In Search for the Lost Image: A Lesson from Theological Epistemology

The question of constituting the status of human existence leads to its mysterious nature. Not any rationality can comply with this question. Along with H. U. von Balthasar, the basic question of the human existence foundation is formulated as an open one in multiple dimensions: religious beliefs of Ancient India and Greece, tragic struggle in German mythologies, and biblical concept of Christian existence. Along with H. de Lubac, the second part analyses the humanistic concept of human existence, which results in atheistic humanism. In the last part with W. Kasper, we reveal the elementary status of the question of the human in its Christological designation in three steps: a) Christology assumes a relatively independent anthropology; b) Christology presents a basic measure for anthropology; c) Christology brings into anthropology an essential status.

Keywords: Systematic theology; Theological epistemology; Anthropology; Christology; International Theological Commission; Communion and Stewardship