Rahner Beyond Rahner

Preface

Introduction: Improbable Encounters?
Paul Crowley, S.J.
Part One: Encounters With Religions

Rahner Beyond Rahner: A Comparative Theologian’s Reflections On Theological Investigations
Francis X. Clooney, S.J.
The Body Of Blessing
Thomas Sheehan
Constraints On The Theological Absorption Of Plurality
Catherine Bell
Karl Rahner’s Legacy And The Prospects For Muslim-Christian Understanding
David Pinault
Part Two: Encounters With Cultures

From The Kulturkampf To China’s Cultural Christians
George Griener, S.J.
Guadalupe’s Challenge To Rahner’s Theology Of Symbol
Nancy Pineda-Madrid
Rethinking Rahner On Grace And Symbol: New Proposals From The Americas
Robert Lassalle-Klein
Religious Disillusionment In A Land Of Illusions
Michael McCarthy, S.J.
Part Three: Encounters With Theology, Ethics And Spirituality

Rahner’s Theology Of The Cross
Lois Malcolm
Rahner, Ethics And Cultures
David DeCosse
Rahner And The Avatar: The Challenge From Popular Religions
Mark F. Fischer
The Stillpoint: Autoeroticism Or Grace?
G. Donald Maloney
Afterword: Where Do We Go From Here? Rahner In The Pacific Rim And Beyond
Tom Powers, S.J

Additional Info
One hundred years after the birth of Karl Rahner, the contributors to this book ask whether and how Rahner’s theology can address new religious and cultural realities in the twenty-first century, particularly those realities found on what has come to be called the Pacific Rim. Stretching from California and Latin America, and across the Pacific Ocean to Asia, this geographic region manifests an incredible cultural and religious diversity, but also many points of intersection and interpenetration, resulting in new forms of religion and spirituality. The theological categories generated by Rahner, such as the anonymous Christian and even the notion of a world church, meet steep challenges when read in contexts very different from that of Germany and the theological currents of the Atlantic. At the same time, the encounter between Rahner and the Pacific Rim results in fresh readings of Rahner not previously imagined, not only in places like China and Mexico, but even Los Angeles.

Anchored by a seminal essay by Francis X. Clooney, S.J. (Harvard), contributors, include Thomas Sheehan (Stanford), Catherine Bell (Santa Clara), and George Griener, S.J. (Berkeley). Each essay examines the possibilities and limitations of Rahner’s theology in this newly configured Pacific world.