Description
It is well known that Henri de Lubac’s groundbreaking and highly controversial work on nature and grace had important implications for the Church’s relationship to culture, and that it was intended to remove a philosophical obstacle hindering Catholicism’s faithful engagement with the secular world.
In this book, Bryan C. Hollon addresses an often neglected dimension of de Lubac’s theological renewal. He examines the centrality and indispensability of spiritual exegesis in de Lubac’s oeuvre, and makes explicit its social and political significance for the Church’s worship and witness.
In addition to exploring the historical and ecclesial context within which he worked, the current work brings de Lubac into a critical engagement with the more recent theological movements of postliberalism and Radical Orthodoxy in order to demonstrate the enduring significance of his theological vision.
About the Author
Bryan C. Hollon is Assistant Professor of Theology at the Malone College School of Theology in Canton.
Contents
Part 1: Secular Politics and Sacramental Ecclesiology
1. Henri de Lubac and the “New Theology”
2. Atheist Humanism and Neoscholasticism
3. Catholicism and Corpus Mysticum
Part 2: The Politics of Spiritual Exegesis
4. From Scientific Theology to Spiritual Exegesis
5. Postliberalism and Radical Orthodoxy
6. Mystical Christology
7. Political Witness and the Future of Spiritual Exegesis
Bibliography
Index
Endorsements and Reviews
Hollon offers the best introduction to date on de Lubac’s spiritual interpretation of Scripture. His bold recovery of Henri de Lubac’s participatory hermeneutic offers an excellent contribution to the rapidly growing scholarship on the French Catholic theologian
Hans Boersma
… there is some very valuable and incisive insight throughout the thesis … a welcome volume.
Christopher Woods, Christ’s College, University of Cambridge, in Theology
Hollon has revised his 2006 doctoral dissertation at Baylor University examining the thinking of French Jesuit theologian de Lubac. He focuses on the centrality of his retrieval of patristic and medieval exegesis within the context of his broader efforts to inspire a more faithful and robust Catholic engagement with the secular world. Among the topics are atheist humanism and neoscholasticism, the political implications of a sacramental ecclesiology, post-liberalism and radical orthodoxy, and political witness and the future of spiritual exegesis.
Reference & Research Book News, October 2011
In this book, Hollon addresses an often neglected dimension of de Lubac’s theological renewal … the current work brings de Lubac into a critical engagement with the more recent theological movements of postliberalism and Radical Orthodoxy in order to demonstrate the enduring significance of his theological vision.
Theological Book Review, Vol 23, No 2
Bryan Hollon (Malone College, Ohio) confesses right from the start that his book began as a dissertation. He did a good job in turning it into a readable book … Hollon takes a lot of pages to show that de Lubac’s project is superior to the solution offered by postliberal theologians (like Lindbeck) and by radical orthodoxy theologians (like Milbank). Hollon has written an interesting monograph on de Lubac’s theology. Its merit consists in making very clear what really is at stake.
Walter Van Herck, in Bijdragen: International Journal in Philosophy and Theology, Vol 72 (4)
This book shows how the strength of Lubac’s theology is appreciated in the North American context, and it is not excessive to assert that the author uses it as a bulwark against the approach of the Radical Orthodoxy, considered as ‘ethereal’ by the latter.
Philippe Molac, in Études Théologiques et Religieuses, 87e année, 2012/3
Everything is Sacred handles de Lubac’s Spiritual exegesis with skill and force. It is most valuable as a critique of Postliberalism and Radical Orthodoxy …
Johnny Walker, Freedom in Orthodoxy Blog, 1st January 2015
