the glory of the lord hans urs von balthasar

In subsequent works, Von Balthasar also used beauty as a foundation to explore and make sense of both goodness and truth, thereby showing how theological aesthetics is - or at least could be - relevant to almost all theological reflection. In the latter part of the 20 th century, Von Balthasar produced a seven-volume work on theological aesthetics, titled The glory of the Lord, wherein he placed beauty at the very centre of his theological thinking, and encouraged others to do the same.

One of the most influential figures behind this development is the Swiss Catholic theologian, Hans Urs von Balthasar. Over the past few decades, there has been a renewed interest in theological conceptions of beauty, also in relation to other important theological foci such as justice (as this project confirms). Trefwoorde: Teologiese estetika, Teologiese dramatika, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Skoonheid, Geregtigheid Keywords: Theological aesthetics, Theological dramatics, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Beauty, Justice The essay subsequently turns to questions of justice (in light of Von Balthasar's understanding of the relation between beauty and goodness), and ultimately argues that, according to Von Balthasar's thought, justice can be viewed as a form of beauty-in-action that asks to be performed in the world.

This is then followed by an exposition of Von Balthasar's theological dramatics, as developed in his work Theo-drama, which shows how, for Von Balthasar, this beautiful form of Christ is not merely a static image, icon, or artwork but, in fact, a dynamic event, a dramatic act, an embodied performance which reveals to us, along with God's glory and beauty, God's unbounded goodness. It begins by giving an exposition of Balthasar's theological aesthetics, as developed in his work The glory of the Lord, which shows how, for Von Balthasar, earthly beauty participates in, and expresses something of God's divine glory and reaches its apex in the revelation of the beautiful form of Jesus Christ. Justice as beauty-in-action? insights from Hans Urs von Balthasar's aesthetics and dramatics 1ĭepartment of Systematic neology and Ecclesiology Stellenbosch University /0000-0001-6040-7994 essay explores the relation between beauty and justice by turning to the thought of the Swiss Catholic theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar.

The glory of the lord hans urs von balthasar