Sunday, January 29, 2006
Karl Rahner
Facts about Rahner’s teaching, taken from http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/research/theology/ejournal/aejt_2/Harvey_Egan.htm
Karl Rahner (1904-1984)—Like Duns Scotus, believed that even if Adam had not sinned, the Incarnation would still have take place. God creates in order to communicate himself.
**Covenant—not redemption from sin—is God’s primary purpose for creation and incarnation.
—From the beginning, all creation, the whole history of revelation and salvation, is oriented to the Incarnate Word.
—Redemption stretches in all directions. Everone, even those born before the life of Jesus Christ, are objectively redeemed. We are all predestined to Christ, and must choose whether to accept or no, even those who don’t know Christ.
—God has revealed Himself in some way to everyone.
—God’s revelation incarnates and interprets itself in diverse societies throughout history, with varying degrees of success.
*—non-Christian religions are the more or less successful historical, social incarnations and interpretation of God's self-communion and revelation. However, the one history of the one human race is directed by Christ's Spirit to reach its full incarnation and revelation in the person of Jesus Christ and his Church.
—Other faiths are ways in which man searches for God, but it is only in the Judeo-Christian tradition that Divine Revelation is found. Dominus Iesus
—non-Christians can be saved.. Non-Christian religions can play a positive role. Even so, Christianity is THE religion intended for all humankind. And, non-Christian religions can have a negative effect on a person’s salvation.
—The act of faith itself has a Christological character. No time or place existed in which Jesus Christ was not present and operative in non-Christian believers and religions.
—Salvation is only through Christ and salvific revelation and faith in non-Christian religions cannot be separated from Christ.
— Christianity's superiority resides not in Christians themselves but in Jesus' person, his message, and his salvific work. Only Jesus of Nazareth is that which nothing greater can be thought because God himself can do nothing greater.
The Resurrection
—not a resuscitated corpse called back to ordinary life.
—not a charismatic impression made upon his disciples during his life (the disciples having a warm fuzzy, realizing how special Jesus was, and telling about him, making his life “new”)
—not a revelation given by God to the disciples after his death.
a—It was a bodily resurrection of Jesus, himself. This happened to Jesus and Jesus alone. Christianity without the resurrection is an oxymoron.
Christ as Mediator
Christ is the one (the only) mediator between God and humanity.
—There are many mediations of Christ’s grace: (1) The Church
(2) The Sacraments
(3) Blessed Virgin (Mary)
(4) The saints
—non-Christian religions and their savior figures also participate to some extent in the mediation of grace through Jesus Christ.
—non-Christian forms of mediation only work insofar as they are connected Christ’s own mediation. They are NOT parallel or complementary.
The Anonymous Christian
—a non-Christian can be an anonymous Christian if he has surrendered to “the deepest depths of his being.”
—A person who follows his conscience lives a life of salvific faith (not mere belief) made possible by God’s self offer in Christ.
a—If non-Christians can be saved as “anonymous Christians” then why do we still need missionaries? So that we can awaken these “anonymous Christians” to what it is that really is residing in their hearts.
**also important to remember that Rahner did NOT want this “anonymous Christian” theory to be used to patronize virtuous non-Christians by telling them that they are Christians without knowing it.
Non-Christian Religions: A Preparation for the Gospel
The New Testament is hidden in the Old, and the Old is made manifest in the New.
—Jesus and early Christians interpret themselves in light of the Old Testament.
“Salvation comes from the Jews.”
—Early missionaries praised Greek culture as “preparation for the Gospel.”
—We can deepen our own understanding of the mystery of Christ through encounters with non-Christian religions. e.g. Augustine adapting Plotinus; Aquinas adapting Aristotle.
—The New Testament is definitely hidden in the Old, and is hidden in differing degrees in non-Christian religions. Sacred Scripture in non-Christian religions show their full and true meaning in the NT to differing degrees.
**—Not only should we read the OT in light of the NT, we should read sacred texts from other religions in light of the NT.
—Of course, as has always been the case, only accepted canon of the OT and NT can be considered divinely inspired texts.
—Rahner suggests that for inter-religious dialogue, it may be best to go at it from a “Holy Spirit” perspective rather than start of Christologically. Of course, we should never water our faith down when dialoguing.
Karl Rahner (1904-1984)—Like Duns Scotus, believed that even if Adam had not sinned, the Incarnation would still have take place. God creates in order to communicate himself.
**Covenant—not redemption from sin—is God’s primary purpose for creation and incarnation.
—From the beginning, all creation, the whole history of revelation and salvation, is oriented to the Incarnate Word.
—Redemption stretches in all directions. Everone, even those born before the life of Jesus Christ, are objectively redeemed. We are all predestined to Christ, and must choose whether to accept or no, even those who don’t know Christ.
—God has revealed Himself in some way to everyone.
—God’s revelation incarnates and interprets itself in diverse societies throughout history, with varying degrees of success.
*—non-Christian religions are the more or less successful historical, social incarnations and interpretation of God's self-communion and revelation. However, the one history of the one human race is directed by Christ's Spirit to reach its full incarnation and revelation in the person of Jesus Christ and his Church.
—Other faiths are ways in which man searches for God, but it is only in the Judeo-Christian tradition that Divine Revelation is found. Dominus Iesus
—non-Christians can be saved.. Non-Christian religions can play a positive role. Even so, Christianity is THE religion intended for all humankind. And, non-Christian religions can have a negative effect on a person’s salvation.
—The act of faith itself has a Christological character. No time or place existed in which Jesus Christ was not present and operative in non-Christian believers and religions.
—Salvation is only through Christ and salvific revelation and faith in non-Christian religions cannot be separated from Christ.
— Christianity's superiority resides not in Christians themselves but in Jesus' person, his message, and his salvific work. Only Jesus of Nazareth is that which nothing greater can be thought because God himself can do nothing greater.
The Resurrection
—not a resuscitated corpse called back to ordinary life.
—not a charismatic impression made upon his disciples during his life (the disciples having a warm fuzzy, realizing how special Jesus was, and telling about him, making his life “new”)
—not a revelation given by God to the disciples after his death.
a—It was a bodily resurrection of Jesus, himself. This happened to Jesus and Jesus alone. Christianity without the resurrection is an oxymoron.
Christ as Mediator
Christ is the one (the only) mediator between God and humanity.
—There are many mediations of Christ’s grace: (1) The Church
(2) The Sacraments
(3) Blessed Virgin (Mary)
(4) The saints
—non-Christian religions and their savior figures also participate to some extent in the mediation of grace through Jesus Christ.
—non-Christian forms of mediation only work insofar as they are connected Christ’s own mediation. They are NOT parallel or complementary.
The Anonymous Christian
—a non-Christian can be an anonymous Christian if he has surrendered to “the deepest depths of his being.”
—A person who follows his conscience lives a life of salvific faith (not mere belief) made possible by God’s self offer in Christ.
a—If non-Christians can be saved as “anonymous Christians” then why do we still need missionaries? So that we can awaken these “anonymous Christians” to what it is that really is residing in their hearts.
**also important to remember that Rahner did NOT want this “anonymous Christian” theory to be used to patronize virtuous non-Christians by telling them that they are Christians without knowing it.
Non-Christian Religions: A Preparation for the Gospel
The New Testament is hidden in the Old, and the Old is made manifest in the New.
—Jesus and early Christians interpret themselves in light of the Old Testament.
“Salvation comes from the Jews.”
—Early missionaries praised Greek culture as “preparation for the Gospel.”
—We can deepen our own understanding of the mystery of Christ through encounters with non-Christian religions. e.g. Augustine adapting Plotinus; Aquinas adapting Aristotle.
—The New Testament is definitely hidden in the Old, and is hidden in differing degrees in non-Christian religions. Sacred Scripture in non-Christian religions show their full and true meaning in the NT to differing degrees.
**—Not only should we read the OT in light of the NT, we should read sacred texts from other religions in light of the NT.
—Of course, as has always been the case, only accepted canon of the OT and NT can be considered divinely inspired texts.
—Rahner suggests that for inter-religious dialogue, it may be best to go at it from a “Holy Spirit” perspective rather than start of Christologically. Of course, we should never water our faith down when dialoguing.
# posted by SeanPatrick @ 12:45 PM 
