How can the arts witness to the transcendence of the Christian God?It is widely believed that there is something transcendent about the arts, that they can awaken a profound sense of awe, wonder, and mystery, of something “beyond” this world. Many argue that this opens up fruitful opportunities for conversation with those who may have no use for conventional forms of Christianity.Jeremy Begbie—a leading voice on theology and the arts—in this book employs a biblical, trinitarian imagination to show how Christian involvement in the arts can (and should) be shaped by a vision of God’s transcendence revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. After critiquing some current writing on the subject, he goes on to offer rich resources to help readers engage constructively with the contemporary cultural moment even as they bear witness to the otherness and uncontainability of the triune God of love.
Jeremy S. Begbie is Thomas A. Langford Research Professor of Theology at Duke Divinity School, founding director of the Duke Initiatives in Theology and the Arts, and senior member at Wolfson College, Cambridge. A professionally trained musician, he has also written Voicing Creation's Praise: Towards a Theology of the Arts and Resounding Truth: Christian Wisdom in the World of Music.
Contents:Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Stirrings of Transcendence? 2. Sublime Transcendence 3. Disturbing Transcendence 4. Redeeming Transcendence Conclusion Bibliography Index of Names Index of Subjects
“Jeremy Begbie has been a central and seminal figure in the recent revolution in theology and the arts. Begbie’s argument here, both learned and lucid, is that only when we allow for a more explicitly biblical and Trinitarian vision of God will the vague claims for transcendence in the arts begin to make sense. This book will challenge and illuminate the whole field.”
Begbie Et Al, BEGBIE ET AL, Jeremy Begbie, Daniel K L Chua, Markus Rathey, Duke University) Begbie, Jeremy (Thomas A. Langford Distinguished Professor of Theology, Thomas A. Langford Distinguished Professor of Theology, University of Hong Kong) Chua, Daniel K L (Mr and Mrs Hung Hing-Ying Professor in the Arts and Professor of Music, Mr and Mrs Hung Hing-Ying Professor in the Arts and Professor of Music, Yale University) Rathey, Markus (Robert S. Tangeman Professor in the Practice of Music History, Robert S. Tangeman Professor in the Practice of Music History
Begbie Et Al, BEGBIE ET AL, Jeremy Begbie, Daniel K L Chua, Markus Rathey, Duke University) Begbie, Jeremy (Thomas A. Langford Distinguished Professor of Theology, Thomas A. Langford Distinguished Professor of Theology, University of Hong Kong) Chua, Daniel K L (Mr and Mrs Hung Hing-Ying Professor in the Arts and Professor of Music, Mr and Mrs Hung Hing-Ying Professor in the Arts and Professor of Music, Yale University) Rathey, Markus (Robert S. Tangeman Professor in the Practice of Music History, Robert S. Tangeman Professor in the Practice of Music History