Arts, Theology, And The Church: New Intersections

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Book Reviews of Arts, Theology, And The Church: New Intersections

Book Review: Artfully done...
Summary: 5 Stars

The essays in this volume come from a group of scholars throughout North America, with particular concentration around the United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. In recognition that 'over the past twenty-five years, the exploration of the arts in relationship to theology has become a significant part of the landscape of theological education and the church,' these scholars and ministers came together to address the theological, spiritual, and practical aspects of the arts in ministry and religion. This deals with issues of theological theory, interpretation, and practices.

The arts discussed here are broadly drawn - they include the visual arts, musical arts, storytelling and liturgical arts. Some of these essays draw on issues from historical perspectives, and some are very personal. While each essay stands on its own merit and reads as a complete unit, together the essays complement each other drawing the same issues in different directions.

What is the importance of art for religion? Those who attend worship services are familiar with certain kinds of architecture, music (or the lack thereof), vestments (or the lack thereof), and a host of other elements that add in some way (even by the absence of certain elements) to an aesthetic experience meant to both deepen and broaden the understanding of what is being said and done in church. But what are the implications of rendering an invisible God accessible by visible, corporeal means (Robin Jensen addresses this in her essay)? For those whose experience of religious themes in primarily outside of the church (as the population of unchurched persons grows), what meaning will they attach to 'marketplace' art such as films with religious symbols and figures (Jann Cather Weaver discusses this in her essay)?

According to Don Saliers (the professor of my professor of liturgy), 'the history of Christian faith and theology is also a history of the eye, the ear, of bodily gesture and movement, the mind imagining, and the senses conjoining.' Holiness is, in our sensory perceptions, embodied and made incarnate best in beautiful ways. What constitutes this beauty can be a subject for debate. One can see this clearly in a church in which there is an effort to make a change - churches sometimes split over matters not overtly theological, such as a hymnal change. Brown states that this issue 'is at work in worshipping communities whenever they splinter or incinerate themselves over matters of musical style, one side accusing the other of religious infidelity while facing, itself, the accusation of bad taste or even irreverence.' Understanding the underpinnings of aesthetic and theological issues can help communities better understand themselves and why they do what they do.

However, this understanding is not simply for the congregations. It must first be for the academics and theologians. The connections between art and aesthetic considerations on the one hand and 'proper' theology on the other are often tenuous and ill-defined; sometimes artistic issues are ignored altogether. All of the authors, each in his or her own way, make an argument or case for the inclusion of the arts in theological consideration.

This is a book that should be read by ministers, Christian education directors, seminary professors and students, and others who hope to add to the fullness of their religious and spiritual experience, both within and outside of the church.

Truth in advertising is a must: Frank Burch Brown was a professor of mine at my seminary, who had the graciousness to give me high enough marks in his class on church and the arts that I might dare to offer an opinion on a text such as this. Thus, any insights I might have might also be traced to him; any faults will surely be my own.

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