 and 48: Rahner the Ignatian spiritual direc
Page 49 and 50: facilitate this joyful and liberati
Page 51 and 52: Rahner’s often-quoted comment tha
Page 53 and 54: The master of the Exercises in no w
Page 55 and 56: Endean argues that Rahner is interp
Page 57 and 58: The Ignatian Exercises—especially
Page 59 and 60: provision of appropriate spiritual
Page 61 and 62: their existential encounter, they a
Page 63 and 64: Chapter 3: Spirituality of silence
Page 65 and 66: which the spiritual pilgrim finds t
Page 67 and 68: Lord, to pray my whole life long wi
Page 69 and 70: Encounters with silence: strictures
Page 71 and 72: a long highway filled by a column o
Page 73 and 74: gaze; they prefer to stay safe, ris
Page 75 and 76: This experience is life’s true es
Page 77 and 78: Christians can experience the full
Page 79: Rahner does not claim for himself t
Page 83 and 84: will and love of God: then the diam
Page 85 and 86: Echoes of Ignatius’ Exercises are
Page 87 and 88: Chapter 4: The human experience of
Page 89 and 90: proximity, the silence that leads e
Page 91 and 92: ‘listening to the freely proffere
Page 93 and 94: approach; he is not arguing against
Page 95 and 96: must occur in history—time, space
Page 97 and 98: The most obvious criticism of Rahne
Page 99 and 100: Schleiermacher: seeking to build a
Page 101 and 102: and his meditations in Encounters w
Page 103 and 104: theological method, and the importa
Page 105 and 106: spirit dancing together in apprecia
Page 107 and 108: choosing to enter into the mystery
Page 109 and 110: may be described as a ‘mysticism
Page 111 and 112: possibilities but without a definit
Page 113 and 114: theologie) in which Rahner’s prim
Page 115 and 116: • around the concept and meaning
Page 117 and 118: knowledge. For we are not saved by
Page 119 and 120: silent experience of God—is able
Page 121 and 122: the immanent life of God’ 120 . T
Page 123 and 124: Investigations much like the biblic
Page 125 and 126: abandonment to the eternal life in
Page 127 and 128: Theology of mystery as dynamic chal
Page 129 and 130: ecause the phonetic sound of the wo
Page 131 and 132:
alone that enables individuals to f
Page 133 and 134:
Chapter 5: Word and sacrament—exp
Page 135 and 136:
The centrality of scripture, and it
Page 137 and 138:
What makes the words of scripture d
Page 139 and 140:
silence. He felt that the movement
Page 141 and 142:
with humanity—his ‘economic’
Page 143 and 144:
Having discerned their revelatory c
Page 145 and 146:
fulfilment in following the absolut
Page 147 and 148:
Rahner’s transcendental perspecti
Page 149 and 150:
toward which it points. God’s wor
Page 151 and 152:
sacramental: a sign in which God’
Page 153 and 154:
In light of the implications of Rah
Page 155 and 156:
who, like mystics, experience such
Page 157 and 158:
The juxtaposition of two articles
Page 159 and 160:
These two interpretations of Rahner
Page 161 and 162:
Rahner advocates that all believers
Page 163 and 164:
The sacrament of the wordIn reflect
Page 165 and 166:
‘theological aesthetics’. With
Page 167 and 168:
Many things in life act as signs th
Page 169 and 170:
Rahner’s dual commitment to recei
Page 171 and 172:
living human being, and each indivi
Page 173 and 174:
The church is sacramental in the se
Page 175 and 176:
spiritual rhythms that trace direct
Page 177 and 178:
the missionary tasks of the Church;
Page 179 and 180:
unhelpful assumptions that diminish
Page 181 and 182:
expressions of mystagogical 142 ini
Page 183 and 184:
Does this lead Rahner into compromi
Page 185 and 186:
) ) an ongoing contemporary influen
Page 187 and 188:
Hosek shifts the soteriological foc
Page 189 and 190:
Is this vision of silent spirituali
Page 191 and 192:
Being in silence as a way of creati
Page 193 and 194:
word of life and hope within them.
Page 195 and 196:
Level 1:PremoralStage 2:Instrumenta
Page 197 and 198:
These new monastics see the local c
Page 199 and 200:
eliefs that have been tried and tes
Page 201 and 202:
of mature theological reflection co
Page 203 and 204:
ecognised in his Christological ass
Page 205 and 206:
inability or unwillingness of the e
Page 207 and 208:
Kanyini—an Australian Aboriginal
Page 209 and 210:
The film Kanyini demonstrates the c
Page 211 and 212:
estless and always in a hurry to ge
Page 213 and 214:
considered the sole and ultimate au
Page 215 and 216:
We define spirituality as a conscio
Page 217 and 218:
supportive conversation with expres
Page 219 and 220:
A glance at table 4 75 (above), Hug
Page 221 and 222:
In the worldview of contemporary Au
Page 223 and 224:
It certainly seems somewhat disinge
Page 225 and 226:
A good starting point for examining
Page 227 and 228:
Christian contemplative-prayer trad
Page 229 and 230:
Of course, a small number of the vi
Page 231 and 232:
For better or for worse, and despit
Page 233 and 234:
energy, intellect, prayer, love and
Page 235 and 236:
Rahner, K. Karl Rahner - Prayers an
Page 237 and 238:
Kelly, G.B. (ed.). Karl Rahner - th
Page 239 and 240:
Van Vorst, B. ‘Kung and Rahner: d
Page 241 and 242:
Harden, J.A. ‘Ignatian Spirituali
Page 243:
Tyson, P. ‘Contemporary Australia
show all

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

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?