One of Von Balthasar's greatest books is his early monograph on The Theology of Karl Barth. That these two theological opponents were also deeply respectful allies in their search for an articulation of Christian faith more adequate to the mystery and majesty of divine grace, means that to read either or both of them, is to discover theology that is deeply satisfying, if occasionally frustrating, and often congenial if now and then contentious.
Don't laugh. The other night I was reading (in the bath!) Balthasar's small paperback Love Alone is Credible, and so liked the following passage I think it deserves its place as our thought for the day:
no one can resolve this mystery into dry concepts and explain how it is that God no longer sees my guilt in me, but only in his beloved Son, who bears it for me; or how God sees this guilt transformed through the suffering of love and loves me because I am the one for whom his Son has suffered in love. But the way God, the lover, sees us is in fact the way we are in reality - for God, this is the absolute and irrevocable truth. This is why there can be no talk of "merely forensic" justification; the theory is valid only in the sense that, through God's creative and transformative love, we become what he takes us to be in the light of Christ.'
Hans Urs Von Balthasar, Love Alone Is Credible (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2004), 103-4.
That phrase about God's love - that we are "always already seen" as God's beloved children, is an example of why I love reading Von Balthasar. The picture is by Blake, Christ Accepting the Office of Redeemer. As a comment on Von Balthasar's words, it has for me that utter intensity of willing surrender that makes God's love cause for adoration rather than analysis.
On a lighter note, my ecumenical credentials nevertheless remain intact - I also have a paperback copy of Barth's Evangelical Theology, which has also seen better days due to repeated re-readings in the same leisurely locus! I once had a remarkably fun conversation as a student with R E O White, then Principal of the Scottish Baptist College, and afterwards a lifelong friend. Asked if I'd read his notes on John's Gospel for class that morning, I had to be honest and confess that I had read them in the bath the night before! To which he replied - "Waste of time. I read Dickens in the bath, and have waterproof covers to do so!"
Oh I LOVE that.
Posted by: Rosemary Hannah | July 07, 2009 at 08:23 PM
john denver is so very missed by many of us...and i do believe his work here was done or he would still be here. thank God Joan Baez is here an a lot of others...thank you, judith redman this opinion about john's absence in the flesh is/stems from my own beliefs.
Posted by: judith redman | July 22, 2009 at 03:25 AM
i love this sight;it is intelligent, reverent, positive and i thank you for it...sincerely, judith redman
Posted by: judith redman | July 22, 2009 at 03:27 AM
to those who do not believe in God, just look at a rose...and/or listen to Joan Baez sing!! thanks, judith redman
Posted by: judith redman | July 22, 2009 at 03:29 AM