God and the Creative Imagination

God and the Creative Imagination PDF

Author: Paul Avis

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-01-11

Total Pages: 197

ISBN-13: 1134609388

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'A mere metaphor', 'only symbolic', 'just a myth' - these tell tale phrases reveal how figurative language has been cheapened and devalued in our modern and postmodern culture. In God and the Creative Imagination, Paul Avis argues the contrary: we see that actually, metaphor, symbol and myth, are the key to a real knowledge of God and the sacred. Avis examines what he calls an alternative tradition, stemming from the Romantic poets Blake, Wordsworth and Keats and drawing on the thought of Cleridge and Newman, and experience in both modern philosophy and science. God and the Creative Imagination intriguingly draws on a number of non-theological disciplines, from literature to philosophy of science, to show us that God is appropriately likened to an artist or poet and that the greatest truths are expressed in an imaginative form. Anyone wishing to further their understanding of God, belief and the imagination will find this an inspiring work.

Creative in the Image of God

Creative in the Image of God PDF

Author: Katherine M. Douglass

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2020-03-02

Total Pages: 154

ISBN-13: 1532684533

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The declining religious participation among young adults, or “Rise of the Nones,” has signaled alarms across American Christianity. A closer look into the faith lives of thirty young adults who are, or were at one time, connected with a church, however, shows an articulate and aesthetically embodied faith life that seeks out connection with others, expression of their identity, and an openness to encountering God. Young adults see themselves, and all people in this pluralistic world, as bearing the image of God. They see creativity, in their own lives and in the lives of others, as evidence of this identity. This book is not an appeal to put more art into congregations, but rather an invitation to attend to aesthetic, embodied ways of knowing that exist among all people.

Visual Theology

Visual Theology PDF

Author: Tim Challies

Publisher:

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780310520436

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We live in a visual culture. Today, people increasingly rely upon visuals to help them understand new and difficult concepts. The rise and stunning popularity of the Internet infographic has given us a new way in which to convey data, concepts and ideas. But the visual portrayal of truth is not a novel idea. Indeed, God himself used visuals to teach truth to his people. The tabernacle of the Old Testament was a visual representation of man's distance from God and God's condescension to his people. Each part of the tabernacle was meant to display something of man's treason against God and God's kind response. Likewise, the sacraments of the New Testament are visual representations of man's sin and God's response. Even the cross was both reality and a visual demonstration. As teachers and lovers of sound theology, Challies and Byers have a deep desire to convey the concepts and principles of systematic theology in a fresh, beautiful and informative way. In this book, they have made the deepest truths of the Bible accessible in a way that can be seen and understood by a visual generation.

Creative Theology

Creative Theology PDF

Author: Sam Mahlstadt

Publisher:

Published: 2012-05

Total Pages: 146

ISBN-13: 9780984807505

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The foundational belief that drove the writing of this book is that there is something about creativity that is deeply theological. I believe that if we explore the relational force of creativity and the Creator, we will uncover something both fascinating and life-changing. I call this a creative theology.

Art and Faith

Art and Faith PDF

Author: Makoto Fujimura

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2021-01-05

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13: 0300255934

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From a world-renowned painter, an exploration of creativity’s quintessential—and often overlooked—role in the spiritual life “Makoto Fujimura’s art and writings have been a true inspiration to me. In this luminous book, he addresses the question of art and faith and their reconciliation with a quiet and moving eloquence.”—Martin Scorsese “[An] elegant treatise . . . Fujimura’s sensitive, evocative theology will appeal to believers interested in the role religion can play in the creation of art.”—Publishers Weekly Conceived over thirty years of painting and creating in his studio, this book is Makoto Fujimura’s broad and deep exploration of creativity and the spiritual aspects of “making.” What he does in the studio is theological work as much as it is aesthetic work. In between pouring precious, pulverized minerals onto handmade paper to create the prismatic, refractive surfaces of his art, he comes into the quiet space in the studio, in a discipline of awareness, waiting, prayer, and praise. Ranging from the Bible to T. S. Eliot, and from Mark Rothko to Japanese Kintsugi technique, he shows how unless we are making something, we cannot know the depth of God’s being and God’s grace permeating our lives. This poignant and beautiful book offers the perspective of, in Christian Wiman’s words, “an accidental theologian,” one who comes to spiritual questions always through the prism of art.

Creative Exchange

Creative Exchange PDF

Author: Victor Anderson

Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishing

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 190

ISBN-13: 0800662555

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* A serious look at the larger cultural, theological, and philosophical issues that face black religion today * A new way of evaluating slave narratives, suffering, and the role of the churches

Tilling the Church

Tilling the Church PDF

Author: Richard Lennan

Publisher: Liturgical Press

Published: 2022-04-15

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 0814667430

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Tilling the Church is a theology for the pilgrim church. In this book, Richard Lennan shows how the ecclesial community looks toward the fullness of God’s reign but lives within the flux of history, the site of its relationship to the trinitarian God. In this way, God’s grace “tills” the church, constantly refreshing the tradition of faith and prompting the discipleship that embodies the gospel. Tilling the Church explores the possibilities for a more faithful, just, and creative church, one responsive to the movement of grace. Fruitful engagement with grace requires the church’s conversion, the ongoing formation of a community whose words and actions reflect the hope that grace engenders.

A Visual Theology Guide to the Bible

A Visual Theology Guide to the Bible PDF

Author: Tim Challies

Publisher:

Published: 2019-03-26

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 0310577969

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Capitalizing on the increasing popularity of infographics and a growing interest in accessible, understandable teaching on theology, Visual Theology Guide to the Bible by Tim Challies and Josh Byers teaches timeless, historic, biblical truth in a fresh and vibrant way that that will capture your interest and ignite your imagination.

Creativity as Sacrifice

Creativity as Sacrifice PDF

Author: James M. Watkins

Publisher: Fortress Press

Published: 2015-01-01

Total Pages: 275

ISBN-13: 1451494238

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Theological interest in art is at a premium. However, theological engagement with art is often enacted without a clear sense of method. This text argues for a theological methodology in engaging the arts, and, specifically, the author puts forward a theological model for understanding human creativity in the light of Jesus’ sacrificial redemption. In dialogue with theology, philosophy, psychology, and art theory, the author establishes the relevance and applicability of an incarnational and sacrificial model of human creativity. Theological models also do more than provide a conceptual framework for theological inquiries. They engage the imagination. A theological model for human creativity is like an invitation to join in the creative vision God has for the world, and to embody this vision in one’s own creative work. Therefore, Creativity as Sacrifice does not merely articulate a conceptual framework for human creativity; it also casts a vision for human life as a creative response to the gracious gifts of a creative God.

The Craft of Innovative Theology

The Craft of Innovative Theology PDF

Author: John Allan Knight

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2022-01-04

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 111960155X

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A comprehensive collection of resources showing students of theology how to prepare and write creative research-oriented material The Craft of Innovative Theology: Argument and Process delivers a thorough examination of the method of producing and writing creative theological theses and projects, explaining to students how to write elegant, innovative research-oriented articles. Through a collection of papers written by distinguished scholars, the text exhibits numerous examples of well-executed creative writing on topics as varied as theodicy and evolution, and artificial intelligence and baptism. Each article includes an introduction by the editor that serves to guide the student through the material and elucidates what makes the work stand out as exceptional. The articles are also annotated to assist with the appreciation of the methodology and style used by the author. The Craft of Innovative Theology assists theology students in improving their research writing to a point where they’ll be ready for a Masters’ thesis or PhD dissertation, and is an excellent resource for a research methods course in a graduate program. The works incorporated by the editors include: A thorough introduction to God and the Incarnation, including knowing God through religious pluralism An exploration of God and church, including racial stigma and the southern Baptist public discourse in the twentieth century, and the appropriateness of baptizing artificial intelligence A discussion of God and the world, including where humanity has come from and where we’re going, and the challenges posed by biological evolution to Christian theology A treatment of God and ethics, including sin and the faces of responsibility Perfect for students of postgraduate theology and research methods courses, The Craft of Innovative Theology: Argument and Process will also earn a place in the libraries of students in courses that prepare them to write a Masters’ thesis in theology or to begin shaping their PhD dissertation topic.