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Light in Darkness: Hans Urs von Balthasar and the Catholic Doctrine of Christ’s Descent into Hell is unavailable, but you can change that!

“He descended into hell.” Hans Urs von Balthasar, one of the most influential theologians of the twentieth century, placed this affirmation of the Nicene Creed at the heart of his reflection on the world-altering events of Holy Week, asserting that this identification of God with the human experience is at the “absolute center” of the Christian faith. Yet is such a descent to suffering really...

into two groups based on the different formulations of the Resurrection article. In both we will find that Christ’s descent is implicit in the profession of His resurrection. One group may be represented by the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Symbol, which says, “And He rose on the third day, according to the Scriptures.”7 One may ask, “From where did He rise?” The answer is simple, “From the tomb and from where a soul goes after death.” The text cannot refer only to the resurrection of Christ’s body from
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