The Idea of the Holy Summary and Reviews

The Idea of the Holy
by R. Otto

The Idea of the Holy
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Book Summary Information

Author: R. Otto
Translator: John W. Harvey
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1958-12-31
ISBN: 0195002105
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Book Reviews of The Idea of the Holy

Book Review: A Classic worth reading
Summary: 5 Stars

C.S. Lewis once wrote, "I believe that many who find that 'nothing happens' when they sit down, or kneel down, to a book of devotion, would find that the heart sings unbidden while they are working their way through a tough bit of theology with a pipe in their teeth and a pencil in their hand." This pronouncement applies to Rudolf Otto's classic The Idea of the Holy (which Lewis had read.) This book explores the esoteric and ineffable, and is best approached with a pen or pencil in hand to underline passages and write in the margins. It is not a lengthy book (less than 200 pages in the edition I own) but chewing the sinewy theology takes some work to digest.

Traditional theology has usually concerned itself with doctrine, with focus on the rational aspects of God. Otto, following the tradition of mystics, gave careful consideration to an oft-neglected aspect of theology: the non-rational aspects of God. In doing so, he coined the word "numinous" to depict that which transcends or eludes comprehension in rational terms. It suggests that which is holy, awesome, and 'wholly other.' He also applies the expression "mysterium tremendum" to the numinous, describing that which is hidden, esoteric, beyond conception or understanding, awe-inspiring, fear-instilling or uncanny, an absolute overpoweringness of an ineffable transcendent Reality.

Otto illustrates his concepts with scripture passages such as Isaiah 6, where the vision of the Lord and his robe filled the temple. God's holiness overwhelmed Isaiah, who cried, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips." Other illustrations include the feeling of the numinous evoked by Bach's Mass in B minor, the 'Popule meus' of Thomas Luiz, or the contrast of light and darkness found in cathedrals or forest glades. Most helpful to me was his analysis of the book of Job, showing how God's answer to Job about the mystery of suffering demonstrates the numinous in the character of God. Otto seems, for the first time in my reading experience, to give helpful insight for why Job never received a direct answer to his questions about suffering.

Otto's terse classic has unfortunately been largely forgotten. I hope that it sees a revival in its readership, for it deserves to be studied and discussed with each new generation of readers.

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