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Foundations of Christian Faith: An Introduction to the Idea of Christianity

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. . .to the theology of the foremost Catholic theologian of the 20th century.

I'll admit up front that I am not a "Rahnerian" in my thinking. Nevertheless, the contributions this man made to philosophy and theology in the 20th century cannot be measured. In "Foundations of Christian Faith", the reader can gain an understanding of Rahner's beliefs presented in a more or less systematic fashion. This is refreshing, because most of Rahner's writings are preserved in collections of essays -- very valuable in and of themselves, but not systematic in their presentation.

This volume is a systematic presentation. Rahner begins from a philosophical perspective informed primarily by St. Thomas Aquinas, but filtered through the lens of German idealism. He begins with discussions on such subjects as Man as Person, Man as Transcendent Being, Questions of Personal Existence, and moves first to God as Absolute Mystery, Guilt, God's Self-Communication, and leads naturally into soteriology, Christology, and ecclesiology.

Whether at the end of the day one find's Rahner's arguments convincing (I don't fully) they are nevertheless compelling and should be studied by Protestants as well as Catholics.

'Foundations of Christian Faith' is a deceptive title for a book which is in fact an overview of the whole field of Rahner's catholic progressive theology and it is no easy read; I gave an Italian version to a doctor friend who gave up reading it after the first 50 pages because 'it was too difficult'! It is however compulsory reading for anyone interested in the perennial conflict within catholicism between a theology inspired by St.Thomas(based on Aristotle) and St.Augustine(based on Plato). The representative of this latter theology is the Swiss theologian Von Balthasar who wrote his magisterial 'The Glory of the Lord' in response to what he saw as Rahner's 'dilution of the concept of Revelation' amongst other things. The current Pope Benedict XVI, a major theologian himself, is a firm supporter of Von Balthasar's theology which makes Rahner somewhat unpopular in Vatican theological circles today. Rahner, in contrast to the entire catholic approach to theology of the past 2000 years does not start his understanding of Christianity by elaborating upon the tenets of revealed faith, but starts from 'below' ie. from mankind as a species which is open to the supernatural in its very essence and then goes on to show how 'faith' fills this need or 'spiritual vacuum'; the point of conflict here is whether faith is inherent in human nature or is an act of grace (a created spiritual reality which is granted to Man but is not part of his natural constitution). Rahner, amongst other things, even opens out to Eastern religious ideas by stating that 'purgatory' might even be worked out over a series of successive reincarnations - something which clearly has the 'traditionalists' tearing their hair out!! A further difficulty, for the traditionalists, is that he tries to make evolution an integral part of an aspect of his understanding of faith - here I think he's on shakier ground. Placing a/any scientific theory as an integral part of theology exposes it to the risk of collapse should the theory prove (over time) to be false or is replaced by another theory (look at what happened with Galileo!!) - anyone interested can read Kuhn's 'The Structure of Scientific Revolutions'. Rahner's major works are currently out of print - so the 'Foundation' is indispensable reading if anyone wants to come to grips with one of the two 'giants' of modern theology (the other being Von Balthasar).I found this English translation to be excellent and its words have a very strong emotional as well as intellectual impact, which is why I invested in a copy despite having an Italian version. One last thing, Rahner's Jesuit biblical training can clearly be felt. Behind every concept he develops there is always a NT scriptural root, this is not stated explicitly, so be sure you keep the NT firmly in mind when you read him.

Karl Rahner's brilliance in presenting systematic theology is well-illustrated in this work, the material of which will give those with such an interest much food for thought, reflection, and (in the outcome) prayer. Of particular interest is Rahner's theology of the Church, critical in an era when too much of what passed for spirituality was seen as totally personal.

Place this book on the shelf of anyone with an interest in systematic theology. However, it is not an "introductory" text in the sense of a catechism at all, nor is it a reflective work for spiritual reading. It assumes a knowledge of Scripture, doctrine, and the like, and could be very confusing for those who do not have a previous background.

Though densley packed and, at least at the outset, entirely too "transcendental" to be understood in a proper light, Rahner's "Foundations" provides an excellent introduction to his themes and ideas. Written in the latter part of his life, it is amazing that he was able to condense his more than 50 published works into one 400 page book.

This is a fantastic book for the late undergraduate or early graduate student who studies theology. It is particularly useful having read Husserl, Heidegger, and Sartre, from whom Rahner borrows heavily (amazing, to have a Catholic theologian borrow from two atheists and an agnostic). Though it is devoid of the normal scriptural references found in a theology book, and it does not treat the foundations of Christianity in Judaism in a fair way, it is nevertheless an important and vital work of philosophical catholic theology.

Rahner will argue that God is the constitutive element of man... and after reading the book it is hard to truly disagree.

Karl Rahner is confounding to most people who only touch him and veer off looking for a more acceptable theology. If you read the early Rahner, you will have difficulty. If you read Rahner's last tome, you will be treated to the fullness of his spiritual development. William Dych is the best English translator of Rahner, bar none! In "Foundations . . . ," Karl Rahner lets down his guard and reveals to the reader, who he has become in his lifetime. He is no longer speaking about God but rather, is telling the listener who God is. There is still the extensive backgrounding and rambling German sentence structure, but once you understand that this text, like all of Rahner's published works, was written from dictation, you will begin to understand just what is missing from the printed word. Even though Dych translates brilliantly and with great insight, not even he can capture the characteristic vocal inflections that made the rambling sentences concise and clear. The reader must supply the drama of the words, understanding that not a word that was uttered has been left out of print. Thus, Karl Rahner is not to be read so much as to be experienced, and this will take some work. But in this way, the reader will suddenly discover what Karl Rahner, in his persuasive and vastly diverse way is attempting to say. This book is well worth hearing, for those who have ears.

As Rahner states in his introduction, this work was taken from his introductory lectures to seminary students. These were college graduates who already had an undergraduate exposure to Catholic theology. In addition, he states with his typical clarity, that frequently the topics he is covering in this book require much more detailed discussion, but not in this introductory work. Having read this work, if your interest is challenged, you need to read a few of the collections of the journal articles he published under the titles " Theological Investigations". In these works you will see why Rahner has had such a monumental influence on the direction the Catholic Church has taken this century. It is in these collections of journal articles that you see his true talent and brilliance: he starts with the background of the issue at hand as found in scriptures, then in the writings of early fathers of the church, then the various Councils and theololgians throughout the centuries. Finally he gets to the present day and, having set the context for the issue, raises and discusses what he feels are the important factors and questions surrounding the issue. For those looking for a catechism of faith they will not find it in this volume or any other work by Rahner (that I have read, and I have read much of what has been translated into english). But if you are looking for a thinker who can stimulate you to examine your faith with your whole heart and soul, then Rahner is for you.

Karl Rahner, the theologian acknowledged as the most influential among the peritii of Vatican II of the Roman Church, also a kind of symbol of present mainline thoughs of her, summarizes his own theology.

On acount of vast amounts of his theological treatises and their sporadic subject-dealing ('Theological Investigations' etc etc etc! ), this kind of summary from the author himself is extremely helpful. Of course, this does not mean that this book tells everything on Rahner, as he himself warned in this work. Nevertheless,I bet There are such plenty of materials that every reader will by far ease a burden on understanding, get some important insights on the interpretation of, this important theologian (and perhaps, RC after Vatican II in general also) through digeting this little(-.-;) book.

Highly speculative and without proper Biblical references and interpretations - well comparable with Paul Tillich's style, but in itself very interesting and fascinating suggestions and brilliant insights - so it was even to this 3rd World - Reformed christian.

But I felt that unlike Karl Barth, Rahner does not so fit for homiletical purpose. Of course, this two highly sophisticated elites of theological world are very, very difficult to read. But at least to my experience, the digesting of the former, even a few pages, proves to be very great help and guide to the preparation of a sermon. But Rahner seems to be more adequate to the 'meditation in silence' rather than the task of preaching. This difference is perhaps from the fact that their field was respectively the Reformed (underling all times the task of prophetic preaching of the Word of God, the Bible), and Roman Cathoic (of which life is around the Mass, the everyday sacrifice of Christ,or the Mystirious Presence of the Body of Christ on the Bread, which is transubstatiated into Christ himself).

At any rate, as for me, the existence of this book is a happiness itself. It did teach to me the beauty of meditation on the Christian Truth.

Good reading material.

Karl Rahner is considered one of the leading Catholic theologians of the 20th century.

Rahner is interesting for several reasons, particularly for his strongly apophatic approach to God. This is reflected in this book, where God is considered the 'ultimate mystery' who is above 'all names', obviously echoing Pseudo-Dionysius.

Rahner's style is not the best or the most accessible, and Von Balthasar and Bernard Lonergan are much easier to read. Even Jacques Maritain is somewhat easier to read.

Rahner is not incomprehensible, but the reader will find this work very difficult to read unless they have some background to Rahner's thought, especially his extensive use of terms from existentialist and continental philosophy.

It remains one of his key works though, and needs to be read by any student of Rahner to understand his ideas.

Rahner's "Foundations" is a long, bumpy, difficult ride. The concepts are brilliant and challenging. They undoubtedly illuminate the faith of Christians and profoundly portray Catholicism. Rahner's mode of expression, however, is dense and difficult....

I am new to studying Karl Rahner, but this book is difficult to read, confusing, and if the reader is not very careful, can easily misconstrue the author's intent. Unless you have a strong background in philosophy in general, and German idealism in particular, this book will be a challenge.