Download or read book The Cross the Gospels and the Work of Art in the Carolingian Age written by Beatrice E. Kitzinger and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-04-04 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, Beatrice E. Kitzinger explores the power of representation in the Carolingian period, demonstrating how images were used to assert the value and efficacy of art works. She focuses on the cross, Christianity's central sign, which simultaneously commemorates sacred history, functions in the present, and prepares for the end of time. It is well recognized that the visual attributes of the cross were designed to communicate its theology relative to history and eschatology; Kitzinger argues that early medieval artists also developed a formal language to articulate its efficacious powers in the present day. Defined through form and text as the sign of the present, the image of the cross articulated the instrumentality of religious objects and built spaces. Whereas medieval and modern scholars have pondered the theological problems posed by representation, Kitzinger here proposes a visual argument that affirms the self-reflexive value of art works in the early medieval West. Introducing little-known sources, she re-evaluates both the image of the cross and the project of book-making in an expanded field of Carolingian painting.

Download or read book Painting the Gospel written by Kymberly N Pinder and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2016-03-01 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Innovative and lavishly illustrated, Painting the Gospel offers an indispensable contribution to conversations about African American art, theology, politics, and identity in Chicago. Kymberly N. Pinder escorts readers on an eye-opening odyssey to the murals, stained glass, and sculptures dotting the city's African American churches and neighborhoods. Moving from Chicago's oldest black Christ figure to contemporary religious street art, Pinder explores ideas like blackness in public, art for black communities, and the relationship of Afrocentric art to Black Liberation Theology. She also focuses attention on art excluded from scholarship due to racial or religious particularity. Throughout, she reflects on the myriad ways private black identities assert public and political goals through imagery. Painting the Gospel includes maps and tour itineraries that allow readers to make conceptual, historical, and geographical connections among the works.

Download or read book Gospel as Work of Art written by David Brown and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2024-03-07 with total page 1057 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A lushly illustrated, magisterial exploration of the imaginative truth of the gospel In the modern academy, truth and imagination are thought to be mutually exclusive. But what if truth can spring from other fonts, like art, literature, and invention? The legacy of the Enlightenment favors historical and empirical inquiry above all other methods for searching for truth. But this assumption stymies our theological explorations. Though the historicity of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection is important, it is not of sole importance. For instance, is John’s Gospel any less “true” than the Synoptics just because it’s less historically accurate? David Brown challenges us to expand our understanding of the gospel past source criticism and historical Jesus studies to include works of imagination. Reading Scripture in tandem with works of art throughout the centuries, Brown reenvisions the gospel as an open text. Scholars of theology and biblical studies, freed from literalism, will find new avenues of revelation in Gospel as Work of Art. This volume includes over one hundred color illustrations.

Download or read book Bridge to Wonder written by Cecilia González-Andrieu and published by . This book was released on 2022-04-15 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is often difficult to describe beauty or even justify attempts to experience something beautiful. Yet if artists--whether painters or poets, actors or musicians, architects or sculptors--teach us anything, it is that the pursuit of beauty is a common feature among all humanity. As Cecilia González-Andrieu contends, these varied experiences with artistic beauty are embedded with revelatory and prophetic power that not only affects a single individual but allows for communal formation. Named one of America magazine's most promising young theologians, González-Andrieu seeks to engage art in order to reveal its religious significance. Bridge to Wonder proposes a method of theological aesthetics allowing readers to mine the depths of creative beauty to discover variegated theological truths that enable greater communion with each other and the One source of all that is beautiful.

Download or read book A Peculiar Orthodoxy written by Jeremy S. Begbie and published by Baker Academic. This book was released on 2018-08-21 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: World-renowned theologian Jeremy Begbie has been at the forefront of teaching and writing on theology and the arts for more than twenty years. Amid current debates and discussions on the topic, Begbie emphasizes the role of a biblically grounded creedal orthodoxy as he shows how Christian theology and the arts can enrich each other. Throughout the book, Begbie demonstrates the power of classic trinitarian faith to bring illumination, surprise, and delight whenever it engages with the arts.

Download or read book For the Beauty of the Church written by W. David O. Taylor and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2010-03-01 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Think of your local church. Without art--music, song, dance, etc.--it would be a much poorer place. But if protestants have any vision for the arts, it tends to be a thin one. This unique book is an attempt to contribute to a robust, expansive vision for the church and the arts. Its specific aim is to show how the many parts of the landscape of church and art hold together. You can think of it as a kind of helicopter flyover, but one with expert pilots. The guides include the likes of Eugene Peterson, Lauren Winner, Jeremy Begbie, Andy Crouch, and John Witvliet, helping to inspire readers and empower pastor-leaders with a vision of the church and the arts that is compelling, far-seeing, and profoundly transformative.

Download or read book God the Trinity written by Malcolm B. Yarnell and published by B&H Publishing Group. This book was released on 2016-04-15 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is the Trinity biblical? Is it necessary to affirm God as three persons in one being? Despite a renewed interest in the Trinity in recent years, many Christians, including most evangelicals, either relegate the Son of God to creaturely status or repudiate the personhood of the Holy Spirit. In addition, numerous scholars affirm that the doctrine of the Trinity is not clearly revealed in Scripture. Is the Trinity merely a philosophical construction, or is it essential to orthodox Christianity? Drawing on hermeneutics and biblical and historical theology, Malcolm Yarnell crafts a careful and clear response to these issues through exegesis of pivotal texts from both testaments. He meticulously examines the foundational Hebrew confession known as the Shema, Matthew's great commission, the divine relations in the Gospel of John, Paul's Corinthian benediction, the opening hymn of Ephesians, and the throne room vision of the Apocalypse. Also considered are the relationships of language to revelation and history to metaphysics, along with recent appeals to recover patristic exegesis and the Christian imagination. He also challenges the reader to discern the implications of the Trinity for personal salvation as well as corporate worship.

Download or read book Art and the Bible written by Francis A. Schaeffer and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2009-08-20 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The lordship of Christ should include an interest in the arts," writes Francis Schaeffer. "A Christian should use these arts to the glory of God, not just as tracts, mind you, but as things of beauty to the praise of God." Many Christians, wary of creating graven images, have steered clear of artistic creativity. But the Bible offers a robust affirmation of the arts. The human impulse to create reflects our being created in the image of a creator God. Art and the Bible has been a foundational work for generations of Christians in the arts. In this book's classic essays, Francis Schaeffer first examines the scriptural record of the use of various art forms, and then establishes a Christian perspective on art. With clarity and vigor, Schaeffer explains why "the Christian is the one whose imagination should fly beyond the stars."

Download or read book God Is Beauty written by Karol Wojtyla and published by . This book was released on 2021-11-05 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Theology of the Body Institute Press releases the first-ever English language edition of a long-lost treasure from the St. John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla) archives. Originally delivered in 1962 for artists, "God Is Beauty" features Karol Wojtyla's penetrating spiritual exercises on divine beauty and its reflection in our humanity (and in the art we produce). The retreat itself, of course, forms the heart of this attractive volume. To aid you in mining its many riches, it is followed by an extensive commentary by Dr. Christopher West and various shorter reflections from authors who are distinguished in the fields of theology and art and whose hearts and works have been transformed by the themes in this retreat.In this book, you will be shown:* The interior journey of "the ache" an artist must take to produce transcendent art.* How artists should process the tensions in life that can inform their work.* The one thing necessary to make everyone's life a reflection of divine beauty.Reflections from artists and theologians who are living out the themes of this retreat. * A road map for the Church to reclaim its role as the world's Patron of the Arts. Saint John Paul II (born Karol Jozef Wojtyla in 1920) was an actor, poet, and playwright before being ordained to the priesthood in Communist-occupied Poland in 1946. Ordained a bishop in 1958, he contributed significantly to the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and was made a cardinal by Saint Paul VI in 1967. After the second papal conclave of 1978, Wojtyla became the first non-Italian pope in over 400 years. Having successfully fulfilled what he considered to be his mission to lead the Church into the third millennium, he died as one of the longest reigning popes in history on April 2, 2005. He was beatified by his immediate successor Pope Benedict XVI on May 1, 2011, and canonized by Pope Francis on April 27, 2014.

Download or read book Art and Faith written by Makoto Fujimura and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2021-01-05 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From a world-renowned painter, an exploration of creativity’s quintessential—and often overlooked—role in the spiritual life “Makoto Fujimura’s art and writings have been a true inspiration to me. In this luminous book, he addresses the question of art and faith and their reconciliation with a quiet and moving eloquence.”—Martin Scorsese “[An] elegant treatise . . . Fujimura’s sensitive, evocative theology will appeal to believers interested in the role religion can play in the creation of art.”—Publishers Weekly Conceived over thirty years of painting and creating in his studio, this book is Makoto Fujimura’s broad and deep exploration of creativity and the spiritual aspects of “making.” What he does in the studio is theological work as much as it is aesthetic work. In between pouring precious, pulverized minerals onto handmade paper to create the prismatic, refractive surfaces of his art, he comes into the quiet space in the studio, in a discipline of awareness, waiting, prayer, and praise. Ranging from the Bible to T. S. Eliot, and from Mark Rothko to Japanese Kintsugi technique, he shows how unless we are making something, we cannot know the depth of God’s being and God’s grace permeating our lives. This poignant and beautiful book offers the perspective of, in Christian Wiman’s words, “an accidental theologian,” one who comes to spiritual questions always through the prism of art.

Download or read book Painting the Word written by John Drury and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2002-01-01 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this beautifully written book, Drury, an Anglican priest and theologian, looks at religious paintings through the ages and presents them in a fresh way--as works filled with passion, stories, and meaning. 100 illustrations, 70 in color.

Download or read book Outreach and the Artist written by Constantine R. Campbell and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2013-04-23 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whether you are an artist whose talents are an untapped source of energy for your church or a ministry leader wanting to involve artists and the creative arts in your outreach efforts, Outreach and the Artist will renew your vision. Musician and biblical scholar Con Campbell offers encouragement, wisdom, and practical tips for evangelism with, through, and to the arts: Evangelism with the Arts. While the abilities of Christian artists may serve the church internally, artists within the church usually have enormous untapped potential for outreach. Evangelism through the Arts. People’s natural love for various artistic mediums provides a connection-point to exploring life’s big questions with unbelievers in non-threatening and engaging ways. Evangelism to the Arts. Christian artists are uniquely positioned to make an impact in artistic networks, which often have no Christian witness or presence and tend to be shut off from conventional methods of outreach. Spreading the gospel is a task worth every God-given resource we have, and artists and their creative gifts are no exception.

Download or read book The Gospel at Work written by Sebastian Traeger and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2014-01-28 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Find God’s vision for your job. Reclaim God’s vision for your life. Many Christians fall victim to one of two main problems when it comes to work: either they are idle in their work, or they have made an idol of it. Both of these mindsets are deadly misunderstandings of how God intends for us to think about our employment. In The Gospel at Work, Sebastian Traeger and Greg Gilbert unpack the powerful ways in which the gospel can transform how we do what we do, releasing us from the cultural pressures of both an all-consuming devotion and a punch-in, punch-out mentality—in order to find the freedom of a work ethic rooted in serving Christ. You’ll find answers to some of the tough questions that Christians in the workplace often ask: What factors should matter most in choosing a job? What gospel principles should shape my thinking about how to treat my boss, my co-workers, and my employees? Is full-time Christian work more valuable than my job? Is it okay to be motivated by money? How do you prioritize—or balance—work, family and church responsibilities? Solidly grounded in the gospel, The Gospel at Work confronts both our idleness at work and our idolatry of work with a challenge of its own—to remember that whom we work for is infinitely more important than what we do.

Download or read book God in the Gallery written by Daniel A. Siedell and published by Baker Academic. This book was released on 2008-10 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An art historian develops a theological, philosophical, and historical framework within which to experience and interpret modern and contemporary art that is in dialogue with the Christian faith.

Download or read book Theological Aesthetics written by Richard Viladesau and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1999-03-25 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the role of aesthetic experience in our perception and understanding of the holy. Richard Viladesau's goal is to articulate a theology of revelation, examined in relation to three principal dimensions of the aesthetic realm: feeling and imagination; beauty (or taste); and the arts. After briefly considering ways in which theology itself can be imaginative or beautiful, Viladesau concentrates on the theological significance of aesthetic data provided by each of the three major spheres of aesthetic perception and response. Throughout the work, the underlying question is how each of these spheres serves as a source (however ambiguous) of revelation. Although he frames much of his argument in terms of Catholic theology--from the Church Fathers to Karl Rahner, Hans urs von Balthasar, Bernard Lonergan, and David Tracy--Viladesau also makes extensive use of ideas from the Protestant theologian of the arts Gerardus van der Leeuw, and draws insights from such diverse thinkers as Hans Goerg Gadamer, Wolfhart Pannenberg, and Iris Murdoch. His analysis is enlivened by the artistic examples he selects: the music of Mozart as contemplated by Karl Barth, Schoenbergs opera Moses und Aron, the sculptures of Chartres Cathedral, poems by Rilke and Michelangelo, and many others. What emerges from this study is what Viladeseau terms a transcendental theology of aesthetics. In Thomistic terms, he finds that beauty is not only a perfection but a transcendental. That is, any instance of beauty, rightly perceived and rightly understood, can be seen to imply divinely beautiful things as well. In other words, Viladesau argues, God is the absolute and necessary condition for the possibility of beauty.

Download or read book The Psychedelic Gospels written by Jerry B. Brown and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2016-09-15 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reveals evidence of visionary plants in Christianity and the life of Jesus found in medieval art and biblical scripture--hidden in plain sight for centuries • Follows the authors’ anthropological adventure discovering sacred mushroom images in European and Middle Eastern churches, including Roslyn Chapel and Chartres • Provides color photos showing how R. Gordon Wasson’s psychedelic theory of religion clearly extends to Christianity and reveals why Wasson suppressed this information due to his secret relationship with the Vatican • Examines the Bible and the Gnostic Gospels to show that visionary plants were the catalyst for Jesus’s awakening to his divinity and immortality Throughout medieval Christianity, religious works of art emerged to illustrate the teachings of the Bible for the largely illiterate population. What, then, is the significance of the psychoactive mushrooms hiding in plain sight in the artwork and icons of many European and Middle-Eastern churches? Does Christianity have a psychedelic history? Providing stunning visual evidence from their anthropological journey throughout Europe and the Middle East, including visits to Roslyn Chapel and Chartres Cathedral, authors Julie and Jerry Brown document the role of visionary plants in Christianity. They retrace the pioneering research of R. Gordon Wasson, the famous “sacred mushroom seeker,” on psychedelics in ancient Greece and India, and among the present-day reindeer herders of Siberia and the Mazatecs of Mexico. Challenging Wasson’s legacy, the authors reveal his secret relationship with the Vatican that led to Wasson’s refusal to pursue his hallucinogen theory into the hallowed halls of Christianity. Examining the Bible and the Gnostic Gospels, the authors provide scriptural support to show that sacred mushrooms were the inspiration for Jesus’ revelation of the Kingdom of Heaven and that he was initiated into these mystical practices in Egypt during the Missing Years. They contend that the Trees of Knowledge and of Immortality in Eden were sacred mushrooms. Uncovering the role played by visionary plants in the origins of Judeo-Christianity, the authors invite us to rethink what we know about the life of Jesus and to consider a controversial theory that challenges us to explore these sacred pathways to the divine.

Download or read book Images of Redemption written by Patrick Sherry and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2003-05-01 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After discussing the "arts of redemption" and their rivals, and introducing soteriology, the theology of salvation, Patrick Sherry argues that the Christian "Drama of Redemption" has three Acts. The next five chapters discuss the three Acts, namely salvation history, our present human life, and the life to come. In each case, Sherry explains how art and literature can lead to an understanding of what is at stake here. His main concern is with the present life: hence three of those chapters deal with that phase of redemption, one of them specifically with "novels of redemption." The last substantial chapter of the book takes up the general issue of how art and literature contribute to religious understanding: Sherry argues that they may be primary expressions of religious belief, as well as "illustrations," and that as such they may criticise or complement theology, or in turn be open to criticism themselves from that quarter. Finally, he summarises the main theme and briefly discusses some of the particular problems of assessing the arts of redemption.The book's most distinctive feature is the way in which it uses art and literature as a means of religious and theological understanding. It is not a survey of the arts of redemption, though it uses a wide variety of examples, including ancient Greek drama, Flemish and Italian painting, religious music, and 19th -20th century novels. These examples are used as a tool for understanding what is one of the most difficult areas of theology.