THE “I” AND THE “THOU” Father Hans Urs von Balthasar was probably the greatest theologian of the 20th century. His profound emphasis on love is beautifully encapsulated in his idea of the “I and the Thou.” He believed that the earliest, or primordial, human experience we have as babies is that of the “Thou,” the moment when a baby first becomes aware of his or her mother’s eyes and smile, and in that moment becomes a spiritual being. In that instant the child first becomes an “I.” The child too in that moment becomes aware of the world and its mother, and that the mother and the world are the “Thou.” In that initial glance the child becomes aware of love, even infinite love, and that is the origin of the personal pilgrimage. So too with our relationship with God: we become an “I” - a spiritual being - only in God’s presence when we acknowledge the eyes and face of Christ forsaken, and that He is love, and that He is the eternal “Thou.” PLEASE SHARE: This mans theology is breathtakingly beautiful.
Posted on: Thu, 28 Aug 2014 17:15:59 +0000
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