Hans Urs von Balthasar's Theological Aesthetics A MODEL FOR POST-CRITICAL BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION W. T. Dickens UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME PRESS Notre Dame, Indiana I Copyright © 2003 by University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, Indiana 46556 www.undpress.nd.edu All Rights Reserved Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dickens, W. T. (William Thomas), 1957- Hans Urs von Balthasar's theological aesthetics: a model for post-critical biblical interpretation / W. T. Dickens. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-268-03063-4 ISBN 0-268-03064-2 (pbk.) 1. Bible-Hermeneutics. 2. Balthasar, Hans Urs von, 1905- Herrlichkeit. 3. Aesthetics-Religious aspects-Catholic Church. 4. Catholic Church-Doctrines. 5. Theology, Doctrinal. I. Title. BS476 .DS3 2003 230'.2'092-dc21 2003013588 This book is printed on acid-free paper. 00 for my mother & in memory of my father CONTENTS Acknowledgments lX Introduction I Chapter I Theological Aesthetics: 25 A Methodological and Historical Orientation The Ailments of Modern Theology • Theological Aesthetics Analogies between Revelation and Beauty • Conclusion Chapter 2 Theological Hermeneutics 73 The Wholeness of Forms • Authorial Intent Ecclesial Mediation • Conclusion Chapter 3 The Unity of Scripture I25 Fragmentation • Integration Conclusion Contents Vlll I Chapter 4 The Authority of Scripture 163 Corpus Triforme • Biblical Inspiration Biblical Authority Chapter 5 Theological Exegesis 207 Mary as a Type and as the Bride of the Church An Analysis of Balthasar's Exegesis Alternative Descriptions of Balthasar's Exegesis • Conclusion Conclusion 235 Notes 239 Bibliography 309 Index 329 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I have had the great fortune to learn from outstanding teachers. Marcus Borg and Bardwell Smith nurtured my interest in the interpre tation of religious texts during my undergraduate years at Carleton Col lege. While I was at Yale, Brevard Childs, perhaps the best classroom instructor I ever had, provided a first demonstration of biblical exegesis that seeks to serve the Church while remaining attuned to the lessons of historical criticism. Rowan Greer, a particularly striking example of the benefits of a learned clergy, was an early, encouraging guide through the thickets of ancient biblical interpretation. Readers of this book's fourth chapter will recognize my reliance on David Kelsey's keen ana lytical mind, though I am equally grateful to him for the hours he spent with me in directed reading courses. George Lindbeck has been unfail ingly kind and supportive, both while I was at Yale and since. Of the many things I have learned from him, I would highlight his insistence on setting oneself the goal of reading critically, yet charitably. Along with Professors Greer, Kelsey, and Lindbeck, Cyril O'Regan, Nicholas Wol terstorff, Paul Molnar, and Edward Oakes all read and commented on the manuscript. Their suggestions measurably improved it. IX X ~I Acknowledgments For the editorial staff at the University of Notre Dame Press and es pecially its director, Barbara Hanrahan, I have nothing but praise and gratitude. It is a privilege to work with such fine people. And I could not have completed the final stages of bringing the manuscript to press without the generous support of the benefactors of the Cornell Catholic Community. My wife, Joyce Schuld, deserves special thanks, not simply because of her remarkable intellect and rhetorical skills, but also because, through more than a dozen years of marriage, her devotion, compas sion, and steadfastness have been to me a shield and a buckler. I gratefully dedicate this book to my parents, whose patient work as my teachers-and as so much eJse-I hope to honor with this effort. Hans Urs von Balthasar's Theological Aesthetics