Karl Rahner and His Beliefs

Karl Rahner and His Beliefs

Karl Rahner, a German theologian, is regarded by many as the foremost Roman Catholic thinker of the 20th century. He believes that every human being is essentially spiritual and that the truth about the human person is revealed in God. This he believes is true whether directly adverted to or whether the person opens him or herself to it. Rahner also believes that there are elements of the world that exist, which are not necessarily as they appear to be.

When discussing Rahner and his beliefs, Transcendental Christology plays a major role in his studies. In his book Foundations Of Christian Faith, he explains what he means by the term transcendence. God "calls" human beings to the holy mystery as absolute beings. Rahner believes one of two things will happen. "A person either understands himself as only an empty appearance through which the divinity acts out its own eternal drama, runs away from his responsibility and his freedom, at least in the direction of God, and shifts responsibility for himself and his existence onto God in such a way that his burden no longer in truth really remains his own" (80). What Rahner means by this is that the world of possibility opens up to man and he is given the free choice to either accept himself as an agent of God, deny God, or transcend the very boundaries that these limits present. We therefore as Christians experience this transcendentalism when we can move away from a motivational system which calls us to act in an egocentric fashion. Transcendentalism via Rahner's definition opens man to that which is unexpected and therefore that which requires him by its fundamental nature to participate in union with his own conscience and his dedication to his God.

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...egan talking and praying a lot to God. I asked him to help me. At the end of the week she began to grow on him and he began to love her too. I thought to myself that God had answered my prayers. "Snowball" is thirteen months old now and about ten pounds. I thank God for bringing her into my life. I feel that while I performed an altruistic deed, God rewarded me anyway.

I feel as though this personal experience is similar to what Karl Rahner would call transcendental because presented with an opportunity, I chose to make a difficult decision, but one, which I felt, was right in the situation. By choosing as I did, I affirmed myself as a transcendental being, one, which can go beyond the either/or systems, defined in this world.

Bibliography:

Works Cited

Rahner, Karl. Foundations Of Christian Faith. The Seabury Press. New York, N.Y. 1978.