An Analogy of Grace

An Analogy of Grace proposes a deeply grounded investigation of grace and a robustly balanced impetus for advancing the gospel in the twenty-first century.

Amid the present decline in religious affiliation, a pervasive question for many is ＂why bother＂ with faith and its practices. An Analogy of Grace engages this question in the context of grace, or our participation in the life and love of God, and investigates the difference made by the diverse ways in which the self-communication of God is received and participated. Shea begins with the contrasting models provided by twentieth-century theologians Karl Rahner and Hans Urs von Balthasar. Rahner focused on how grace is universally accessible within the heart, while Balthasar envisioned grace as found principally through an encounter with the incarnate Word. Henry Shea charts a course within and beyond this difference, bolstered by fresh and insightful analysis of the work of Erich Przywara, Henri de Lubac, and other major theologians.

An Analogy of Grace posits that grace is best understood as a moving Trinitarian analogy that begins in the heart and advances through the incarnate Word in the Spirit toward the whole Christ. This new analogy of grace is radically universal and inclusive while also wholly informed by the distinct form of Jesus Christ.

Henry Shea, S.J., is assistant professor of theology at Boston College.