Poetic Theology: God and the Poetics of Everyday Life

by William A. Dyrness

Reveals the presence of God in the creative works of human life and culture

What are the "poetics of everyday life"? What can they teach us about God? Art, music, dance, and writing can certainly be "poetic," but so can such diverse pastimes as fishing, skiing, or attending sports events. Any and all activities that satisfy our fundamental need for play, for celebration, and for ritual, says William Dyrness, are inherently poetic -- and in  Poetic Theology  he demonstrates that all such activities are places where God is active in the world.

All of humanity's creative efforts, Dyrness points out, testify to our intrinsic longing for joy and delight and our deep desire to connect with others, with the created order, and especially with the Creator. This desire is rooted in the presence and calling of God in and through the good creation.

With extensive reflection on aesthetics in spirituality, worship, and community development, Dyrness's  Poetic Theology  will be useful for all who seek fresh and powerful new ways to communicate the gospel in contemporary society.

Genres: Theology, Poetry, Nonfiction, Christianity

352 pages, Paperback

First published December 23, 2010

About the author

William A. Dyrness (DTheol, University of Strasbourg; Doctorandus, Free University) is dean emeritus and professor of theology and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, and is the author of several books on global theology.

Dyrness' specializations include theology and culture (especially theology and the visual arts), Protestant vision since the Reformation in relation to the visual arts, non-Western theology, Christian apologetics, global theology, Interfaith aesthetics.

Reviews

[Jeremy]

Jamie Smith reviews this book (not entirely positively) here in Image.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well I did enjoy this. There are lots of interesting moments. But my Reservations sit around whether there is a dilution of the antithesis.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two things stood out to me as I was reading this book. As one writing in the Protestant/Reformed tradition, Dyrness is writing to a group which is generally suspicious of aesthetics. I thought he did well in recognizing and responding to the critiques of focusing on aesthetics. A second thing I enjoyed was his assessment of our culture. Rather than lamenting that Modernism or Romanticism or the Medieval times or the Classical Period were more open to Christianity, Dyrness maintains that Christians can still find ways to connect to the people in our current culture.

[Judea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basically Henri Lefebvre or Michel de Certeau, but Christian LOL. This was honestly incredibly challenging for me to read, but also so rich, and packed with equal dose theology and imagination. There’s nothing else quite like it.

[M Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Professor Dyrness gives a broader definition to poetics than the classic, Aristotelian view. This book might well have been entitled "Aesthetic Theology," but frankly that sounds like less fun. As it is, Dyrness gives a fine history and suggested contemporary approach to the place of aesthetics of all kinds in theology. As Dr. William Hendricks, that fine Baptist aesthetic theologian used to say (and I'm paraphrasing), when truth and goodness are elusive, we must lean into beauty.

Clear, well-written and enjoyable for artists trying to figure out where they fit into the Church.

[James Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

My review of this book will appear in Image.