New poll
I have added a new poll to find out which modern Catholic theologian you like best—so come and cast your vote. Unfortunately the poll is restricted to five options, so I was unable to include some of the best Catholic theologians, such as Teilhard, Schillebeeckx, Daniélou, and even (forgive me!) Gutiérrez.
David Tracy would have been a good addition if you had more space.
Oh yes -- I should certainly have mentioned David Tracy.
Nicolash Lash deserves an honourable mention, at least as a representative of English Catholicism - a bit of Wittgenstein and a dash of Marx in contrast to the (almost) inevitable Kant, Hegel and Heidegger of the Germans and Swiss; and Father Herbert McCabe was a canny thinker and a phronimos counsellor (if often sloshed!).
Urs von Balthasar is surely the greatest Communio Catholic theologian, with Küng edging Rahner for my Concilium Catholic theologian, for his sheer obtreperousness.
Boy this ones tough. I voted for Kung.
I voted for Küng, but where is Leonardo Boff?
I am in for Hans VB, who I see is in the lead...
Yes, I really should have mentioned Leonardo Boff, as well as Nicholas Lash (and, while we're in Britain, even Fergus Kerr could be mentioned in a footnote).
Are there really that few of us voting for Rahner? Well, I guess if you would have asked who is the most important or something like that the results would be different. Oh, and the english translation of his works is at least in parts dreadful (as you know we still await a german translation ;) )
I'm with you here, Patrik: I also snuck in my own vote for Rahner. I guess this means you and me are voices crying in the wilderness....
Still, I can see why Balthasar is winning. If I had to choose which one to invite to dinner, then Balthasar would be my own choice without a moment's hesitation!
I voted for Papa Joe. :-)
I have to admit, I found David Tracy nearly unreadable. I'll come back to him later on (the book is in storage now), but I found his writing pretty awful.
Since Congar is on there, de Lubac should really have gotten a nod, don't you think?
Fwiw, I would vote for Rahner anyway, if for no other reason than for impact.
I voted for Congar on the strength of his 'I Believe in the Holy Spirit' alone. If Gustavo Gutiérrez or Jean Daniélou had been on your list, I would have had a hard time choosing between them!
Thanks for mentioning Henri de Lubac! I'm shocked to realise that I simply forgot to include him. I had actually decided to include de Lubac on the poll instead of Congar -- but at the last minute I simply forgot! Sorry about this ridiculous mistake -- obviously the great de Lubac ought to be one of the Big Five.
I was actually pretty enamored with the fact that you included Congar (research interests of mine) - he usually doesn't make this kind of ranking. But yeah, de Lubac is a big hitter.
On second thought, I would probably vote for him after all.
I must agree, de Lubac deserves a spot...Consider this a write-in vote!
Yes, yes, well said. It's a write-in campaign for de Lubac!
My vote is for Balthasar and I say "ditto" to what the pontificator said.
I voted for HVB because I find him the most creative and interesting of the group. His writings speak not only to the mind but to the imagination and the heart. He's impossible to pigeon-hold, yet he is unmistakably Catholic and thoroughly embedded in the biblical story of Christ (in a way that Rahner is not). I'm not sure if anyone else could ever do theology like him, which I guess is precisely why I am enjoying reading him.
I voted for Küng, but where is Leonardo Boff?
I must agree, de Lubac deserves a spot...Consider this a write-in vote!
Yes, yes, well said. It's a write-in campaign for de Lubac!
Since Congar is on there, de Lubac should really have gotten a nod, don't you think?
Fwiw, I would vote for Rahner anyway, if for no other reason than for impact.
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