Phénoménologie de la Vérité: The Phenomenological Roots of Hans Urs von Balthasar’s Theology

Hans Urs von Balthasar, one of the leading theologians of the twentieth century, uses the methods and results of classical phenomenology in many ways. Balthasar’s repeated criticism of Husserl, Scheler, and Heidegger conceals the fact of his dependence on these authors in various ways. The present text examines the implicit and explicit phenomenological elements in Balthasar’s thought. As a starting point, the title of the first French translation of one of his early books, Phénoménologie de la vérité, is used to outline the context of Balthasar’s endeavor. In what follows, I will show the phenomenological features of some of his major writings, analyze what he himself calls supernatural phenomenology, and argue for a more consistent phenomenological methodology that Balthasar could have worked out had he carefully considered the internal development of the phenomenological movement. “Apocalyptic phenomenology” emerges as the general title of an approach that links Balthasar’s methodology to that of the major phenomenological works, properly examined and extended.