Solidarity with the World: Charles Taylor and Hans Urs von Balthasar on Faith, Modernity, and Catholic Mission

Carolyn A. Chau

Nov 2016 · Theopolitical Visions Ibhuku elingu-20 · Wipf and Stock Publishers

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Is Christian mission even possible today? In "a secular age," is it possible to talk about the goodness of God in a compelling way? How should the church proceed? Carolyn Chau explores the question of Catholic mission in a secular age through a constructive interpretation of the work of two celebrated Catholic thinkers, philosopher Charles Taylor and theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar, arguing that Taylor and Balthasar together offer a promising path for mission today. Chau attends to Taylor's account of the conditions of belief today, and the genesis of the sociohistorical limits on contemporary "God-talk," as well as his affirmation of certain aspects of Western modernity's "culture." From Balthasar, Chau sifts out the distinctiveness of his view of the human person as defined by mission, and his encouragement of a kenotic self-understanding of the church. In the end, Chau claims that if modern persons in secular Western societies are seeking fulfillment and integrity, Christian spirituality remains a rich resource on offer.

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Carolyn A. Chau is Assistant Professor of Moral and Systematic Theology at King's University College, Western University. She holds a PhD in theology from the University of St. Michael's College, Toronto, and an MDiv from Yale Divinity School. Her research attends to questions at the intersection of faith and culture, particularly those concerning the shape of Catholic mission and moral formation in contemporary secular societies.