The Archetypal Faith of Christ

Abstract

Hans Urs von Balthasar’s theology of Jesus’s “archetypal faith” situates the question of his consciousness in our contemporary context of the life of faith. His position is validated by current biblical scholarship and relies heavily on Karl Rahner’s consciousness-Christology, thus providing an often overlooked an example of fundamental agreement between two authors commonly seen as rivals. The article argues that Jesus’s experience of mystery, far from being obviated by his beatific knowledge, is essential to the Christian experience of faith.

Is There an End to the Theatrical Play? Hans Urs von Balthasar’s Understanding of the Beatific Vision in Relation to the Theo-Drama

“…Balthasar believes that this move is appropriate, because based on the perspective of the drama, having "a certain kind of not knowing is a paradoxical perfection of the very human expression of Jesus's divinely originated mission from the Father." 56 Within the framework of drama, Christ's mission-consciousness and his immediate vision of God have been highlighted. 57 Although Balthasar dismisses what he views to be an undramatic understanding of the beatific vision, his preferred way of thinking about Christ's mission-consciousness and his immediate vision of God nevertheless retain the meaning of what the tradition refers to as the beatific vision.…”