Theology and the Arts: Encountering God through Music, Art and Rhetoric

by Richard Viladesau

Richard Viladesau's book takes a look at an inviting topic that has come into increasing prominence in a number of fields lately―including theology. Theology and the Arts explores, in a timely and engaging manner, several aspects of the relations between theology and aesthetics, in both the pastoral and academic realms. The underlying motif of this work is that beauty is a means of divine revelation, and that art is the human mediation that both enables and limits its revelatory power. Using examples from music, pictorial art and rhetoric, the five chapters explore different aspects of the ways that art enters into theology and theology into art, both in pastoral practice, e.g., liturgical music, sacred art and preaching, and in the area of systematic reflection, where, Viladesau contends, art must be recognized as a genuine theological text. A reader-friendly feature of this work is the addition, after the central chapters, of a discography of illustrative musical works and lists of internet sights of sacred art and art history resources-a virtual museum―that will complement the text. These enhance the value of this well-written, provocative text. Although aimed at undergraduate theology students, it will certainly capture the interest of art students, pastoral ministers and anyone who appreciates the arts. †

Genres: Theology, Religion, Nonfiction, Art

288 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2000

Reviews

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

He makes some big claims and over-generalizations. I think he could have dug deeper into the subject matter, used more artistic examples, and cited more sources. Side note: from little hints here and there, you can tell he writes from a Roman Catholic perspective.

On a large scale, the book feels like three entirely separate essays that he squashed together to make a book -- one essay on the numinous effects of music, one essay on the effects of cultural paradigms on visual and sculptural art, and one essay on liberation theology and the art of preaching. The sidestep into liberation theology in the last chapter felt out of place, and seemed to have little to do with art, beauty, or aesthetic theory.

Viladesau explains himself in the Conclusion chapter:
"Each of the preceding essays exemplifies a different aspect of the central theme enunciated in the book's title: Christian theology and the arts. It was not the purpose of this book to attempt a systematic exposition of the relationship of beauty and the arts to theology--a project that I have attempted to realize, at least partially, in my earlier work on theological aesthetics. However, the individual examples of the interaction of theology and the arts in the present work are all dependent on a larger theological framework; specifically, they all presuppose several fundamental positions on the nature of God and of revelation."

But generally I think it's a good introduction. You could start your research here, but don't end it here.

[Kevin Estabrook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for "Faith and Imagination" class.

Extremely stimulating excursis on relationship between Theology and Art. I've been wanting to delve into this area for a few years.

This book is fairly Rahnerian with influences of Tracy, van Balthasar, Tillich, Augustine, Lonergan, Plato, and Thomas.

His section on shifting paradigms was very good.

His conclusion reminded me of Roger Haight though. I wonder if Balthasar's Aesthetic Theology would do the same (me doubts it).

[Robert-Jan Van Amstel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not very thorough, but informative enough to read about how theology can be inspired and can inspire the arts like music and painting.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Well grounded in philosophy and theology, but he really mostly addresses art within a liturgical context, or explicitly "Christian" art. There is some discussion beyond art that is not explicitly "Sacred," but it is not as thorough as it could be. So a few of the chapters don't really give examples, and the author himself says that there really isn't much sacred art with aesthetic merit past the 1700s as it is mostly secular. So in the Art as Theological text, for example, as he keeps talking about sacred art, I am not sure what art he is really referring to. The chapter most useful to me was about Christian paradigms in art, but it did seem that the discussion of those paradigms was very rudimentary, especially once he got to the Abstract Expressionists, which he dismisses largely as "Art about art" that is "Self-referential." That seems very reductive and without nuance. But besides that, I really liked his approach where he applies the ideas of "close up" and "distant" artistic views to styles and periods of history.

[Charles Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my favourite questions to explore, and this book accomplishes the task excellently. Yes, there is plenty for me to quibble upon (even outright disagree), particularly theologically, but it is still a worthy - though hefty - read. There are easier, and more agreeable, texts on this subject, but this one proved deep and thoughtful.