Christology from Within: Spirituality and the Incarnation in Hans Urs von Balthasar by Mark A. McIntosh

Abstract

330 BOOK REVIEWS text itself, while starting with a modest claim, grows increasingly sententious: "The various Free Churches are growing most rapidly among Protestants"; "Just as significant as the rapid growth of the Free Churches, however, are the incipient structural transformations within the traditional Protestant and Catholic churches"; "This 'process of congregationalization' is clearly evident even in the Catholic Church, which is (still?) committed to a hierarchical structure "; "Today's global developments seem to imply that Protestant Christendom of the future will exhibit largely a Free Christian form"; "It seems to me that we are standing in the middle of a clear and irreversible 'process of congregationalization ' ofall Christianity"; and "The Free Church model is without a doubt being borne by irreversible social changes of global proportions." Most ofVolf's claims here are over blown. Not only would many Catholics challenge his thesis as regards the Catholic Church but the recent Lambeth Conference seems to witness to the fact that the old hierarchical structures in Protestantism, vestigial though they may be, can serve even today as the most salient means for addressing a contemporary issue. At the recent Lambeth conference, a world synod of Anglican bishops, native African bishops representing the ancient biblical tradition were able, if I may use Preston's words, to stand Gegenuber, over and against, in a sort of "reciprocity of the Church and Christ," the proposals of those bishops from Europe and North America who represented an attitude ofsexual liberalism popular in their congregations. l.AWRENCEB. PORTER Seton Hall University South Orange, New Jersey Christology from Within: Spirituality and the Incarnation in Hans Urs von Balthasar. By MARK A MCINTOSH. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1996. Pp. 224. $29.00 (doth). ISBN 0-268-00815-9. Various attempts have been made to introduce the work of Hans Urs von Balthasar, from general treatments to methodological and thematic ones. In Christology from Within, Mark Mcintosh has taken a dogmatic locus and guides the reader through its constructive attunements by von Balthasar. In doing so he really manages two things: an excellent treatment of von Balthasar's Christology, but one that really gets to the core of his entire work. No surprise really for those already familiar with von Balthasar but enlightening to veteran and novice readers alike of this theological master. BOOK REVIEWS 331 Long recognized by those attracted to von Balthasar is the more innovative aspect of the book's thesis, namely, the integration of spirituality and theology. I say "long recognized" for avid readers of von Balthasar are often drawn to him because of this, and in Mcintosh they will now find an interpreter for whom such integration is of special interest, continued by the way in a more recent publication (Mystical Theology: The Integrity ofSpiritualityandTheology [Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1998]). Often issues of Christian life, holiness, and perfection have been left to spiritual, ascetical, and mystical theologies (as Mcintosh is quick to point out), but this is not the case with von Balthasar. It is merit of this book to test and affirm the constructive and systematic implications for Christian dogma. The hard questions are posed from the beginning and would be a litmus test for any contemporary Christology. To what extent does von Balthasar accede to a docetic Christology, one that in the overall flavor of his oeuvre ignores historical-critical method, does not give sufficient attention to the humanity of Christ, and prefers the inner life of God as the real spectrum by which to measure Christology? A further complication attends the whole project. Not all are enthusiastic over von Balthasar's spirituality, whether played out in the inner-Trinitarian life, the person of Jesus Christ, or the call of Christians to holiness and mission. Best come to expression programmatically in Mysterium Paschale, von Balthasar seems absorbed by Christ's transposition into kenosis, suffering, and death, such that the humanity that emerges is one totally dominated by an overbearing passiology. As stated before, one has almost to be drawn to this sort of thing really to appreciate it. Mcintosh is sensitive to this reaction and confronts these questions head on. His case for von Balthasar is thus perforce the stronger...