Everything Is Sacred: Spiritual Exegesis in the Political Theology of Henri de Lubac: 3 (Theopolitical Visions)

It is well known that Henri de Lubacs groundbreaking and highly controversial work on nature and grace had important implications for the Churchs relationship to culture and was intended to remove a philosophical obstacle hindering Catholicisms faithful engagement with the secular world. This book addresses a too-often neglected dimension of de Lubacs theological renewal by examining the centrality and indispensability of spiritual exegesis in his oeuvre and making explicit its social and political significance for the Churchs 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. Hollon offers the best introduction to date on de Lubacs spiritual interpretation of Scripture. His bold recovery of Henri de Lubacs participatory hermeneutic offers an excellent contribution to the rapidly growing scholarship on the French Catholic theologian. The book argues for a hermeneutic that avoids the dual trap of isolating Jesus biblical identity from the life of the Church (the post-liberal tendency) and of reducing Christology to ecclesiology (the fallacy of Radical Orthodoxy). Hollon convincingly argues that the Churchs ontological participation in Christ is mediated through the practice of spiritual interpretation along the lines advocated by de Lubac. The result is both an incisive sympathetic-critical engagement with contemporary hermeneutics and a superb introduction to one of the central concerns of de Lubac. --Hans Boersma author of Nouvelle theologie and Sacramental Ontology: A Return to Mystery (forthcoming) Bryan C. Hollon is Assistant Professor of Theology at Malone College in Canton Ohio.