The Christology of Karl Rahner

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Was he the first to propose the idea that the more we become human the closer to the divine we are? Transedental thomisim it’s called?
 
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I thought the early Church Fathers said something similar, but I could be wrong. Or maybe they said it in the opposite way- the more we become like the Divine, the more fully human we become.
 
I don’t know the origin of that exact formulation but Thomas believed that the natural was the base for the supernatural. Natural virtue precedes supernatural virtue. I don’t think the formulation as you stated it is from the fathers of the church. I only know it as a statement of pope John Paul II.There was a strict distinction among the fathers between human and divine, and the distance between them is infinite. The supernatural is by definition imposed from the outside.
 
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On YouTube this person was saying :God is becoming flesh in our becoming more and more human.
This the same idea is it not?
 
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I have never heard that idea. It Sounds like the opposite of what the fathers said. There is a concept of theosis in the patristics. Theosis is the idea of becoming more like God through divine grace and practicing virtue. Athanasius said ‘God became man so that man might become god.’ Cyril of Alexandria, st Augustine, Gregory of nazianzen, Maximus the confessor and many others said similar things. The incarnation happened once, but we receive divine grace through Christ in the sacraments.

What does it mean to become more human? We are already fully human. I can see someone saying through divine grace you become more human because grace purifies, and orients you toward the end you were created for. But that sounds like the opposite of what you are saying you heard on YouTube.

Maybe this is what the guy is trying to say. Who is the guy? What channel is it?
 
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Karl Rahner was a theologian.

There are some great guides to his body of work. I would suggest getting one of those rather then YouTube. Misconceptions abound about his work.

Update , I see you have changed the title.
It is very inflammatory and has been flagged
 
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I wouldn’t recommend anyone read rahner unless they are very serious about theology. He is very difficult to understand and some of what he says is questionable.
 
Here it is:


What I was referring to starts at 12:42.
 
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On the other hand, he revealed God to men and made him visible in many ways to prevent man from being totally separated from God and so cease to be. Life in man is the glory of God; the life of man is the vision of God. If the revelation of God through creation gives life to all who live upon the earth, much more does the manifestation of the Father through the Word give life to those who see God. Irenaeus Against Heresies 4:20
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Irenaeus is generally considered the source for this kind of thinking. Since the Word became human, it is by knowing our humanity that we come to know the Word. That is the context for understanding Athanasius and other later writers. That is my overly simplified idea of what Rahner was saying.
 
Dovekin said:
Irenaeus is generally considered the source for this kind of thinking. Since the Word became human, it is by knowing our humanity that we come to know the Word. That is the context for understanding Athanasius and other later writers. That is my overly simplified idea of what Rahner was saying.
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I think this makes sense. Rahner was a mystical theologian, so “experience” of the divine is one of his things. It also helps put some of the things he says into context.
 
So is Rahners’ theology orthodox the “T”?
 
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