Confronting the Mystery of God: Political, Liberation, and Public Theologies

by Gaspar Martinez

Overview

A highly insightful study of three major movements in Roman Catholic theology over the past thirty years. This fascinating work of theological scholarship offers an exceptionally broad scope and powerfully unifying theme. Gaspar Martinez first offers penetrating interpretations of three major contemporary theologians working on three continents, in quite dissimilar historical, cultural, social, and economic situations. Then he goes on to illustrate how Johannes Metz, Gustavo GutiTrrez, and David Tracy each had a tensive ongoing relationship to the mid-twentieth century theologians and movements that formed them-Karl Rahner, nouvelle theologie, and Bernard Lonergan, respectively. Martinez brilliantly contextualizes each of these thinkers. In broad strokes, he sketches postwar Germany, postcolonial Peru, and the American century and shows how each man was formed by his era. He also examines the lines of influence and relationship between these theologians and some of their nontheological contemporaries: Metz and Adorno, Bloch, and Benjamin; GutiTrrez and Paulo Freire, JosT Carlos Mariategui, and the novelist JosT Marfa Arguedas; and Tracy and thinkers from Eliade and Ricoeur to Gadamer and Derrida.Martinez convincingly illustrates how each of these theologians in recent years has focused more directly on the mystery of God, entailing greater emphasis on spirituality and mysticism, with the consequence that the more properly theological their theologies have become the more they have become negative theologies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826413871
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	05/13/2002
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	270
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.77(d)

About the Author

Gaspar Martinez has a degree from the London School of Economics and a doctorate from the University of Chicago. He is Secretary General of the Diocese of Bilbao, in the Basque Country, where he also teaches at the Diocesan Institute for Theological and Pastoral Studies. He is European Chaplain of Pax Romane ICMICA (International Catholic Movement for Intellectual and Cultural Affairs).

Table of Contents

	Foreword	vii
	Preface	xi
	Abbreviations	xiv
1.	Karl Rahner and the Turning Point in Catholic Theology	1
	The Foundations of Rahner's Thought	1
	The Core of Rahner's Theology	5
	The Theological Enterprise	14
	A Recapitulatory Theology	19
2.	Johann Baptist Metz: Political Theology	21
	Continuity and Discontinuity	21
	Social, Cultural, and Ecclesial Background of Metz's Theology	25
	The Rahnerian Heritage and Beyond	38
	First Stages of Political Theology	46
	Political Theology as Practical Fundamental Theology	54
	The Intensification of Political Theology	68
3.	Gustavo Gutierrez: Liberation Theology	89
	Social, Cultural, and Ecclesial Background of Gutierrez's Theology	89
	First Steps of Gutierrez's Theology	111
	A Theology of Liberation	120
	Spirituality and God	139
	New Challenges and Developments	150
4.	David Tracy: Public Theology	152
	Social, Cultural, and Ecclesial Background of Tracy's Theology	152
	David Tracy and Catholic Public Theology in the United States	176
5.	The Exitus from Transcendentality to History and the Reditus from History to the Mystery of God	216
	Theology under the Conditions of History	216
	The Three Models in Dialogue: The Theological Method	218
	The Three Models in Dialogue: The Theological Content	228
	Encountering the Mystery of God in History	241
	Notes	253
	Select Bibliography	338
	Index	347

Editorial Reviews

."..a conclusion well worth pondering for anyone interested in the future of Catholic theology." J. Matthew Ashley, The Journal of Religion, April 2003

"A unique achievement. Martinez has given us a guide to a striking theological terrain. Johann Baptist Metz (political theology), Gustavo Gutierrez (liberation theology), and David Tracy (public theology) have kept many of us from giving in to what Gabriel Daly called 'the post-Enlightenment blues.' These faithful Catholic intellectuals have set new markers for intellectual discourse and pulled theological reading away from the traps of banality and accomodation....Martinez contextualizes these contextual theologians: he locates them in their political and geographical settings, intellectual milieus, emerging concerns, and he consistently finds patterns that link them. His analysis is refreshingly on target....The book provides an acute synoptic view of the three most stimulating voices in contemporary fundamental theology. And, happily, its prose is a pleasure to read. It reminds us why we enjoy theology." John K. Downey, Theological Studies

"He is an excellent interpreter: lucid, comprehensive, and perceptive . . . an excellent book." Journal of Theological Studies, 53.1 (April 2002)

"Must Read" Today's Books, May 1, 2001

"This is an unusual and valuable book. Martinez does not just present a synthesis and comparison of threse three theologians and their theologies, but sets up a fascinating dialogue among them. Beautifully written...for anyone serious about post-Vatican II Catholic theology, it is a book not to miss. When David Tracy says he was instructed by Martinez's 'brilliant study' and Gustavo Gutierrez says ones whose works are analyzed in the book will benefit from reading it most, there must be something extraordinary here." Edmond J. Dunn, Missionary Theology, November 2001


"Must Read"--Today's Books, May 1, 2001

"This work was deeply instructive to me, even about my own work, as well as about the work of other progressive theologians since Vatican II. I heartily recommend it."-David Tracy

From the Publisher

Martinez, priest and theologian of the Basque Diocese of Bilbao, Spain, originally submitted this work as a doctoral dissertation at the University of Chicago's Divinity School in 1997. He proposes that Karl Rahner's thought was a turning point and renovation of tradition in Catholic theology and can be traced in the theology of three contemporary progressive and influential thinkers: Johannes Metz's political theology (Germany), Gustavo Guti rrez's liberation theology (Peru), and David Tracy's public theology (North America). Tracy also served as the author's thesis adviser. Social and cultural contexts differ among the three, yet each takes Rahner's transcendental views to more historical and social paths, returning to the ultimate question and mystery of God, with emphasis on mysticism and spirituality. The theologically proficient will find this unique study a clear, insightful, and even brilliant analysis of post-Vatican II theology. Recommended particularly for Catholic theology collections. Anna M. Donnelly St. John's Univ. Lib., Jamaica, NY Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Secretary general of the Diocese of Bilbao, in the Basque Country, Martinez (Diocesan Institute for Theological and Pastoral Studies) offers an overview and interpretation of three major figures in late- 20th-century Roman Catholic theology: Johannes Baptist Metz, Gustavo Buti<'e>rrez, and David Tracy. Despite their very different origins and paths, he argues, they share a powerful social or worldly dimension that he traces back to Karl Rahner's theology with its dual commitment to modernity and classical Catholic faith. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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