Grace in Our Place? The Concept of Representation in the Theology of Karl Rahner

Abstract

How does Jesus bring about human salvation? Throughout his career, Karl Rahner expressed deep suspicion of answers that portray Christ as “stepping in” for us (Stellvertretung) and performing a great redemptive act in our stead: grace ought to capacitate rather than displace, he argued. Rahner’s assessment provoked great protest from Hans Urs von Balthasar, for whom Stellvertretung was indispensable. This article considers their exchange by examining (1) Rahner’s distinction between mere “signs” (Vertretungssymbole) and real symbols as well as (2) his favored alternative for Stellvertretung, the notion of Repräsentation, an underappreciated dimension of his soteriology adopted from his early patristic studies.