Seeing the Form by Hans Urs von Balthasar

As an introduction to his systematics, it is an essential read. This is the first book (of seven) of the first part of his 'trilogy' which outlines and describes his systematic theology. This is the first book (of seven) of the first part of his 'trilogy' which outlines and describes his systematic theology Hans Urs von Balthasar was, without a doubt, one of the most important Catholic systematic theologians of the 20th century. It seems to be a near-literal translation from the German and so is somewhat hard to follow at times, and I wish the inline Latin, Greek, and French phrases had been translated (as has been done with the 2nd volume of this work). Warning: spending time with Hans Urs von Balthasar leads to intoxication of the mind! What a thrilling read. Where truth and goodness have dominated the discipline, beauty has fallen on hard times. At its base, Balthasar wants to recapture aesthetics, or beauty, in the task of theological reflection. The first volume of Balthasar's Theological Aesthetics, Seeing the Form is difficult to quantify in a few words. Warning: spending time with Hans Urs von Balthasar leads to intoxication of the mind! What a thrilling read He re-examines the nature of Christian believing, drawing widely on such theological figures as Anselm, Pascal and Newman. Then, von Balthasar turns to the central theme of the volume, the question of theological knowledge. Opens with a critical review of developments in Protestant and Catholic theology since the Reformation which have led to the steady neglect of aesthetics in Christian theology.

Seeing the Form by Hans Urs von Balthasar