Seeing the Form (The Glory of the Lord : a Theological Aesthetics) [Hardcover]

Hans Urs Von Balthasar (Author), Joseph Fessio (Editor), John Riches (Editor), Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1982 | Series: The Glory of the Lord : a Theological Aesthetics

The work 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. From here, von Balthasar turns to the central theme of the volume: the question of theological knowledge. He re-examines the nature of Christian believing (here he quickly draws widely on such theological figures as Anselm, Pascal and Newman) which gives due place to the particular kind of 'knowing' which develops within the personal relationship to the believer to the God mediated through the revelation-form of Jesus Christ.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

One encounters Balthasar's prodigious learning...In theological terms, this volume is the heart of his massive Glory of the Lord. --Heythrop Journal 43.1 (January 2002) --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German

Product Details

• Hardcover: 691 pages
• Publisher: Ignatius Pr (June 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898700310
• ISBN-13: 978-0898700312
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,166,525 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The first book in the first part of an important theology, July 18, 2000

By 

David Zampino "21st Century Hobbit" (Delavan, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Seeing the Form (The Glory of the Lord : a Theological Aesthetics) (Hardcover)

The late Fr. Hans Urs von Balthasar was, without a doubt, one of the most important Catholic systematic theologians of the 20th century. This is the first book (of seven) of the first part of his "trilogy" which outlines and describes his systematic theology. As an introduction to his systematics, it is an essential read. To those not familiar with von Balthasar, it's a wonderful place to start.

Unsatisfied with Rahner's "transcendental Thomism" and his method of "doing theology from below", von Balthasar begins with the revelation of God. The entire systematic theology is structured around the ancient philosophical transcendentals "Beauty, Truth, and Goodness". In this first volume (and throughout the first part of the trilogy) von Balthasar discusses the Revelation of God to humanity through form and beauty.

Truly a remarkable book, and a good introduction to a remarkable man.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece on Beauty, July 7, 2005

By 

Ney V. Carvalho (Sao Paulo, Brazil) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Seeing the Form (The Glory of the Lord : a Theological Aesthetics) (Hardcover)

Hans Urs von Balthasar was one of the most preeminent XXth century catholic theologians, and this is, in my opinion, his most important work - by this I mean the whole trilogy (Glory, Theodrammatica, Theologica). This first volume of Glory, Seeing the Form (Schau der Gestalt) seems to be really fundamental for a serious understanding of the guidelines of his thought.

At the fantastic Introduction, after a superb hymn to the Beauty, he presents us with an accurate analysis of the elimination of this universal (Beauty) from both Catholic and Protestant theology, besides a review on the possibilities of a Protestant Aesthetics. He tries, then, to make it clear the difference between an Aesthetic Theology from a Theological Aesthetics. The task and structure of the latter is then explored.

There's no way to go on in such detailness through the whole book, because there are too many points to look at, and this is not the place to do it. But it's worth to say that the main objective of the author, as he goes on working on the 'subjective evidence' through the 'light' and 'experience' of faith (the second part of the book), and at the third part, the 'objective evidence', the main objective, as I was saying, is to precise a 'form', to state the main difference of Christianity from all other world religions, which is exactly the visible and historical form of the God made flesh. After 'seeing' the form of revelation which came from the Old Covenant, we have in Christ the centre of its form, that is, the centre of God's revelation form.

I strongly recommend this book to everyone who is seriously wanting to deep his theological studies, or to anyone who wants to learn more about the actual situation of the Church, and Christianity as a whole.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Philosophy, June 8, 2007

By 

Burke Thomas Ingraffia - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Seeing the Form (The Glory of the Lord : a Theological Aesthetics) (Hardcover)

Any Christian who likes to express his or her faith in aesthetic terminology should read this book. Any educated person with a classical philosophic vocabulary should read it too. Beautiful work.