Nouvelle Théologie and Sacramental Ontology
Hans Boersma's theological study examines the twentieth-century French theological movement known as nouvelle théologie and its retrieval of what he calls "sacramental ontology" — a way of understanding reality in which the material world participates in and points beyond itself to divine mystery. Writing in the wake of postmodern critiques of purely rational theology, Boersma argues that figures like Henri de Lubac, Jean Daniélou, and Yves Congar offered a vital alternative to both liberal Protestant theology and neo-scholastic rationalism by recovering patristic and medieval insights about the sacramental character of all creation.
Boersma's central argument unfolds through careful analysis of how nouvelle théologie thinkers understood the relationship between nature and grace, time and eternity, the literal and the spiritual. He demonstrates that these theologians rejected the sharp separation between natural and supernatural that had dominated post-Reformation Catholic theology, instead embracing what de Lubac called the "supernatural existential" — the idea that human beings are created with an innate orientation toward the divine. This sacramental vision extends beyond formal liturgical sacraments to encompass all of reality as potentially revelatory, requiring what Boersma calls "spiritual interpretation" that reads the world as charged with divine presence while maintaining the distinction between Creator and creation.
The work has proven influential among theologians seeking alternatives to both fundamentalist literalism and secular materialism, offering a sophisticated framework for understanding how divine transcendence and immanence intersect. Boersma's synthesis has particularly resonated with scholars interested in theological aesthetics, liturgical theology, and the dialogue between Christianity and postmodernity.
Who should read this: Theologians, graduate students, and educated clergy interested in twentieth-century Catholic theology, sacramental theology, or the relationship between faith and reason will find this essential reading. This is not a work for beginners in theology, as it assumes familiarity with scholastic categories and modern theological debates.