Balthasar in Light of Early Confucianism

Joshua R. Brown

Description

In this original study, Joshua Brown seeks to demonstrate the fruitfulness of Chinese philosophy for Christian theology by using Confucianism to reread, reassess, and ultimately expand the Christology of the twentieth-century Catholic theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar. Taking up the critically important Confucian idea of xiao (filial piety), Brown argues that this concept can be used to engage anew Balthasar’s treatment of the doctrine of Christ’s filial obedience, thus leading us to new Christological insights. To this end, Brown first offers in-depth studies of the early Confucian idea of xiao and of Balthasar’s Christology on their own terms and in their own contexts. He then proposes that Confucianism affirms certain aspects of Balthasar’s insights into Christ’s filial obedience. Brown also shows how the Confucian understanding of xiao provides reasons to criticize some of Balthasar’s controversial claims, such as his account of intra-Trinitarian obedience. Ultimately, by rereading Balthasar’s Christology through the lens of xiao, Balthasar in Light of Early Confucianism employs Confucian and Balthasarian resources to push the Christological conversation forward. Students and scholars of systematic theology, theologically educated readers interested in the encounter between Christianity and Chinese culture, and comparative theologians will all want to read this exceptional book.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Comparative Religion
• Christian Theology
• Philosophie et théologie
• Philosophy
• Christology
• Chinese philosophy
• Confucianism
• Hans Urs von Balthasar

Informations

• Publié par: University of Notre Dame Press
• Date de parution: 30 avril 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780268107116
• Langue: English

Extrait

BALTHASAR IN LIGHT OF EARLY CONFUCIANISM
JOSHUA R. BROWN
Balthasar in Light of Early Confucianism
University of Notre Dame Press
Notre Dame, Indiana
University of Notre Dame Press
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556
undpress.nd.edu
All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2020 by the University of Notre Dame
Published in the United States of America
Library of Congress Control Number: 2020932823
ISBN: 978-0-268-10709-3 (hardback)
ISBN: 978-0-268-10712-3 (WebPDF)
ISBN: 978-0-268-10711-6 (Epub)
This e-Book was converted from the original source file by a third-party vendor. Readers who notice any formatting, textual, or readability issues are encouraged to contact the publisher at [e-mail].
T O MY WIFE , J AMIE, WHO HAS MADE THIS WORK POSSIBLE IN INNUMERABLE WAYS
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Note on Translations and Conventions
Introduction
ONE The Conceptual Structure and Context of Xiao in Early Confucianism
TWO “While Living, Serve Them with Li ”: Xiao as Care for Parents
THREE Serve the Dead with Li : Filial Love and Obedience in Ceremonial Xiao
FOUR The Spiritual Context and Structure of Christological Love and Obedience for Hans Urs von Balthasar
FIVE Archetypal Obedience: Balthasar’s Conception of Christ’s Filial Obedience as Archetypal Experience
SIX Mission, History, and Obedience: Christ’s Filial Obedience in Theo-Drama

SEVEN A Confucian Rereading of Balthasar
Notes
Bibliography
Index
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book began as a doctoral dissertation at the University of Dayton. Consequently, I have incurred much debt in writing it, particularly among those who helped me to prepare and complete the original study. My dissertation advisor, William L. Portier, provided excellent scholarly formation, helping me to inject a historical sensitivity into a predominantly systematic effort. G. Alexus McLeod was simply invaluable to this book, serving as my formal and later informal teacher in classical Chinese language and the textual traditions of Chinese philosophical schools. Additionally, Jana M. Bennett, Dennis Doyle, and Peter J. Casarella each provided tremendous feedback for the project and gave inspiration through their support for the endeavor.
In addition to teachers, I am grateful to several friends and colleagues who supported the book in prayer and strengthened it through often informal conversation. Cameron Jorgenson was my initial teacher in theology, and he has been a constant supporter and champion of my work and a gracious sounding board ever since. My fellow students at the University of Dayton and colleagues at both Loyola University Maryland and Mount St. Mary’s University have been constant sources of inspiration and solace. In particular, I must single out for gratitude R. Trent Pomplun, with whom I shared many illuminating and formative conversations on the nature of comparative theology, and many things we discussed appear in this book. Also, I initially struggled mightily to find the right path for the last chapter of the book, and through conversation with Reid B. Locklin everything fell into place. I thank him for his generosity and insight.

The most substantial intellectual debt of gratitude for this book is owed to Matthew Levering, who has had a share in this project since its clumsy inception during my second year at Dayton. In addition to reading the entire finished dissertation and subsequent drafts, Levering provided much needed support and advice, including doses of frank and needed criticism. I do not think this book would exist without his advice, assistance, and copious prayers.
Many thanks also to the editorial team at University of Notre Dame Press, including Stephen Little, who guided the book through the review process. A special note of thanks is owed to Dawn Eden Goldstein, who copyedited the manuscript before its final submission to the press for adjudication. I also would like to thank the peer reviewers—from UNDP and from journals that published articles drawn from this book’s material—for their very helpful critiques and suggestions. Any errors that remain are my responsibility, but there would be many more without the help of these wonderful readers and editors.
Without the support and love of my family, I could never have gone about this project. I must thank my parents, Darrell and Brenda Brown, and my sister, Charity, and her family for their support and prayers. Likewise, my parents-in-law, William Chong and Kim Wan Woo, have shown extraordinary love and grace in support of my family and this project. However, the greatest debt for this book was incurred in 2008, when I met Jamie, now my wife, and she completely changed my world. Born in Malaysia and fiercely committed to her Chinese culture, Jamie proved the impetus for my entire scholarly efforts. I had no idea when we met or married that our relationship would have so much influence on my academic interests. I dedicate this book to her for all her love and support, and especially her graciousness and willingness to help me find a place in a now Catholic and intercultural home. I also must thank my sons, Elliott and Emmett, who often did me the great favor of demanding I put down the book and play. Moreover, they are the true audience for this book. All I have done here is a striving to find a way to help my children embrace their Catholic identity and Chinese heritage.

Most importantly, I offer gratitude to the Triune God, to whom I offer this book as a sacrifice of praise. It has been a privilege to reflect on the mysteries of the Incarnation in light of human culture, and I hope I have honored and depicted the beauty of divine truth in this book, even if only in the merest semblance. May we all learn to be obedient sons and daughters in imitation of Christ. Thank you to all the saints who have accompanied me in this process, particularly my patron saint, Augustine of Hippo, and the patron saint of the original dissertation, Maria Goretti.
Finally, I am grateful to Pro Ecclesia and The Heythrop Journal for allowing me to include in this book heavily revised material from articles published there. An earlier version of chapter 5 was previously published as “Christ’s ‘Symphonic’ Obedience: Exploring Balthasar’s Archetypal Experience through Han Confucianism,” Pro Ecclesia 25, no. 4 (2016): 439–58. Material reflecting modest parts of chapters 2, 3, and 7 was previously published as “Towards Filial Love: Reconsidering Hans Urs von Balthasar’s Theme of Christological Obedience in Light of Early Confucian Philosophy,” The Heythrop Journal 58, no. 1 (2017): 132–48.
ABBREVIATIONS
Works by Hans Urs von Balthasar
“Catholic Philosophy” “On the Tasks of Catholic Philosophy”
CSL The Christian State of Life
Ep Epilogue
FG First Glance at Adrienne von Speyr
GL (vols. 1–7 ) The Glory of the Lord: A Theological Aesthetics
Heart Heart of the World
KB A Theology of Karl Barth: Exposition and Interpretation
LAC Love Alone Is Credible
MP Mysterium Paschale
My Work My Work in Retrospect
Our Task Our Task: A Report on the Community of St. John
TD (vols. 1–5 ) Theo-Drama: Theological Dramatic Theory
Test Everything Test Everything: Hold Fast to What Is Good
TH A Theology of History
TIS Truth Is Symphonic: Aspects of Christian Pluralism
TL (vols. 1–3 ) Theo-Logic
Journals in Chinese Philosophy
AP Asian Philosophy
Dao Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy
JCP Journal of Chinese Philosophy
PEW Philosophy East and West
NOTE ON TRANSLATIONS AND CONVENTIONS
This book draws on many sources atypical in theological studies, particularly texts of the Confucian tradition originally composed in classical Chinese. I have elected for the most part to retain conventions of Sinological scholarship in this book, erring on the side of options that can better accommodate a theological audience. For example, I have rendered Chinese terms in transliteration using the Pinyin romanization system, providing the appropriate Chinese character on the first instance of the term and on subsequent instances needing clarification. In Chinese, many characters are represented by similar sounds and tones (such as in maˉ 媽, meaning “mother,” and maˇ 馬, meaning “horse”). Consequently, I provide characters in situations where the Chinese term may be ambiguous without the character clarification. Additionally, I have not included tone markings in romanization. This is because readers with Chinese background can typically discern the correct tone without much assistance, and tone markings are not particularly helpful for those not familiar with Chinese. For similar reasons, I have not provided characters for standard texts, figures, and time periods of Chinese history.
All translations of Chinese texts are my own, unless otherwise stated. I have primarily utilized the online database of texts from the Chinese Text Project, checking these against more standard manuscripts. Particularly in the cases of Han-era texts without standard text divisions, I have used divisions according to the Chinese Text Project. The book also includes modest engagement with Chinese scholarship on these texts, which I have cited according to field conventions. In Chinese culture, the family name typically precedes the given name(s), the latter of which is often composed of two words joined to form one. For example, for “Tu Weiming,” Tu is the family name, whereas Wei and Ming are given names presented as a pair. For all texts in Chinese originally, I have retained the Chinese naming conventions. For sources written by Chinese authors but published in English, I have retained the conventions used by the source material unless there is compelling evidence of an author’s preference of naming conventions.
Regarding Hans Urs von Balthasar, I have mostly cited the readily available English translations of his major works. However, I also cite heavily from European scholarship on Balthasar’s thought, in th