Karl Rahner facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
The Reverend Dr.
Karl Rahner
|
|
|---|---|
Portrait of Rahner by L. M. Cremer
|
|
| Born | 5 March 1904 |
| Died | 30 March 1984 (aged 80) |
| Alma mater |
|
| Era | 20th-century philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School | Transcendental Thomism |
|
Main interests
|
|
|
Notable ideas
|
Anonymous Christian, Economic Trinity and Immanent Trinity, Supernatural Existential, Everyday Mysticism, God's Self-Communication |
|
Influenced
|
|
Karl Rahner SJ (March 5, 1904 – March 30, 1984) was a German Jesuit priest and theologian. He is known as one of the most important Roman Catholic theologians of the 20th century. His brother, Hugo Rahner, was also a Jesuit scholar.
Rahner was born in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. He passed away in Innsbruck, Austria.
Before the Second Vatican Council, Rahner was part of a group of theologians. This group was known for a new way of thinking called Nouvelle Théologie. Some of their ideas were questioned by Pope Pius XII. However, Rahner's ideas greatly influenced the Second Vatican Council. This council changed how the Catholic faith was understood.
Contents
- Biography
- Rahner's Key Ideas
- See also
- Images for kids
Biography
Karl Rahner was the fourth of seven children. His parents were Karl and Luise Rahner. His father was a college professor. His mother was very religious, which shaped their home life.
Karl went to school in Freiburg. After graduating, he joined the Society of Jesus in 1922. His older brother Hugo had joined four years earlier. Karl was deeply moved by the teachings of Ignatius of Loyola. From 1924 to 1927, he studied Catholic philosophy. He was very interested in Immanuel Kant and two modern thinkers, Joseph Maréchal and Pierre Rousselot. These thinkers later influenced his understanding of Thomas Aquinas.
As part of his Jesuit training, Rahner taught Latin from 1927 to 1929. Then, he began studying theology in 1929. He learned a lot about early Christian writings (called Patristics). He also became interested in spiritual theology and mysticism. Rahner became a priest on July 26, 1932.
In 1934, Rahner returned to Freiburg to study for a doctorate. He studied Kant and Maréchal more deeply. He also attended classes taught by Martin Heidegger. His philosophy paper, Geist in Welt, was about Aquinas's ideas on knowledge. It was influenced by Maréchal and Heidegger. But his teacher, Martin Honecker, rejected it. He felt it was too influenced by Heidegger.
In 1936, Rahner went to Innsbruck to continue his theology studies. He became a lecturer at the University of Innsbruck in 1937. In 1939, the Nazis took over the university. Rahner moved to Vienna and worked in a pastoral institute. He taught and helped with church work until 1949. Then he returned to Innsbruck. He taught many topics, which later became essays in his book Schriften zur Theologie. This book is a collection of his deep thoughts on theology.
In 1962, Rahner was told he needed special permission to publish or lecture. This was because of his ideas on the Eucharist and Mary. However, this rule was soon cancelled. Pope John XXIII appointed Rahner as an expert advisor (peritus) for the Second Vatican Council. This gave Rahner full access to the council. He could share his ideas with many important church leaders.
Rahner had a big impact at Vatican II. He was chosen to help write Lumen gentium. This important document explains the Church's teachings. The council's openness to other religions was linked to Rahner's ideas. He believed in renewing the church and God's universal plan for salvation. He also wanted to support the ecumenical movement, which seeks unity among Christian churches.
During the council, Rahner became a professor at the University of Munich (1964-1967). Later, he taught at the University of Münster until he retired in 1971. Rahner then moved to Munich and later back to Innsbruck. He continued to write and lecture actively. He published many volumes of essays. In 1976, he finished his major work, Foundations of Christian Faith.
Rahner became ill and died on March 30, 1984, at age 80. He was buried in the Jesuit Church of the Holy Trinity in Innsbruck. During his life, Rahner wrote about 4,000 works.
Rahner's Key Ideas
Rahner wrote a huge amount. His main works include a ten-volume encyclopedia, Lexicon für Theologie und Kirche. He also wrote a six-volume theological encyclopedia, Sacramentum Mundi. He edited many other books and articles. These writings helped spread his theological views.
Rahner believed that all humans have a hidden experience of God. This happens whenever we understand something meaningful. This basic awareness makes it possible to recognize special revelations, like the Christian Gospel. His ideas greatly influenced the modern understanding of Catholicism.
Foundations of Christian Faith
Rahner wrote Foundations of Christian Faith (Grundkurs des Glaubens) near the end of his life. This book is his most complete and organized work. Most of his other writings were shorter essays.
God as Trinity
One of Rahner's most important essays was The Trinity. In it, he said that "the economic Trinity is the immanent Trinity, and the immanent Trinity is the economic Trinity." This means that God shows Himself to humans (the "economic" Trinity) exactly as He truly is in His divine life (the "immanent" Trinity).
Rahner stressed that this idea does not mean God is just one person appearing in different ways. He believed God could not show Himself as three (dreifaltige) unless He truly was three in reality.
God's Self-Communication
Rahner taught that human life finds its purpose by receiving God's self-communication. He believed that humans are actually shaped by this divine self-communication. He saw God's grace as this very self-communication.
Awareness of God
Rahner believed that all humans have a hidden awareness of God. This happens when we experience limits in our knowledge or freedom. He called this a "transcendental" experience. This idea shows his connection to thinkers like Maréchal and Kant.
Rahner said that God is an "absolute mystery." We can try to prove God's existence. But these proofs always point to a mystery that is part of human nature. Even in heaven, God will still be an incomprehensible mystery.
Humanity and Evolution
Rahner explored evolution in his book Homanisation (1958). He coined the term "Homanisation" from "hominization," which is the theory of human origins through evolution. Rahner discussed how Catholic theology relates to evolution. He also explored philosophical questions about becoming, cause, and the link between spirit and matter.
Rahner believed that grace is a key part of human existence. He called it a "supernatural existential." This means grace is a permanent change in human nature. Because of this, Rahner doubted that a state of "pure nature" (human life without grace) could truly exist.
Multiple Incarnations
Rahner was open to the idea of life on other planets. He thought about the philosophical and theological questions this raised. He argued that there is no religious rule against the idea of extraterrestrial life. He also considered the possibility of multiple Incarnations of God. However, he did not explore this idea deeply. His theology focused strongly on Christ.
Incarnation and Grace
For Rahner, the core of Christian teaching is the connection between Incarnation and grace. These terms describe the main message of the Gospel: God has communicated Himself. God's self-communication is vital to Rahner's view. Grace is not something separate from God; it is God Himself.
Rahner believed that Jesus Christ is the central point of God's self-communication. God does not just communicate from "outside." Grace is also part of how we understand revelation. It is present in the "internal Word" and the Holy Spirit.
How Grace Works
Rahner believed that grace permanently changes human nature. He called this a "supernatural existential." This means grace is a basic part of human existence. For this reason, Rahner did not believe in a state of "pure nature." This would be human existence without grace.
Talking About God
Rahner wanted to move beyond simply stating facts about God. He believed that statements about God should always refer back to our original experience of God as a mystery. He saw God as a mystery that is always present. But God is not like any other object we can fully understand.
Rahner said that Thomas Aquinas was his most important influence. He also called Martin Heidegger "my teacher." Some people think Rahner's ideas about God are very different from other Thomist thinkers. Others see his main influence in the Neo-Thomists of the early 20th century.
Criticism of Jesusism
Rahner criticized Jesusism. This view focuses only on imitating Jesus' life. It separates Jesus from the Christian God or the Church. Rahner respected the position but felt it was too narrow.
Christology
Christology tries to explain how Jesus of Nazareth is Christ. It says he is the center of all human history. He is also the full revelation of God to humanity. Rahner felt that in our modern, evolutionary world, we should not ignore how Christ's story fits into human history.
The traditional explanation of Christ from the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451) has some limits. It says Jesus is "one identical Son... perfect both in his divinity and in his humanity... [with] two natures without any commingling or change or division or separation... united in one person." This formula uses old philosophical ideas like nature and hypostatic union. These terms are not always used today to explain religious experiences.
So, Rahner introduced "transcendental Christology." This idea looks at Christ in relation to the basic structure of human beings. It explores the conditions of all human experiences. These conditions go beyond any single experience. Rahner believed that all things come from God. This means there is a "commonality" among all things. This commonality is clearest in humans, who are a mix of spirit and matter.
Rahner said that spirit is how a person becomes self-aware. It is always directed towards the mystery of God. Matter is what connects humans to other objects in the world. It also allows us to communicate with other spiritual beings in time and space. Spirit and matter are different, but not opposite. Matter naturally develops towards spirit. This process is called self-transcendence. It happens through the power of God. Rahner saw humanity as the latest stage of matter's self-transcendence.
Christian Faith and God's Self-Communication
Rahner believed that the cosmos reaches its full purpose when it receives God's direct self-communication. This happens through spiritual beings like humans. God's self-communication is the final goal of the world. The process of self-transcendence already points the world towards this goal.
God's self-communication is given to spiritual beings who can freely accept or reject it. It also creates a "common history." This means it is meant for all people in their interactions. It is a call to their freedom. Rahner said that God's self-communication must have a "permanent beginning." This beginning guarantees that it has happened. This guarantee asks for a free decision to accept God's message.
The "saviour" is a historical person. This person marks the beginning of God's absolute self-communication. This beginning shows that God's self-communication has happened for everyone. The hypostatic union happens when God's self-communication meets a person's free acceptance. This union is open to all spiritual beings through grace. This event must be "tangible in history."
Saviour and Hypostatic Union
Rahner believed his "transcendental Christology" describes the same saviour as the traditional Chalcedon teachings. Chalcedon used the idea of hypostatic union to say Jesus is the Christ. Rahner then explained what hypostatic union means.
He understood "became man" as God taking on a human nature as His own. He stressed God's "self-emptying" (called kenosis). God "assumes by creating" and "creates by assuming." This means God creates human reality by taking it as His own. This act of creating-by-emptying shows God's power and love. Rahner said that God, who does not change in Himself, can "truly become something" in "something else." This is what the Incarnation teaches us.
Rahner believed humans are made to be directed towards the mystery of God. This happens fully if we freely choose to be embraced by God. If God takes on human nature with His offer of self-communication, and a person freely accepts it, that person is united with God. This reaches the goal of humanity: a God-Man. This is fully seen in Jesus of Nazareth. Rahner saw the Incarnation as the highest example of what human reality can be.
God-Man in History
To find a God-Man in history, Rahner looked at the life and death of Jesus. He made two points:
- Christian faith needs a historical basis.
- A person's self-understanding might not fully match how others understand them. So, Jesus' own understanding of himself might not fully match later Christian beliefs. But it should not contradict them.
To support Christian faith, Rahner said two things must be historically true:
- Jesus saw himself as the "absolute and definitive saviour."
- The resurrection of Jesus is God's absolute self-communication.
Historical facts about Jesus include his Jewish identity and his role as a "radical reformer." He helped social outcasts based on his faith in God. His main message was a "call to conversion." He gathered disciples and hoped others would change. He accepted death on the cross as a result of staying true to his mission.
Death and Resurrection
Rahner believed Jesus' death and resurrection are two parts of one event. The resurrection is not a historical event in time and place like his death. The Bible describes powerful experiences where disciples felt the spirit of the risen Lord. This led to their faith in the resurrection.
The resurrection is not just returning to life. It is God the Father's approval of all that Jesus stood for. "By the resurrection... Jesus is proven as the absolute saviour" by God. It means Jesus' death, freely accepted and given to God, is fulfilled in the resurrection. So, in the resurrection, Jesus' life and death become "the cause of God's saving will." This opens the door to our salvation. "We are saved because this man, who is one of us, has been saved by God." This makes God's saving will real and lasting in the world. In this way, Jesus of Nazareth becomes a God-Man, the absolute saviour.
Anonymous Christianity
"Anonymous Christianity" is a theological idea. It suggests that people who have never heard the Christian Gospel might still be saved through Christ.
This idea is partly inspired by the Second Vatican Council's document Lumen gentium. It teaches that those "who through no fault of their own do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and moved by grace, try in their actions to do His will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience—those too may achieve eternal salvation."
Rahner developed this idea even before the council. He believed that non-Christians could have "accepted the saving grace of God, through Christ." This could happen even if they had never heard of Christian revelation.
Non-Christian Religions
Rahner's "transcendental Christology" also includes non-Christian religions. God's universal saving will in Christ extends to non-Christians. Since Christ is the saviour of all people, salvation for non-Christians comes only through Christ. These are the "anonymous Christians."
Christians can also learn from other religions or even from atheistic humanism. This is because God's grace can be active in them. Christ's presence in other religions works through his Spirit. Non-Christians respond to God's grace through a hidden "searching Christology." This is a "memory" of the absolute saviour in everyone's heart.
Three attitudes are involved:
- Absolute love for one's neighbors.
- Readiness for death.
- Hope for the future.
When people practice these, they are acting from God's grace. This grace was fully shown in Jesus' life.
See also
In Spanish: Karl Rahner para niños
Images for kids
-
Rahner interviewed in 1974
