Steven Buller > Quotes

“Another way to think of God’s presence is as an all-encompassing silence that is always there in the background of one’s experience. Imagine that silence as something which is ever present as we encounter the innumerable sounds of daily living. The sounds are going on, but at some deep level, the silence exists. It is the background against which all sounds occur. Occasionally, when the sounds subside—or even in the midst of those sounds--we may “hear” that infinite silence. That is it. That infinite silence is the awareness of God.”
― Steven Buller, The Theology of Karl Rahner: A Restatement of Foundations of Christian Faith

“We are transformed because God dwells in us rather than having to be transformed before God’s indwelling.”
― Steven Buller, The Theology of Karl Rahner: A Restatement of Foundations of Christian Faith

“Regarding the holy mystery, there is nothing beyond it which can be experienced or imagined, and it is incomprehensible. It is “holy” because it desires to express itself in grace and love. The holy mystery has bestowed upon us an “orientation,” a movement, towards it, because it is in the holy mystery that we find our ultimate fulfillment and eternal validation.”
― Steven Buller, The Theology of Karl Rahner: A Restatement of Foundations of Christian Faith

“Grace did not come about as a result of sin. Grace has been present since the beginning. It was present prior to sin, so that we can speak of primordial grace. Grace is all-pervasive throughout time, such that we can speak of salvation through grace being available at any time in history and to everyone. This is why people who are not explicitly Christian can also experience grace.”
― Steven Buller, The Theology of Karl Rahner: A Restatement of Foundations of Christian Faith

“the experience of God and grace are one and the same, and that God is the same as grace. Another possibility is to say that, while God is Being, the Infinite itself, grace would be the effective action of God, but experientially both are the same. When one responds affirmatively to God, he is responding affirmatively to grace, and vice versa.”
― Steven Buller, The Theology of Karl Rahner: A Restatement of Foundations of Christian Faith

“An “ordinary” miracle can happen at any moment in the daily affairs of life. If an event in life, however small, teaches us something significant about ourselves, about God, about love, it is perfectly reasonable to refer to such an event as a miracle. We can see these miraculous events in our daily lives as God’s offer of grace, as God’s self-communication to us, as God’s gift of himself.”
― Steven Buller, The Theology of Karl Rahner: A Restatement of Foundations of Christian Faith

“God is not something which can be thought about as an “object” of our experience. Rather, God is that by which we are enabled to think.”
― Steven Buller, The Theology of Karl Rahner: A Restatement of Foundations of Christian Faith