Abstract
Karl Rahner, one of the most important theologians in the history of the Catholic Church, developed his doctrine of God through philosophical and theological reflection on the theistic faith conviction he received from his Catholic family and training as a Jesuit priest. His early philosophical works, influenced by Kant and Heidegger, developed a metaphysical anthropology that views human beings as essentially oriented to being as a whole and a philosophy of religion based on human receptivity to a potential divine word heard in history. In moving to theology, Rahner rejected a sharp distinction between faith and reason, claiming instead that faith is the highest achievement of reason. His vast theological corpus portrays God as the holy mystery, who is the source of the dynamism of the human spirit and as the goal of human transcendence. We relate to God not the highest being among other beings, but as the horizon that makes all knowing and loving possible.
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Notes
- 1.
For the importance of Rahner’s early faith development see Apologetics, p. 48.
- 2.
For an English translation see Origen TI, 16, pp. 81–103.
- 3.
See Middle Ages TI, 16, pp. 104–134.
- 4.
See Heidegger, pp. 126–137.
- 5.
For the thesis of Aquinas see his Summa Theologiae I, q 84, a.7.
- 6.
For the English translation of the revised edition see Spirit .
- 7.
For Gilkey’s review see “Rahner’s Spirit in the World,” Journal of Ecumenical Studies, 7, 1970, pp. 138–144.
- 8.
This work was first published in German in 1941 as Hörer des Wortes. The following summary draws on Joseph Donceel’s excellent translation of Rahner’s original 1941 work found in Rahner Reader. For the revised edition see Hearers.
- 9.
Rahner Reader, pp. 46–48.
- 10.
For one of his best treatments of this topic see “The Concept of Mystery in Catholic Theology” TI, 4, pp. 36–73.
- 11.
The following is a summary of the major themes found in Foundations .
References
Works by Karl Rahner
1961–1976. Theological investigations, vols. 1–23. vol. 1–6 published in Baltimore by Helicon; vol. 7–10 in New York by Herder and Herder; and vol. 11–14 in New York by Seabury; vol. 15–23 in New York by Crossroads. Abbr. TI.
1968. Spirit in the world. Trans. William Dych. New York: Herder and Herder, Abbr. Spirit.
1969a. Hearers of the word. Trans. Michael Richards with a Preface by J.B. Metz. New York: Herder and Herder, Abbr. Hearers. Joseph Donceel’s translation of Rahner’s first edition appears in A Rahner Reader, ed. Gerald A. McCool, 2–65. New York: Seabury, 1975, Abbr. Rahner Reader.
1969b. The concept of existential philosophy in Heidegger. Trans. Andrew Tallon. Philosophy Today 13: 126–137. Abbr. Heidegger.
1978. Foundations of Christian faith: An introduction to the idea of Christianity. Trans. William V. Dych. New York: Seabury, Abbr. Foundations.
1979a. The doctrine of the spiritual senses in the middle-ages. In TI, vol. 16, 104–134. Abbr. Middle Ages.
1979b. The spiritual senses according to Origen. In TI, vol. 16, 81–103. Abbr. Origen.
Other Authors
Bacik, J. 1980. Apologetics and the eclipse of mystery. University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame, Abbr. Apologetics.
Maréchal, Joseph. 1970. A Maréchal reader. Ed. and Trans. Joseph Donceel. New York: Herder and Herder. Abbr. Maréchal.
McCool, G.A. 1975. A Rahner reader. New York: Seabury. Abbr. Rahner Reader.
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Bacik, J.J. (2013). Karl Rahner on God. In: Diller, J., Kasher, A. (eds) Models of God and Alternative Ultimate Realities. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5219-1_37
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