Excellent4.8 out of 5On Trustpilot
  1. Christian Academic Books/
  2. Phenomenology

Theological Aesthetics

God in Imagination, Beauty, and Art

by Richard Viladesau

  • Hardback
  • 320 pages
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press
  • 15.3 x 22.9 x 2.1 cm

£95.47

Free UK Delivery

Available - Usually dispatched within 5 days

Buying for a school or church? Upgrade to a FREE Eden Advance Account

Free delivery on orders over £10

This book explores the role of aesthetic experience in our perception and understanding of the holy. Richard Viladesaus 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.
Theological Aesthetics and Theology and the Arts
Theology and the ArtsTheological Aesthetics

  • Author

    Richard Viladesau

  • Book Format

    Hardback

  • Publisher

    Oxford University Press

  • Published

    May 1999

  • Weight

    609g

  • Page Count

    320

  • Dimensions

    15.3 x 22.9 x 2.1 cm

  • ISBN

    9780195126228

  • ISBN-10

    019512622X

  • Eden Code

    1190447

Over 14,000 churches and schools have upgraded to an Advance Account and we‘d love to welcome you into this free program. We know that church volunteers and school teachers often use their own money, then have claim it back on on an expense form. We can take all of that hassle away by invoicing your church or school directly and delivering your order straight away.

Opening an account is quick and easy, with most accounts being approved and setup within a few hours of filling in the form below (on weekdays, not weekends). As soon as we‘ve approved the application we‘ll send you an email to let you know that its done.

Upgrade to a FREE Eden Advance Account
Write a review
      Ask a question
      Open Doors Ad