Having presented his christology and mariology under the sign of the ``Dramatis Personae" in volume three of Theo-Drama, von Balthasar now turns to the action of the divine drama itself. Here we find his soteriology, where time, freedom, history, power, sin, conflict are seen in the light of the Cross, the culmination of the action and passion of God and man.

As Balthasar expresses it in the conclusion to his preface: here ``we discern the unity of `glory' and the `dramatic'. God's glory, as it appears in the world--supremely in Christ--is not something static that could be observed by a neutral investigator. It manifests itself only through the personal involvement whereby God himself comes forth to do battle and is both victor and vanquished. If this glory is to come within our range at all, an analogous initiative is called for on our part. Revelation is a battlefield. Those who do battle on it can only be believers and theologians, provided they have equipped themselves with the whole armor of God (Eph 6:11)."

In this series "the good" has been the focus. Balthasar maintains that it is in the theater that man attempts a kind of transcendence to observe and to judge his own truth about himself. He sees the phenomenon of theater as a source of fruitfulness for theological reflection on the cosmic drama that involves earth and heaven. This fifth volume is trinitarian, focusing on the mystery of God. He draws heavily on Scripture and many passages from the works of the mystic Adrienne von Spyer. Some of the topics covered include "A Christian Eschotology", "The World is from the Trinity", "Earth moves Heavenward", "The Final Act: A Trinitarian Drama."

Following his acclaimed The Word Has Been Abroad: A Guide Through Balthasar's Aesthetics, No Bloodless Myth by Aidan Nichols summarizes and illuminates the five-volume series Theo-Drama, which develops the heart of Balthasar's theological theory-his exploration of the Good and of the dramatic interplay of finite and infinite freedom.

Theo-Drama builds upon the earlier achievement of The Glory of the Lord and transcends it, opening up new horizons for theological and cultural reflection in the twenty-first century. Aidan Nichols's succinct commentary enables the reader to grasp the main themes of one of the most important theological works in several generations.