A symphony of distances : patristic, modern, and gendered dimensions of Balthasar's Trinitarian theology

The two-fold task of A Symphony of Distances is to provide an overview of Hans Urs von Balthasar's use of distance imagery with regard to personal distinctions in the Holy Trinity and to offer a critical analysis of him as a modern Catholic theologian. A metaphor of "distance" integrates all of Balthasar's theological thought as a primary cipher for the many symbols through which he reads the Christian theological tradition in a trinitarian and eschatological mode. The book follows a chronological, four-stage development of Balthasar's trinitarianism through the lens of this distance metaphor as it occurs across representative texts. The critical analysis employs the conceit of a symphony of four musical movements that correspond to four varieties of theological distance. These distances show certain correspondences of God's creation and redemption of the world―marked by the first two "distances"―with the relations of the divine persons to each other in the economy of salvation and in the eternal Trinity itself―marked by the third and fourth distances. "Listening" to the four movements of Balthasar's theological distances enables his readers to "hear" the themes of all four movements in the ascending order of richness, complexity, and inclusivity over the long development of his thought. This fundamentally positive approach of A Symphony of Distances allows for a thorough critique of the internal consistency of Balthasar's applied method, of the controversial use of gendered trinitarian notions in his speculations on divine pathos, and of his adequacy to the tasks of modern theology. The final judgment is that Balthasar's theology of distance can be accepted, with reservations, as a positive element of his contribution to contemporary trinitarian theology. The book can thus serve as a critical reference for readers who find Balthasar's notion of trinitarian distance, and indeed his trinitarianism as a whole, to be compelling, confusing, or frustrating. "The book follows a chronological, four-stage development of Balthasar's trinitarianism through the lens of the metaphor of "distance" as it occurs across representative texts. The critical analysis employs the conceit of a "symphony of four musical movements" that correspond to four varieties of theological distance, enabling readers to "hear the themes of all four movements" in the ascending order of richness, complexity, and inclusivity over the long development of his thought. This fundamentally positive approach to Balthasar's theology allows for a thorough critique of the internal consistency of his applied method, of the controversial use of gendered trinitarian notions in his speculations on divine pathos, and of his adequacy to the tasks of modern theology. The final judgment is that Balthasar's theology of distance can be accepted, with reservations, as a positive element of his contribution to contemporary trinitarian theology"-- Provided by publisher Contents Abbreviations Preface Introduction 1. Distance in the Fathers: Gregory of Nyssa and Maximus the Confessor 2. Distance in Karl Barth 3. The Distance That Saves: The New Testament and Trinitarian Soteriology 4. The Pitfalls and Promises of Trinitarian Distance 5. Possibilities for Retrieval from within the Symphony of Distances Epilogue Glossary Bibliography Index