| Title | : | Credo |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 033400151X |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780334001515 |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 208 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1992 |
Credo Reviews
-
Kung is a controversial theologian, but in this book on the Apostles’ Creed, presents a very reasoned interpretation of the creed. There is very little supernatural in Kung’s theology, which aligns to quite a few modern, liberal Christian theologians. To be clear, however, Kung still very much believes in his message. “To believe in the creator of the world means to affirm in enlightened trust that the ultimate origin of the world and human beings does not remain inexplicable, that the world and human beings are not hurled meaninglessly from nothingness to nothingness, but that as a whole they are meaningful and valuable—not just chaos, but cosmos; because they have a first and last security in God as their primal ground, primal author, creator.” He goes on to investigate the images through which we believe. “People in our day are to be helped in the encounter with these images to free themselves from the ghetto of existential anxiety and find their own identity. The binding element, the uniting factor between the cultures and religions of all times and zones, lies in the archetypes and the feelings, whereas language, reason, the moral tables of categories and values, time-conditioned as they are, prove to be divisive. It is the task of biblical exegesis with the help of depth psychology to interpret the archetypal narratives, for which detached historical-critical research has no sense, with every technique and rule available, in such a way that human beings may be helped to trust and to self-discovery.”
Of particular beliefs expressed in the Apostles’ Creed, Kung believes many statements find their roots in later Christian development as opposed to original professions of faith. Of the virgin birth, he writes, “This leads to the momentous conclusion that evidently the virgin birth does not belong at the centre of the gospel. It is not only not exclusively Christian, but is not even centrally Christian. In other words, like Mark, Paul or John, one could confess Jesus as the Messiah, Christ or Son of God even if one knew nothing of the virgin birth. And what does that mean for today? For our contemporaries it means that belief in Christ in no way stands or falls with the confession of the virgin birth.” Similar, the empty tomb, he believes, is not foundational to faith. “Nowhere do the disciples appeal to the evidence of the empty tomb to strengthen the faith of the young Christian community or to refute and convince their opponents. So it is not surprising,
- that the earliest account of the appearnaces of Jesus (1 Cor. 15.4) does not associate confession of the resurrection with the story of the empty tomb;
- that even Paul in all his letters nowhere mentions the ‘empty tomb’ or authoritative witnesses to the ‘empty tomb’ to support his message of the risen Christ;
- that finally the rest of the New Testament texts outside the Gospels are also silent about the empty tomb.”
“The followers of the crucified Jesus of Nazareth stand in this apocalyptic tradition. They never presented the resurrection of Jesus as the miracle of raising a dead person to this life, of a kind already reported in three cases in the Hebrew Bible, but always as a resurrection of the dead to heavenly, definitively changed life. It was the steadfast conviction of this first Christian community that this crucified one had not fallen into nothing, but from provisional, transitory, impermanent reality had entered into the true, eternal life of God. God did not leave this righteous one in the lurch; he secured justice for him through death, he ‘justified’ him, indeed exalted him to be ‘Son’.”
At times he pauses to consider the historical implications of the God he is describing. Regarding the Holocaust, “I have not provided a theoretical solution to the specific question why God ‘did not intervene’ and ‘did not prevent it’, because I cannot. But I have attempted to relativize it. It seems to me that in view of the remendous negativity, in our own lives and in the history of the world, a middle way is offered to us theologically, Christians and Jews. On the one hand there is the godlessness of those who think to find in Auschwitz their strongest argument against God, and yet who nevertheless fail to explain anything. And on the other hand there is the belief in God of those who speculatively incorporate places like Auschwitz into Trinitarian theology and elevate it into a dialectic of suffering within God, yet do not explain the ultimate cause of suffering either. This middle, modest way is the way of unshakeable (not irrational, but completely reasonable), boundless trust in God – despite everything: faith in a God who remains the light despite and in abysmal darkness.” Ultimately, however, he summarizes the trinity in these terms: “So the relation of Father, Son and Spirit could be described like this:
- God, invisible Father, above us,
- Jesus, the Son of Man, with God for us,
- Holy Spirit, from God’s power and love, in us.”
This is a very interesting, critical, and thought provoking study.
See my other reviews here! -
Küng chose Bultmann over Barth decades ago, but it can be said in his defense that he really made the most of this choice. "Credo" says exactly what Küng readers would expect. Still, it's not just a short version of "Christianity". Nor is it a more official version of "What I Believe In". It's actually the best introduction not only to küngian theology but to "liberal" Catholicism as a whole. It's not an apologetical work as such, but there's a good chance that someday it will be regarded as a masterpiece of 21st century Christian apologetics. Should be read along with "Can the Church Be Saved?"
-
Credo es un libro del teólogo suizo Hans Küng, escrito en los noventa. Es uno de la vasta producción de este teólogo que fue muy activo en el Concilio Vaticano II junto con Karl Ranner entre otros grandes teólogos llamados por Juan XXIII para actualizar ciertas interpretaciones bíblicas y dogmas de fe que habían sido producidos en otros tiempos, coordenadas, y que por ello tenían otros referentes y que en muchos casos habían quedado osificadas. Interpretaciones que finalmente en algunos casos alejaban a muchos, y generaban malos entendidos por otro lado.
Küng no busca una revolución ni mucho menos un cisma, no sé si incluso estaría de acuerdo con considerarlo un reformista pero sí alguien que no temía abordar el cristianismo desde una razón crítica sin salir del mismo cristianismo e incluso de la Iglesia. Fue sacerdote y teólogo con un profundo conocimiento de las humanidades y al tanto de la ciencia; y con gran espíritu crítico y ecuménico.
Este libro, parecería que no va en la línea de análisis crítico de sus otras obras, y es por ello que es muy intersante porque aborda de lleno el Credo católico, la oración donde se declara en qué creemos (los católicos, claro). Y revisa todos los símbolos de los apóstoles o ideas fuerza del Credo, desde una perspectiva histórica, teológica, crítica haciendo uso de conceptos científicos e incluso psicoanalíticos en algunos puntos (Freud y Jung).
Este libro ha aclarado, refrescado y resignificado muchas cosas fundamentales del catolicismo que habían quedado estancadas en calidad de reliquias en mí. -
Cosa significa oggi "Credo"
in questo libro compatto ma completo Kung rianalizza tutti gli elementi del Credo cattolico, cercando di dirci cosa significa oggi credere a Gesù Cristo (e anche cosa NON significa). Si va quindi dalla creazione del mondo fino alla morte di Gesù, in brevi paragrafi nei quali Kung non si nega alle domande più dirette e scomode del mondo contemporaneo. Una lettura interessante, di una mente aperta al mondo di oggi e per nulla dogmatica (anzi) che però sa ancora trovare il senso ultimo del credere in Gesù Cristo. Originali e belli i passaggi di confronto tra Gesù e Buddha (che non troverete in libri di teologi più "allineati"), meno convincenti i passaggi sulla teodicea, rispetto alla quale Kung non può (non vuole?) rinunciare all'onnipotenza divina, negando una sua possibilità di soffrire - dal mio punto di vista l'unica via di uscita del problema di Dio ad Auschwitz.... -
¿Es posible creer todo eso? En este libro el teólogo Hans Küng interpreta los artículos del Credo de forma actualizada, basado en las Escrituras, con honestidad intelectual y con una amplitud ecuménica. Teniendo como finalidad el seguimiento de Jesús para que el hombre pueda vivir, obrar, sufrir, morir,
de modo auténticamente humano. -
Need to re-read this, especially in conversation with J. D. Crossan's work.
-
Interesante
-
El autor repasa el credo analizándolo frase por frase desde la religión moderna (muy moderna, podríamos decir). A Küng lo tuvieron y lo tienen bastante atravesado en la jerarquía católica oficial. Le han revocado el permiso para enseñar teología pero no lo han apartado del sacerdocio, cosa muy curiosa. En este libro Küng saca el hacha y argumenta en contra del parto virginal de María, afirma que el problema de la
Teodicea agustiniana es irresoluble e incompatible con un dios benevolente y omnipotente (que coincide con mi opinión, que tanto me ha costado desarrollar y con la que tan incómodo me encontré en cuanto di con ella por mi cuenta, desde el principio hasta el fin. Leyendo esto ha tenido una alegría enorme), y sigue. Da la sensación de que si le dejan solo Küng habría acabado negando la resurrección de Cristo pero se seguiría manifestando Católico.
Es un libro muy interesante para los interesados en la religión, y más concretamente en la religión católica. -
A very interesting study of the Apostle's Creed. There is no superstition in this book, only thoughtful, logical interpretation on behalf of the author. In fact, Küng writes as if he were in dialogue with "someone", "contemporaries", "believers" and sceptics and answers their (anticipated) questions.
There is a part during the discussion on suffering where Auschwitz is mentioned, and that is where my two favorite quotes are from:
"suffering - excessive, innocent, meaningless suffering, both individual and collective - cannot be understood theoretically, but can only be lived through." (page 91 of my edition)
"while God does not preserve us from all suffering he does preserve us in all suffering." (page 92) -
I read this Hans Küng book, 'Credo', subtitled 'The Apostles' Creed Explained for Today' over time. It is broken down into over 60 subsections, often framed almost like a FAQ section. Example: 'What "resurrection" does and does not mean'. I appreciate these Christian beliefs more for having thoroughly explored them with Hans Küng.
