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

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Rahner’s theology of mystery for the kerygamatic 7 function of the church and thedisruption of the cultural hegemony of a secular, rational worldview.The mystery of the human person’s infinite origins and destinyIt is important to appreciate that Rahner’s theological starting point in human experiencerather than external, text-based statements (in Kantian philosophical terms: ‘the turn tothe subject’) is profoundly influenced by his pastoral concern. Rahner argues against aconcept of revelation and faith that presents the individual as the passive/submissiverecipient of rigid and hierarchical external propositions 8 . Rahner does not dismiss thechurch’s propositional statements, or its right to speak authoritatively 9 . He does,however, recapture an understanding of the dynamic and subjective elements ofrevelation and faith formation. Rahner’s ‘theologising from below’ emerges from hispersonal experience of Spirit, priestly vocation, and passionate concern for the dynamicprocess of faith formation. Because Rahner is theologising from a pastoral perspective,and from the context of his place within the Roman Catholic system (and in particularGerman Roman Catholicism), he utilises the philosophical processes and sourcesrecognised by the tradition. Rahner’s unique and creative perspectives 10 —notably hisargument for the primacy of personal experience as the locus of theological formation—create spaces for theological and intellectual freedom for everyday people within theecclesial structures and culture.For Rahner, theology is the science of inquiring into and systemising human thoughtsabout God that have their source in the unfolding self-revelation of the divineexperienced, recorded and reflected upon throughout history 11 . He argues that theologicalconcepts do not facilitate revelation but derive from the experience of revelation as7 From kerygma the New Testament word commonly translated as ‘proclamation’.8 See S.J. Grenz & R. E. Olson, 20 th Century theology – God & the world in a transitional age(Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter Varsity Press, 1992), 239 and G.B. Kelly, ed. Karl Rahner – theologian ofthe graced search for meaning (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1992), 31.9 In this regard Rahner has been criticized by his contemporaries (e.g. Hans Kung) for his insistence that allchurch dogma reflects an essential, redeemable ‘nucleus’ of truth. Such critics believe Rahner to be overlybound to the concept of the infallibility of the church and do not see why in some instances Rahner simplycannot admit that the church ‘got it wrong’ in their dogmatic formulations (see H. Vorgrimler,Understanding Karl Rahner – an introduction to his thought (London: SCM Press, 1986), 122-123.10 Though as an original and provocative thinker, Rahner is noted for his creative modifications.11 K Rahner, Hearers of the Word, Trans. Donceel, J. Tallon, A. ed. (New York: Continuum, 1994), 5.81
‘listening to the freely proffered self-revelation of God’ 12 . According to Rahner, iftheology’s source is the experiences of those who have learned how to listen to God’sself-revelation throughout human history, then the study of God must also involve a studyof the human person:As soon as…[the human person] is understood as the being who is absolutelytranscendent in respect of God, ‘anthropocentricity’ and ‘theocentricity’ intheology are not opposites but strictly one and the same thing, seen from twosides. Neither of the two aspects can be comprehended at all without the otherThough Rahner’s argument for understanding the human person as a being of ‘absolutetranscendence’ derives from his theological conviction and spiritual experience, it isexpressed apologetically and pastorally in the form of philosophical reflection14 ; afoundational element of Rahner’s theology of mystery 15 is his philosophical argumentthat human transcendence is an integral and ‘natural’ 16 component of being human.13.According to Rahner, a human being is something of a contradiction in terms: thoughhumans live a finite existence, reflection on their existence points humans towards anawareness of the infinite nature of their origin and destiny. He asserts that humans canonly recognise objects and experiences as finite because they have an idea of infinity 17 .He uses the simile of white chalk marks on a blackboard to demonstrate that the conceptof something being finite is recognisable only against the background of an idea of theinfinite 18 . Rahner concludes that infinity is the condition in which the existence of thefinite is possible: the idea of infinity, against which humans measure things that are finite,inevitably points towards an origin and destiny that that the idea reflects.12 Ibid.13 K Rahner, ‘Theology and anthropology’, in Theological investigations, Vol. IX, Trans. G. Harrison(London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1972), 28.14 Dych, Karl Rahner, 32.15 Though as we shall see in later discussion, exactly what is meant by ‘foundational’ as this term is appliedto a reading of Rahner on the basis of his speculative approach is debatable.16 Though as Egan points out, according to Rahner there is no such thing as a fully ‘natural’ person as everyperson is graced with the offer of God’s self-communication. See The Cambridge companion to KarlRahner, 17.17 J. O’Donnell, ‘The mystery of faith in the theology of Karl Rahner’, Heythrop Journal 25 (1984):303.18 Egan, The Cambridge companion to Karl Rahner, 17-18.82
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‘A Spirituality of silence’An i
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Chapter 4: The human experience of
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Summary of thesis:This thesis offer
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The particular angle from which thi
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somewhat superseded by more recent
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Rahner: I have nothing against that
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One brief but notable spiritual inf
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dialectic between these two, has le
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odies of knowledge, history and alt
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superiors, having decided that he w
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High School Week, Rahner began his
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Earlier in this chapter, Rahner’s
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These anecdotes testify that Rahner
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As you see, at the top of the carto
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Central to Rahner’s thinking is t
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Kilby notes that in regard to this
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Introduced by Cardinal König to a
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influence will continue to spread a
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We see from Rahner’s pastoral con
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with humanity—his ‘economic’
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Having discerned their revelatory c
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fulfilment in following the absolut
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Rahner’s transcendental perspecti
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toward which it points. God’s wor
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sacramental: a sign in which God’
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In light of the implications of Rah
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who, like mystics, experience such
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The juxtaposition of two articles
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These two interpretations of Rahner
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Rahner advocates that all believers
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The sacrament of the wordIn reflect
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‘theological aesthetics’. With
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Many things in life act as signs th
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Rahner’s dual commitment to recei
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living human being, and each indivi
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The church is sacramental in the se
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spiritual rhythms that trace direct
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the missionary tasks of the Church;
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unhelpful assumptions that diminish
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expressions of mystagogical 142 ini
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Does this lead Rahner into compromi
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) ) an ongoing contemporary influen
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Hosek shifts the soteriological foc
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Is this vision of silent spirituali
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Being in silence as a way of creati
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word of life and hope within them.
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Level 1:PremoralStage 2:Instrumenta
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These new monastics see the local c
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eliefs that have been tried and tes
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of mature theological reflection co
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ecognised in his Christological ass
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inability or unwillingness of the e
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Kanyini—an Australian Aboriginal
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The film Kanyini demonstrates the c
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estless and always in a hurry to ge
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considered the sole and ultimate au
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We define spirituality as a conscio
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supportive conversation with expres
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A glance at table 4 75 (above), Hug
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In the worldview of contemporary Au
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It certainly seems somewhat disinge
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A good starting point for examining
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Christian contemplative-prayer trad
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Of course, a small number of the vi
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For better or for worse, and despit
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energy, intellect, prayer, love and
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Rahner, K. Karl Rahner - Prayers an
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Kelly, G.B. (ed.). Karl Rahner - th
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Van Vorst, B. ‘Kung and Rahner: d
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Harden, J.A. ‘Ignatian Spirituali
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Tyson, P. ‘Contemporary Australia
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