Karl Rahner and the Bible

This project is a research on the famous theologian Karl Rahner (1904-1984) and his relationship to the Bible. Some years after his death the accusations arose, that Rahner would not have been interested in the Bible itself, but exaggerated it philosophically. Others say he was not at all interested in the Jewish religion and therefore rarely in Old Testament theology. On the other hand there are clear references, that Rahner was personally engaged in New Testament research. Besides he used the Bible regularly in his pastoral work, e.g. in his sermons. In May of 2018 the last volume of Rahners collected works (Sämtliche Werke) will be released. This serial for the first time allows a widespread study on this area of his work. Beginning with these observations, the following aspects of Rahners life and work will be researched. It is assumed that Rahners approach to the Bible and its hermeneutics is more differentiated than has previously been shown. It is expected that the results of the research at hand will modify or falsify the criticism. Therefore three sectors need to be investigated: (1) How does Rahner use the Bible in what way does he interpret it? (2) Which biographical resp. academic approach(es) does he have? (3) What are the contexts of his interpretations and in what coincidence are they to his work in general? Furthermore phases of his biblical approach need to be detected. At first his own writings on the Bible, on interpretation and revelation will be analyzed. Then his Bible quotes, which are listed in Sämtliche Werke will be read, checked and organized in categories. This step shows in the end, if and to what extent Rahners theory and praxis converge. It will also be noted in which contexts he used the Bible, when she is used as origin or as assistance for his work. Another part is the analysis of his academic career and formative encounters. Important questions for his intellectual and biographical background are: With whom did Rahner communicate? From whom did he learn? Which books has he read? A third point will be the contextualization of his attitude towards the Bible in his complete work by using the gained knowledge. This knowledge comes from the reading, recherché in archives and discussions in Europe and overseas. This contextualization will be done at an international conference in 2021 at the University of Innsbruck and it will be published afterwards. The innovative potential of this study lies in the interdisciplinary concatenation of dogmatic hermeneutics with biblical theology. To analyze the combination of Rahners academic and non- primary academic aspects on the other hand brings a new way of gaining knowledge in Humanities.

The aim of the project 'Karl Rahner and the Bible' was to build a bridge between biblical studies and Catholic dogmatics and at the same time to test a new design for the history of research, in which biographical, academic and theological contexts are surveyed and interlinked. This method proved to be complex but very fruitful. In this way, we could place Rahner's systematic-theological work in the wider context of the discussions of his time; we differentiated previous positions and, at the same time, discovered unused potentials for current theological endeavours. Karl Rahner is one of the most influential theologians of the 20th century, whose role in the actualisation of Vatican II in (Catholic) theology can hardly be overestimated. Some scholars accused him of transcendentally exaggerating the Bible or of not being interested in it at all. We refuted these hypotheses largely and / or differentiated them in individual cases. Rahner's early working phase should be divided into two parts, the earlier of which predates the philosophical dissertation and has an independent profile that is markedly patristic and spiritual. In addition, Rahner's family and life as Jesuit priest influenced his knowledge and selection of biblical passages. From this insight, we were able to draw options for an orientation of theology in society and academia. We can confirm Rahner's Christocentric orientation in his use of the Bible, both in the references to it and in the (too) close linking of the interpretation of the Old Testament and Judaism, and in his model of 'Anonymous Christianity'. In addition, we could again prove a clear convergence with his work phases. Lines of his development become visible that no one had shown before. From a biblical studies perspective, three points are groundbreaking. (1) The interdisciplinary and international perspective of the conference made it possible to show the extent of Rahner's commitment to free research in exegesis. (2) On the basis of several samples and a survey of his homilies, we detected how biographical aspects influenced his research and that the preliminary stages of later academic models were already present in earlier homilies. (3) We disclosed how long and to what extent Rahner was involved in the biblical studies topics of his time. His previously unedited lecture tractates proved to be particularly fruitful, in which he conducted exegetical discussions that were clearly above the level and detail required of dogmatists at the time. Here we see great potential for building bridges between theological disciplines. In the current hermeneutical controversy between biblical theology and the history of religion, we were able to develop a mediating position through Rahner, whereby the excellent collaboration and interdisciplinary co-operation in the project was another decisive factor.