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The Moment of Christian Witness
Balthasar puts his finger on the precise origin of all those elements in modern Christianity which see the real Jesus Christ as unknowable, the Gospels as merely the confused reflections of later Christians, and Christian tradition as a perpetuation of the mythology.
- GenresTheology
150 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1994
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About the author
Hans Urs von Balthasar
439 books315 followersHans Urs von Balthasar was a Swiss theologian and priest who was nominated to be a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He is considered one of the most important theologians of the 20th century.
Born in Lucerne, Switzerland on 12 August 1905, he attended Stella Matutina (Jesuit school) in Feldkirch, Austria. He studied in Vienna, Berlin and Zurich, gaining a doctorate in German literature. He joined the Jesuits in 1929, and was ordained in 1936. He worked in Basel as a student chaplain. In 1950 he left the Jesuit order, feeling that God had called him to found a Secular Institute, a lay form of consecrated life that sought to work for the sanctification of the world especially from within. He joined the diocese of Chur. From the low point of being banned from teaching, his reputation eventually rose to the extent that John Paul II asked him to be a cardinal in 1988. However he died in his home in Basel on 26 June 1988, two days before the ceremony. Balthasar was interred in the Hofkirche cemetery in Lucern.
Along with Karl Rahner and Bernard Lonergan, Balthasar sought to offer an intellectual, faithful response to Western modernism. While Rahner offered a progressive, accommodating position on modernity and Lonergan worked out a philosophy of history that sought to critically appropriate modernity, Balthasar resisted the reductionism and human focus of modernity, wanting Christianity to challenge modern sensibilities.
Balthasar is very eclectic in his approach, sources, and interests and remains difficult to categorize. An example of his eclecticism was his long study and conversation with the influential Reformed Swiss theologian, Karl Barth, of whose work he wrote the first Catholic analysis and response. Although Balthasar's major points of analysis on Karl Barth's work have been disputed, his The Theology of Karl Barth: Exposition and Interpretation (1951) remains a classic work for its sensitivity and insight; Karl Barth himself agreed with its analysis of his own theological enterprise, calling it the best book on his own theology.
Balthasar's Theological Dramatic Theory has influenced the work of Raymund Schwager.
Born in Lucerne, Switzerland on 12 August 1905, he attended Stella Matutina (Jesuit school) in Feldkirch, Austria. He studied in Vienna, Berlin and Zurich, gaining a doctorate in German literature. He joined the Jesuits in 1929, and was ordained in 1936. He worked in Basel as a student chaplain. In 1950 he left the Jesuit order, feeling that God had called him to found a Secular Institute, a lay form of consecrated life that sought to work for the sanctification of the world especially from within. He joined the diocese of Chur. From the low point of being banned from teaching, his reputation eventually rose to the extent that John Paul II asked him to be a cardinal in 1988. However he died in his home in Basel on 26 June 1988, two days before the ceremony. Balthasar was interred in the Hofkirche cemetery in Lucern.
Along with Karl Rahner and Bernard Lonergan, Balthasar sought to offer an intellectual, faithful response to Western modernism. While Rahner offered a progressive, accommodating position on modernity and Lonergan worked out a philosophy of history that sought to critically appropriate modernity, Balthasar resisted the reductionism and human focus of modernity, wanting Christianity to challenge modern sensibilities.
Balthasar is very eclectic in his approach, sources, and interests and remains difficult to categorize. An example of his eclecticism was his long study and conversation with the influential Reformed Swiss theologian, Karl Barth, of whose work he wrote the first Catholic analysis and response. Although Balthasar's major points of analysis on Karl Barth's work have been disputed, his The Theology of Karl Barth: Exposition and Interpretation (1951) remains a classic work for its sensitivity and insight; Karl Barth himself agreed with its analysis of his own theological enterprise, calling it the best book on his own theology.
Balthasar's Theological Dramatic Theory has influenced the work of Raymund Schwager.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 25, 2020
Martyrdom is the heart and proof of Christianity’s veracity. The whole of Christian faith is based in a fundamental decision to place all of one’s personal being under the flag of Christ, and to lay down his life so as to find it. A great book that brings to heart the essence of Christian witness and living.
January 30, 2026
"[T]his image of the Church--the mediation of the whole love of God to the whole world--is what makes possible true love of our neighbor"
Balthasar critiques the "role-conscious pride" in Rahner's concept of the anonymous Christian. If there are anonymous Christians, why not dispense of the super-structure of Christianity and admit that all Christians are in reality anonymous atheists?
A credible Christian witness can only be a witness to the life of Christ, not as the culminating expression of what humanity ought to be, but rather as the interruption of our lives by Christ, through His Church, who seeks our salvation -- ecclesia ex latere Christi.
Balthasar critiques the "role-conscious pride" in Rahner's concept of the anonymous Christian. If there are anonymous Christians, why not dispense of the super-structure of Christianity and admit that all Christians are in reality anonymous atheists?
A credible Christian witness can only be a witness to the life of Christ, not as the culminating expression of what humanity ought to be, but rather as the interruption of our lives by Christ, through His Church, who seeks our salvation -- ecclesia ex latere Christi.
January 3, 2021
Good read. It is possible to read it quickly and gloss over some of the philosophy (as I did). There's a lot more to the book and his argument than I picked up in my quick read. One that I would like to return to. How does a Christian witness in the modern world? Is there such a thing as "anonymous Christians" and "anonymous Christianity"?
July 5, 2020
Superb.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews