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10 - Beauty and Aesthetics in Theology: The Art and Beauty of Wisdom

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2012

By
Charles Taliaferro
Edited by
Paul Moser  and
Michael McFall
Paul Moser
Affiliation:
Loyola University, Chicago
Michael McFall
Affiliation:
Bowling Green State University, Ohio
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Summary

I begin with a few words on aesthetics. In standard, contemporary terms, aesthetics as a field refers both to the philosophy of beauty and the philosophy of art. It involves questions such as the following: What (if anything) is beautiful? How is beauty related to morality and our values in general (political, religious, personal)? Can an immoral act or an evil person be beautiful? Is beauty merely in the eye of the beholder? What is art? What is the meaning and value of art? Can art that supports something evil (like Leni Riefenstahl's famous pro-Nazi film Triumph of the Will) still be excellent as a work of art?

In Christian theological aesthetics, there are questions such as, is God beautiful? How is the beauty or ugliness of creation related to the beauty of the Creator? Could the incarnation and crucifixion be human and divine and yet ugly? Are there distinctively Christian ways of making and evaluating works of art? When can works of art be idolatrous or blasphemous? The philosophy of art also makes use of certain concepts that are theologically interesting, including the very idea of a creator and creativity, imagination, the meaning of objects and texts.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Wisdom of the Christian Faith , pp. 197 - 217
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2012

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