Hans Urs von Balthasar

  • Thread starter Thread starter Cruxis117
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
C

Cruxis117

Guest
Hello. I didn’t know where to put this, so if this is in the wrong place, I apologize.

I have von Balthasar’s “The Christian State of Life”, and so far I’ve enjoyed it. However, I’ve been told that von Balthasar was a universalist. My basic question is: Is it safe to read his works?
 
No one is 100% correct when trying to advance the faith. He was nominated for the Cardinalate but died before elevation. He co-founded a Journal with Joseph Ratzinger.

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, at his funeral while talking about h “What the pope intended to express by this mark of distinction [elevation to the Cardinalate], and of honor, remains valid, no longer only private individuals but the Church itself, in its official responsibility, tells us that he is right in what he teaches of the faith.” He is worth reading for sure. Just be aware that not everything he is saying is dogmatically defined as true.
 
Joseph_LaMothe said:
No one is 100% correct when trying to advance the faith. He was nominated for the Cardinalate but died before elevation. He co-founded a Journal with Joseph Ratzinger.

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, at his funeral while talking about h “What the pope intended to express by this mark of distinction [elevation to the Cardinalate], and of honor, remains valid, no longer only private individuals but the Church itself, in its official responsibility, tells us that he is right in what he teaches of the faith.” He is worth reading for sure. Just be aware that not everything he is saying is dogmatically defined as true.
Click to expand...
Awesome! Thank you very much! 🙂
 
That’s probably because he was such a fan of Origen. But more specifically, he stated that we don’t know if anyone is in fact in hell, we can only guess. That’s not saying no one is, it’s saying we can hope no one is, and we cannot know for certain if anyone is, or who is, etc.

And by the way, St. Gregory of Nyssa had some universalist views as well. He’s still a saint.
 
He was not a universalist as most would understand the term. He believed that, Scripturally speaking, we have to hold out hope for the salvation of all. In other words, if we truly believe that God wills all men to be saved (1 Tim 2:4), then we have to hold out the objective possibility that everyone can be saved. He did not believe that necessarily all would be saved- only that it is possible, and we must hope for it.

He was certainly not so influenced by Origen that he took Origen’s Greek philosophical views on the matter into play.
 
theidler said:
That’s probably because he was such a fan of Origen. But more specifically, he stated that we don’t know if anyone is in fact in hell, we can only guess. That’s not saying no one is, it’s saying we can hope no one is, and we cannot know for certain if anyone is, or who is, etc.

And by the way, St. Gregory of Nyssa had some universalist views as well. He’s still a saint.
Click to expand...
👍
 
GelasianumVetus said:
He was not a universalist as most would understand the term. He believed that, Scripturally speaking, we have to hold out hope for the salvation of all. In other words, if we truly believe that God wills all men to be saved (1 Tim 2:4), then we have to hold out the objective possibility that everyone can be saved. He did not believe that necessarily all would be saved- only that it is possible, and we must hope for it.

He was certainly not so influenced by Origen that he took Origen’s Greek philosophical views on the matter into play.
Click to expand...
👍

I will only add that he used Aquinas to support his view.

Oh, and Gregory of Nyssa did hold a form of universalism, but one that was distinct from Origen’s and never condemned. Can’t remember all the particulars right now. But in this Balthasar was probably more influenced by Gregory of Nyssa than Origen.
 
theidler said:
That’s probably because he was such a fan of Origen. But more specifically, he stated that we don’t know if anyone is in fact in hell, we can only guess. That’s not saying no one is, it’s saying we can hope no one is, and we cannot know for certain if anyone is, or who is, etc.

And by the way, St. Gregory of Nyssa had some universalist views as well. He’s still a saint.
Click to expand...
The best quote I heard on this issue: “Maybe Hell is like MySpace - it still exists, it’s just that nobody goes there anymore!”
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top