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<p>This dissertation compares the soteriologies of René Girard and Hans Urs von Balthasar as they engage and respond to the thought of Friedrich Nietzsche, and specifically, to Nietzsche’s critique of atonement theology. It examines a problematic shared by all three figures, one defined by the relationship between the violence and redemption. Chapter 1 traces the development of this problematic from Anselm through Luther and Calvin, and attends to the way changes in the metaphysical framework underlying the language of satisfaction led the Reformers to construe divine wrath in more strictly punitive terms. The subsequent chapters examine the responses offered by Nietzsche, Girard, and von Balthasar. Nietzsche argues that Christian priests used the event of Jesus’ violent crucifixion as a symbol to hold the weak in thrall; the Cross came to symbolize the threat of divine wrath and the hope of a quasi-magical salvation. Girard and von Balthasar each argue that Christian soteriology does not enslave Christians to a lie but orients all human beings to the truth. They also agree that the violence of the crucifixion is significant. But whereas Girard argues that the Christian doctrine of divine wrath is a residue of violent pagan religion and thus has no place in interpreting the meaning of the crucifixion, von Balthasar argues that this doctrine serves to highlight the unique quality of God’s re-ordering love. By analyzing and interpreting their responses to Nietzsche, this dissertation seeks to evaluate the contributions Girard and von Balthasar offer for a post-Nietzschean soteriology.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Univ., Diss./2006--Trier, 2005.

Zugl.: Regensburg, Univ., Diss., 2007.

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[pt] A pesquisa é realizada sobre a Igreja em saída com aproximação de implicações da teologia kenótica de von Balthasar e a proposta de pensar o avanço e a contribuição teológica para a Igreja nos dias atuais, marcados pela mudança de época e pelas situações críticas principalmente consideradas nas periferias existenciais. Esta tese tem como questão: a proposta do papa Francisco de Igreja em saída a realizar-se mediante a kenosis eclesial, com inspiração na teologia de von Balthasar. Assim, compreende aplicar a dinâmica irreversível do Concílio Vaticano II. A tese mostra o primeirear como movimento kenótico, impulsionado pelo Espírito Santo, pois o Deus Trino na sua comunicação e atuação kenótica propõe a abertura ao outro. A pesquisa tem metodologia bibliográfica, tendo como ponto de partida o magistério do papa Francisco, singularmente a Evangelii Gaudium n. 24, e outros vários pronunciamentos do pontificado e estudos da teologia balthasariana, especialmente sobre a kenosis e modelos kenóticos da Igreja. A proposta de Igreja em saída através da kenosis proporciona um caminho para a renovação da Igreja, que envolve a formação de pequenas comunidades, dimensão sinodal, missão kenótica, práxis de misericórdia, em direção às fronteiras humanas, primeireando com o diálogo humanizador e frutificando novas formas de vivência comunitária. / [en] The research carried out on the Church which goes forth, impacted by Von Balthasar s kenotic theology, proposes a reflection on the theological contribution and advancement of the Church in our present day, marked by the change of time and the critical situations mainly contemplated in the existential peripheries. This thesis questions: Pope Francis proposal of the Church which goes forth to be made through ecclesial kenosis, inspired by the theology of von Balthasar. Thus comprising of the irreversible dynamics of the Vatican II Council. The thesis aims to show the first step (primeirear) as a kenotic movement, driven by the Holy Spirit, given that, the Triune God whom through his communication and kenotic action proposes openness to the other. The research has bibliographic methodology, of Pope Francis magisterium, particularly Evangelii Gaudium 24, and other various pronouncements of the pontificate, as well as expanded the studies of Balthasarian theology with its rich theological foundation from kenosis and kenotic form of the Church. The proposal of the Church which goes forth through kenosis offers a path to the renovation of the Church, which involves the formation of small communities, synodal dimension, kenotic mission, praxis of mercy, towards the human fronteers, with humanizing dialogue as the the first step (primeirear) and blossoming of new forms of comunal experience.

This thesis has two aims. Firstly, in order to answer the question, ‘In what sense do people see Mary as a type of the Church?’, this thesis will set up original typological models of the relationship between Mary and the Church (chapter 1). It will then demonstrate how and why an eschatological element came to be present in these models (chapter 2).It will be a contention of this thesis that looking at the Mario-ecclesial discussions set out in chapters 3 and 4 through these typological models will allow a greater depth of analysis. The models allow one to discern differences between and nuances in various views of the relationship between Mary and the Church that would be impossible to discern if one were using just the language of ‘type’. Secondly the thesis will show how each Mario-ecclesial discussion has been affected by the socio-political context of the time. Specifically, the thesis will analyse the Mario-ecclesial discussions of the patristic, medieval and modern periods in the light of the typological models. In chapter 1, the patristic Mario-ecclesiologies of Irenaeus and Ambrose will be considered. In chapter 2, Bernard of Clairvaux will be used to analyse the eschatological nature of the Mario-ecclesiology in the medieval period. In chapter 3, the contrasting Mario-ecclesiologies of the Second Vatican Council and Hans Urs von Balthasar will be compared. In chapter 4, it will be suggested that John Paul’s model of the Mario-ecclesial relationship was based on his eschatological vision for the Church and the role that Mary plays in that future which is both imminent and already realised. This thesis will demonstrate that by using the typological models in these periods a greater depth of analysis can be achieved. This will be particularly true of the complex and nuanced discussions on Mary in the Roman Catholic Church in the twentieth century. This analysis will culminate in the particular Mariology of John Paul II.

If from God’s perspective ‘all the world’s a stage’, theology invites one to think and act according to the view afforded from this height. To speak theologically of a ‘world stage’ as many contemporary theologians have done has required rethinking the Church’s long-established antagonism towards the stage. Of late, theology has opened up academic exchange with the drama’s understanding of ‘the great theatre of the world’. Hans Urs von Balthasar’s theo-drama in particular has given Christians a means for entering into discussion with dramatic forms. Contemporary theological engagements with ‘drama’, however, have been limited to its most literary/metaphorical aspects; less attention has been paid to the potentialities in theology’s exchange with the performance aesthetics of live theatre. Pressed to its logical ends, however, von Balthasar’s idea of a ‘theological dramatics’ and its advances made in contemporary theology, suggest the need for sustained engagement with other modes of dramaturgy, including performance theory and the stage. This thesis attempts to instantiate this theological engagement through the aesthetics of theatrical performance.