Solidarity with the World: Charles Taylor and Hans Urs von Balthasar on Faith, Modernity, and Catholic Mission

by Carolyn A. Chau

Overview

Is Christian mission even possible today? In "a secular age," is it possible to talk about the goodness of God in a compelling way? How should the church proceed? Carolyn Chau explores the question of Catholic mission in a secular age through a constructive interpretation of the work of two celebrated Catholic thinkers, philosopher Charles Taylor and theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar, arguing that Taylor and Balthasar together offer a promising path for mission today. Chau attends to Taylor's account of the conditions of belief today, and the genesis of the sociohistorical limits on contemporary "God-talk," as well as his affirmation of certain aspects of Western modernity's "culture." From Balthasar, Chau sifts out the distinctiveness of his view of the human person as defined by mission, and his encouragement of a kenotic self-understanding of the church. In the end, Chau claims that if modern persons in secular Western societies are seeking fulfillment and integrity, Christian spirituality remains a rich resource on offer.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781498235877
Publisher:	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Publication date:	11/15/2016
Series:	Theopolitical Visions , #20
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	254
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Carolyn A. Chau is Assistant Professor of Moral and Systematic Theology at King's University College, Western University. She holds a PhD in theology from the University of St. Michael's College, Toronto, and an MDiv from Yale Divinity School. Her research attends to questions at the intersection of faith and culture, particularly those concerning the shape of Catholic mission and moral formation in contemporary secular societies.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xiii

List of Abbreviations xv

Introduction 1

1 Taylor's Picture of the Modern World 24

2 The Challenge of Secularism for the Church 57

3 Balthasar's Theological Anthropology: Authentic Personhood and the Eschatological Horizon of Freedom 107

4 Balthasar's Vision of a Witnessing Church: The Holy Church, Possibility of a Genuine Christian Inspiration 154

5 Conclusion 189

Bibliography 207

Name Index 223

Subject Index 225