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What difference does grace make? An exploration of the concept of grace in the theological anthropology of Karl Rahner

Ashley, Matthew; Kilby, Karen

What difference does grace make? An exploration of the concept of grace in the theological anthropology of Karl Rahner Thumbnail


Authors

Matthew Ashley



Contributors

Celia Deane-Drummond
Editor

Agustín Fuentes
Editor

Abstract

It is typical of much theology in the Catholic tradition to frame an understanding of humanity, and of the human being’s relationship to both the world and God, with the help of categories of nature and grace. While in Protestant thought, grace is characteristically conceived as a response to sin, in Catholic thought it is more fundamentally understood as an ‘elevation’ of nature. How more precisely to understand the relationship of grace to nature, however, has itself been a point of contestation within Catholic theology, especially in the last century. This chapter will present the understanding of grace of one particular Catholic thinker, Karl Rahner (1904–1984), setting his understanding of grace both against the background of earlier Catholic positions, and within the context of his broader theological anthropology. Rahner’s theology makes clear how difficult it is to find in a specifically theological concept of grace something that might be fruitful in empirical work – difficult, but perhaps not quite impossible.

Citation

Ashley, M., & Kilby, K. (2020). What difference does grace make? An exploration of the concept of grace in the theological anthropology of Karl Rahner. In C. Deane-Drummond, & A. Fuentes (Eds.), Theology and Evolutionary Anthropology: Dialogues in Wisdom, Humility, and Grace. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429273650

Online Publication Date Feb 19, 2020
Publication Date 2020
Deposit Date Aug 4, 2022
Publicly Available Date Aug 4, 2022
Publisher Routledge
Series Title Routledge New Critical Thinking in Religion, Theology and Biblical Studies
Edition 1st ed.
Book Title Theology and Evolutionary Anthropology: Dialogues in Wisdom, Humility, and Grace
Chapter Number 10
ISBN 9781032175119
DOI https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429273650

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Accepted Book Chapter (258 Kb)
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Copyright Statement
This is an Accepted Manuscript of a book chapter published by Routledge in Theology and Evolutionary Anthropology: Dialogues in Wisdom, Humility, and Grace on 19 February 2020, available online: http://www.routledge.com/9781032175119




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