Theo-Drama, vol. II: Dramatis Personae: Man in God
Digital Verbum Edition
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Overview
The first volume of this series surveyed the great world dramatists to gather concepts and ideas to apply to the real stage, which is the universe God has made and centered into himself as an actor. This volume describes the actors, the dramatis personae. This is his theological anthropology concerning man, his freedom and destiny in the light of biblical revelation. Von Balthasar is concerned here with the dramatic character of existence as a whole, approaching the topic through a consideration of the various conditions and situations of mankind as a drama that involves both the Creator and his creatures.
With the Logos edition the reader has an abundance of resources that offer applicable and insightful material for their study. You can easily search the subject of theological dramatic theory to access an assortment of useful resources and perspectives from a variety of pastors and theologians.
Key Features
- Examines the theory of “theo-drama”
- Reflects upon the dramatic character of existence in the light of biblical revelation
- Considers various conditions and situations of mankind as a drama that involves both the Creator and his creatures
Top Highlights
“what Gregory of Nyssa calls ‘epektasis’ and the medieval theologians call ‘excessus’.” (Page 329)
“Without this presupposition all Christology would dissolve in Monophysitism, and the doctrine of grace would dissolve in extreme Predestinationism.” (Page 184)
“the dramatic character of existence in the light of biblical revelation” (Page 9)
“The power of aesthetic expression is never an overwhelming power but one that liberates. If we lack receptivity to it, we can blindly pass by the most magnificent work of art. All the same, its power is greater than the kind of power that can put people in chains; it does not fetter, it grants freedom. It illuminates, in itself and in the man who encounters it, the realm of the transcendent word and hence of all meaning, the realm of an infinite dialogue. But again, this dialogue does not consist primarily of formulated words but in the confrontation and communing of lives.” (Page 29)
“This means that we can and must abandon as fruitless all preoccupation with possible worlds other than the real world; revelation is exclusively concerned with the latter. The ‘possible’ only has value insofar as it keeps open the realms of the real freedoms, divine and human, in their interrelatedness. It is in our real world that the eternal Son, the Word of God, has become flesh and has shown the world, in his Cross, the Father’s perfect love for the world.” (Page 270)
Praise for the Print Edition
Balthasar’s most important works, at least in his own eyes, are not his writings but his foundations.
—Peter Henrici
. . . meeting Balthasar was for me the beginning of a lifelong friendship I can only be thankful for. Never again have I found anyone with such a comprehensive theological and humanistic education as Balthasar . . . and I cannot even begin to say how much I owe to my encounter with him.
—Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI)
Product Details
- Title: Theo-Drama, vol. II: Dramatis Personae: Man in God
- Author: Hans Urs von Balthasar
- Publisher: Ignatius
- Publication Date: 1990
- Pages: 432
About Hans Urs von Balthasar
Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905–1988) was a Swiss theologian, considered to be one of the most important Catholic intellectuals and writers of the twentieth century. Incredibly prolific and diverse, he wrote over one hundred books and hundreds of articles. He was nominated to be a cardinal of the Catholic Church, but died two days before his ceremony.
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