God in the World: A Guide to Karl Rahner's Theology

by Onx

Overview

A century has passed since Karl Rahner's birth, and two decades have passed since his death. Yet this remarkable theologian has left a legacy of wisdom as relevant today as it was during Rahner's time. In God in the World: A Guide to Karl Rahner's Theology, Thomas O 'Meara looks anew at Rahner's insights and theological principles. Through O 'Meara's clear and engaging style, readers will discover 'or rediscover, as the case may be 'how invaluable Rahner is for the church today.

Rahner's is a theology that considers both people and history as important. It is a theology that begins with grace as God's self-communication, God's gift of life shared with humankind. It is a theology that directly speaks to some of the tensions we as the church, the people of God, struggle with today: religious pluralism and salvation through Jesus Christ, the roles of priests and lay ecclesial ministers, the offices of bishops and popes, the movements of secular modernity and religious fundamentalism. O 'Meara helps the reader find in Rahner a traditional revolutionary whose theology sees the depth, extent, and vitality of faith, hope and love in the hearts of al people.

Thomas O 'Meara, OP PhD, is the William K. Warren Professor of Theology Emeritus at the University of Notre Dame. He studied with Karl Rahner at the University of Munich and continues to receive numerous invitations to teach and speak on Rahner. Among his recent publications are A Theologian's Journey (Paulist, revised 2002), Theology of Ministry (Paulist, 1999), Thomas Aquinas Theologian (University of Notre Dame Press, 1997).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814652220
Publisher:	Liturgical Press, The
Publication date:	01/28/2007
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Thomas F. O'Meara, O.P., Warren Professor Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame, is the author of Erich Przywara, S.J.: His Theology and His World (2009) and God in the World: A Guide to Karl Rahner's Theology (Liturgical Press, 2007).

Table of Contents

Abbreviations     vii
A Guide to Karl Rahner's Theology     1
An Important Theologian     2
A Lasting Influence     3
Rahner and Munich in the 1960s: A Personal Encounter     4
A Guide to a Theologian for Today and Tomorrow     7
Karl Rahner, Theologian     15
An Ordinary Life     16
Teachers and Sources     22
A Theologians Journey     27
Fashioning a Theology for Today     35
A Theology for Today: Five Challenging Issues     36
Three Characteristics of a Contemporary Theology     40
Reorientations     48
Men and Women within God's Life     56
The Seeking Person, the Revealing God     56
Human Existence in God's Realm     59
An Ordinary Spirituality     61
Dramas of Grace     64
God's Life in Terrestrial History     71
Existential History     72
Salvation History and World History     73
Jesus Christ     75
The Word of Jesus Christ: The Bible     80
God's Wide Love and Life     84
People's Religions     87
The Church and Its Ministries     94
The Church as Event and Community     95
The Church Existing in History's Forms     98
Charism and Ministry and Office     102
A Transcendental Community of Ministers     104
Leaders in the Church     107
The Church Today     111
The Future of the World     120
The Future of Christianity     120
The Future of the Church     121
God and Intelligent Creatures beyond Earth     125
The Absolute Future     126
Conclusion     135
Appendices
Chronology of Karl Rahner's Life     139
Bibliographical Guides     140
Index     142

Editorial Reviews

It is indeed on this note, of what lies ahead—a note of hope and authentic Christian optimism true to Rahner’s spirit—that O’Meara concludes this book. We live not into a future of our own making but into a future that is God—an absolute future that transcends time. Rahner is still, for so any theologians and others who seek God, an indispensable guide into that future. O’Meara has given us a gem of a book that will help introduce Rahner to a new generation.
Horizons

O’Meara’s book is a brief, engaging, and insightful guide to Rahner’s thought, useful and attractive to beginners.
Theological Studies

Thomas F. O’Meara’s God in the World refreshingly fulfills its purpose as a handbook to Karl Rahner’s theology. It serves as a ‘guide’ in the best sense of the word. O’Meara does not merely lead the reader through the essential aspects of Rahner’s theology; he joins the reader on a journey into Rahner’s historical framework of a Church and world in transition and suggests how this can be a passage to a renewal of Rahner’s theological insights for our twenty-first century. . . . O’Meara not only introduces us to the Rahner who opens our eyes to the ways in which God comes to meet us, but he also compels us to follow Rahner’s lead and meet God in new ways in the Church and in the world.
Pastoral Music

The author has succeeded in providing a useful and personal guide to the theology of Karl Rahner. He has clearly established the debt of contemporary theology to Rahner’s theology. He has provided us with a personal and fresh understanding of the ‘father’ of many contemporary theologians.
Catholic Library World

Not just another commentary on Rahner’s theology, O’Meara’s guidebook is distinctive, citing numerous key texts illuminated by personal recollections of Rahner’s teaching especially in Munich. The author synthesizes an astonishing variety of recent German and English analyses. His down-to-earth prose demystifies Rahnerian concepts and provides fresh doctrinal insights through relating them to works of modern literature, architecture, and the fine arts. Here is a steady compass for the new generation of theologians

Michael A. Fahey, S.J., Boston College

From the Publisher