Even if a unity of faith is not possible, a unity of love is.
Hans Urs Von BalthasarRead
St. Paul would say to the philosophers that God created man so that he would seek the Divine, try to attain the Divine. That is why all pre-Christian philosophy is theological at its summit.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that the essence of humanity is a pursuit of the divine, linking philosophy to theology.
Hans Urs Von Balthasar emphasizes that the fundamental purpose of human existence is to seek a connection with the Divine. He argues that the highest points of pre-Christian philosophy inherently point towards theological concepts, underscoring the relationship between philosophical inquiry and the quest for spiritual understanding.
Themes
DivinePhilosophyTheologyHumanitySpirituality
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture on the intersection of philosophy and religion, this quote can illustrate the importance of seeking deeper truths.
More from Hans Urs Von Balthasar
All quotes →It is to the Cross that the Christian is challenged to follow his Master: no path of redemption can make a detour around it.
Hans Urs Von BalthasarRead
A truth that is merely handed on, without being thought anew from its very foundations, has lost its vital power.
Hans Urs Von BalthasarRead
The Holy Spirit knows what a particular age's most pressing need is far better than men with their programs.
Hans Urs Von BalthasarRead
The first attempt at a response: there must have been a fall, a decline, and the road to salvation can only be the return of the sensible finite into the intelligible infinite.
Hans Urs Von BalthasarRead
But the saints are never the kind of killjoy spinster aunts who go in for faultfinding and lack all sense of humor. (Nor should the Karl Barth who so loved and understood Mozart be regarded as such.)For humor is a mysterious but unmistakable charism inseparable from Catholic faith, and neither the "progressives" nor the "integralists" seem to possess it - the latter even less than the former.
Hans Urs Von BalthasarRead
Similar quotes
I don't think I've had a very interesting life, and I feel that is a great liberation. That gives me great freedom as a fiction writer. Nothing that happened holds any special tyranny over me.
John IrvingRead
I am a Negro: Black as the night is black, Black like the depths of my Africa.
Langston HughesRead
We're children. We're supposed to be childish.
George R. R. MartinRead
You look pale, Sansa," Cersei observed. "Is your red flower still blooming?" "Yes" "How apt. The men will bleed out there, and you in here.
George R. R. MartinRead
I got nothing against the honest cop on the beat. You just have them transferred someplace where they can't do you any harm. But don't ever talk to me about the honor of police captains or judges. If they couldn't be bought they wouldn't have the job.
Al CaponeRead
She looked into the distance, and the old terror flamed up for an instant, then sank again. Edna heard her father's voice and her sister Margaret's. She heard the barking of an old dog that was chained to the sycamore tree. The spurs of the cavalry officer clanged as he walked across the porch. There was the hum of bees, and the musky odor of pinks filled the air. (last lines)
Kate ChopinRead