The Balthasar Booth is a virtual exhibit devoted to the life and work of Hans Urs von Balthasar. The exhibit is hosted on the Wipf and Stock Blog and includes a set of interviews with Balthasar scholars, as well as a selection of Wipf and Stock’s books by and about HUVB. You can find the link to the booth below.

Dr. Layton Friesen is the academic dean at Steinbach Bible College in Manitoba and formerly served as the Conference Pastor of the Evangelical Mennonite Conference of Canada. He is also the author of Secular Nonviolence and the Theo-Drama of Peace: Anabaptist Ethics and the Catholic Christology of Hans Urs von Balthasar.

In our interview, Dr. Friesen and I discuss the work of Hans Urs von Balthasar and its relationship to ethics, contemplation, Karl Barth, contemporary Mennonite communities, and more.

Apologies for the glitches and poor sound quality in parts of the episode. We are actively working to strengthen WiFi signals and microphone quality. 

PODCAST LINKS:

The Balthasar Booth: https://wipfandstock.com/blog/2022/08/02/the-balthasar-booth/

Blog post: https://wipfandstock.com/blog/2022/08/01/ethics-and-the-acts-of-god-layton-friesen-on-hans-urs-von-balthasar/

CONNECT:

Website: https://wipfandstock.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvht9V0Pndgvwh5vkpe0GGw

Twitter: https://twitter.com/wipfandstock

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wipfandstock

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wipfandstock/

SOURCES MENTIONED:

Balthasar, Hans Urs von. Engagement with God: The Drama of Christian Discipleship. 

———. Prayer. 

———. Theo-Drama: Theological Dramatic Theory. 5 vols. 

Barth, Karl. Church Dogmatics. 31 vols.

Friesen, Layton Boyd. Secular Nonviolence and the Theo-Drama of Peace: Anabaptist Ethics and the Catholic Christology of Hans Urs von Balthasar. 

Long, D. Stephen: Saving Karl Barth: Hans Urs von Balthasar’s Preoccupation. 

McIntosh, Mark A. Christology from Within: Spirituality and the Incarnation in Hans Urs von Balthasar. 

Oakes, Edward T. Pattern of Redemption: The Theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar.

OUTLINE:

(01:28) - Humility, Gentleness, and Voracious Curiosity

(04:35) - Patience as a Virtue in Reading and Writing

(06:07) - Curiosity as Vice?

(08:31) - Prayer, Secondary Sources

(12:20) - Prayer and Ethics

(13:40) - Reading Balthasar as a Mennonite

(16:13) - Jesus and Secularity

(23:50) - Balthasar, Violence, and Pacifism

(28:58) - Doctrine and Ethics

(33:50) - Balthasar and Karl Barth