Martin Luther's Theology of Beauty: A Reappraisal

by Mark C Mattes

Many contemporary theologians seek to retrieve the concept of beauty as a way for people to encounter God. This groundbreaking book argues that while Martin Luther's view of beauty has often been ignored or underappreciated, it has much to contribute to that quest. Mark Mattes, one of today's leading Lutheran theologians, analyzes Luther's theological aesthetics and discusses its implications for music, art, and the contemplative life. Mattes shows that for Luther, the cross is the lens through which the beauty of God is refracted into the world.

Genres: Theology

240 pages, Hardcover

Published August 22, 2017

Reviews

[Kirstie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mattes confirms that, yes, I do need to read Aristotle, and no, Aristotle does not need to be the legs and trunk supporting one’s theological imagination and biblical interpretation. (Phew.) I suspect that after deeper engagement (read: any engagement) with Aristotle and Plato, I will be able to more thoroughly engage this text.

My favorite emphasis: Mattes frequently references Luther’s insistence that whatever causes us to consider ascent toward God as a way to get more of God is antithetical to the gospel. Having gone through phases of spirituality where I desired to move deeper into the “depths of God,” and was utterly broken by the ways I hindered the process, I found renewed peace in reading this book.

My greatest struggle: Mattes emphasizes that “the law and gospel are not the same word of God but two different words.” I need to study Lutheranism’s parameters for talking about law and gospel, but at face value, I think this language may contribute to (1) the sense that God doesn’t mean what he says when he speaks the law, and (2) a faulty equivocation of God’s law and God’s wrath. (Thanks to my brother-in-law Ben for this second insight.) I am interested in how Lutherans can or should talk about the law and gospel as having a unity of purpose (to unite us with Christ). It is “good for me that I was afflicted that I might learn to love your law” but “the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” It is good for me that my sinful flesh die and it is good for me that my soul and body be made alive through the gospel. I’m not sure how to apply this framework of “goodness” hermeneutically — but I don’t think I would choose to use the law/gospel hermeneutic the way Mattes does.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard a friend look at this book and say, "I didn't know Luther had a theology of beauty." Mattes himself admits that, "Luther's work falls short of a grand, unified theory of beauty" (187). But I think this book still needed to be written. Mattes is very well spoken, clearly did his research, and makes keen observations while contrasting Lutheran theology with modern aesthetic theorists.

Still, this feels like a PhD turned into a book. The first two chapters on philosophy are heady and hard to get through. After that, things get a little easier. I wish he would have spoken about Luther's relationship with Cranach the Elder a little more, and I was surprised to find he didn't really discuss the Lutheran doctrine of vocation, from an artist's perspective. Though I suppose it is a book about Lutheranism and beauty, not Lutheranism and art. Mattes references Barth, Bultmann, Steven D. Paulson, and Begbie, among others.

Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Luther's use of Philosophy
3. Luther on Goodness
4. The Early Luther on Beauty
5. The Mature Luther on Beauty
6. Luther on the Theology and Beauty of Music
7. Luther on Visual Imaging
8. Luther and Nouvelle Theologie
9. Luther for a Contemporary Theology of Beauty

[Davis Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can't go five steps in any direction in the world of classical education, Christian cultural studies, "modernity surgery," or conservative philosophy without bumping into the claim that "Martin Luther was a father of secularity." Though I think this is patently absurd from even a casual reading of Luther's most important works, I can see why there are concerns even from Protestants. Luther was trained by nominalists, called reason the devil's whore, and hated most philosophy with a vengeance. Is there anything in the metaphysical side of Luther that can rescue his reputation as a rejector of the Great Tradition? This much-needed book answers that question splendidly. It's more than an account of just Luther's aesthetics—it's a brief but heady survey of his entire philosophy (if that word is appropriate to describe Luther). It's already been a serious challenge to many of the ways in which I'm accustomed to thinking from my diet of the neo-Thomists and Radically Orthodox: namely, Mattes critiques a Platonic view of reality as participation in God's essence, as well as the Augustinian emphasis on desire. Though this sounds like a serious rejection, his elucidation of Luther's response is brilliant, and has led me to think that it is the most Biblical account of reality. I'll have to put some more thought into it in order to give a totally fair assessment. Maybe once I've read more Aquinas, Scotus, Ockham, Calvin, and some of the recent thinkers he cites (one area of concern is his Francis Schaeffer-esque characterization of Aquinas as a bifurcator of nature and grace). But for now, I was impressed with the analysis and argumentation. It's a must-own for Lutheran scholars, and really anyone interested in Christian aesthetics and philosophy. It illuminates all the Lutheran distinctives really well, and it might just serve as a helpful introduction to Lutheran theology for intellectuals.

[Mathias · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amatörreflektion...
Vad är skönhet? Wholeness, Harmony och Radiance?
Coram mundo et coram deo? (inför världen och inför gud?)
Och hur förhåller sig dessa skönheter till varandra?
Genom Guds evangelium, en dårskap för världen och en inverterad skönhet,
Skönhetens fullständiga uttryck hos den som varken hade skönhet eller majestät när vi såg honom, inget utseende som vi drogs till...
Vi är inte vackra coram deo därför att vi älskar Gud och bestiger den gudomliga hierarkins platonistiska trappsteg mot evigheten... Detta är ett fåfängt företag som bygger på mänsklig pretentiös gudomlighet och stolthet.
Vi blir vackra därför att Gud älskar syndare,
Och så älskade Gud världen att han utgav sin enfödde son,
Så att var och en som tror på honom inte skall gå förlorad utan ha evigt liv,
och denna evangeliums verkan förvandlar syndare och deras värld,
SOm så tillåts uppskatta skapelsens skönhet,
som egentligen skola oss påminna,
om Guds godhets rikedom, att vi den nåd besinna som räcker året om.

Coram mundo, är mekanismen för skönheten nog detta som den själviska genen söker efter
All denna biologiska mångfald som söker demonstrera sin skönhet för att propagera den själviska genen (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B91to...)
Men naturen är grym och oförsonlig med alla dess rovdjur och byten, sjukdom och död, och alltså fallen,
Och förmågan att uppskatta dess skönhet går förlorad utanför Kristus, vilkens inverterade skönhet, Gudi mysterium, förvandlar och upprättar den enbart själviska genens strävan,
Vars funktion inte längre är enbart självisk utan upprättad och en ny skapelse Coram Deo
Och detta lyser igenom Coram Mundo,
För detta är den sanna mänskligheten,
Riddaren som dödar draken,
Kärleken som är tålig och mild,
Som bryr sig om de svaga och värnlösa,
Som ger sitt liv för sina vänner.
Ängens liljor i all sin prakt...
Livet är en märklig blandning av dessa olika skönheter, och når sin riktiga balans bara innanför Kristus,
Utanför finns ledtrådar, eftersom Gud skapade världen och det var gott...
men dessa är snärjda i stolthet, pretention och synd, vilket genom en ond cirkel för människan ner i helvetet. Utanför Kristus är Gud vred och likgiltig över syndare, och världen är grym och fylld med rovdjur
Innanför Kristus är Gud tillgänglig, konkret och utgivande, och skönheten i Lejonkungen och "The Circle of Life" kan uppskattas. Ungefär så?

[Bror · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredible book dealing with beauty not so much as an aesthetic topic but as a theological topic. When man lost the image of God, man lost his beauty. This is where Luther breaks with many of his predecessors such as Aquinas and Augustine, who treated beauty from a position of pancalism. That is that everything is beautiful because everything participates with God. Instead, Luther contends that God makes man beautiful by becoming ugly and dying on the cross. It is his blood and righteousness that become our glorious dress as the famous Zinzendorf hymn suggests.
However, there then comes into play the aesthetic aspects of beauty in that by being restored to the beauty of God by his death and resurrection we are now free to enjoy beauty in the aesthetical realm too. It is amazing to me how simple a thing as enjoying beauty can deliver such a guilt trip today, but it happens all too often. Modern and post-modern art show how even in the secular realm people are shunned for enjoying the simple beauty of folk art and even the masterful works of the Renaissance can be regarded as kitsch. However, among misguided Christians women can be shamed for allowing their beauty to shine also, and men are all too often ashamed to recognize beauty even in nature much less acknowledging it in the opposite sex. So what God has given for us to judge in this world has become source of guilt and shame, God restores to a source of delight and glory.

[Kyle Tomlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could give this book 6 stars, I would easily and gladly do so! In this book, Dr. Mattes takes up a topic that doesn’t often get a lot of attention in theology, that is, beauty. After looking at the philosophical definitions of beauty, the Roman Catholic understanding of it, and the Reformed views of it, Dr. Mattes gives Luther’s understanding of beauty, namely Christ crucified for you. That promise sets us free to look up and out and see our neighbors and the world God has created as a place of beauty, not a place we seek to escape, but a place we are looking for Christ to come and renew.

[Rick Stuckwisch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an appropriate beautiful book in every way. An excellent scholarly discussion, well written and engaging. Mattes deals with an important topic in a careful and responsible manner. He treats Luther's understanding of beauty in relation to creation, justification, and the theology of the Cross. He considers Luther's exegetical writings, as well as Luther's similarities to and differences from the philosophers and scholastics who came before him. Especially helpful are the author's discussion of Luther's views on music and images. All in all, a very fine and worthwhile contribution.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and thoughtful book based on Luther's writings.

[Amanda]

**I received this book for free from the publisher through Netgalley. My review and opinions are my own.**