Overview

How do people find faith? For centuries the focus of the church has been on providing arguments that might persuade a person rationally that faith is plausible. This book invites people to find faith through experience. By taking a great work of art, the reader is invited to meditate and pray through that art to God. Faith is primarily an experience of the heart, not an argument that appeals to the head. The book opens with a framing case for the centrality of the visual arts as a vehicle to experience the divine. Engaging with the literature, a distinctive case is made for a ""spiritual theory of art,"" according to which art makes spiritual reality present to the seeker. Then there are twenty-two devotional reflections on art that show how properly reading a painting or a drawing can open up fresh ways of thinking about the divine that are compelling and powerful. Thus, we are guided towards seeing truly great art as a focus for prayer and meditation.

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9781666775723

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Reviews

""We all need aids on our way to God and with God. The authors make a compelling case that art can be such aid and then show how. Anne Bent's meditations and prayers exude attentive admiration for art and authentic devotion to God."" --Miroslav Volf, professor of theology, Yale University ""A fascinating mixture of art, spirituality, and theology, as an expert theologian and artist collaborate to take us on a rich journey through various Old Master drawings of biblical and spiritual themes, sensitively explained and each concluding with helpful meditations and prayers to assist us to discover art as a 'Way to God.'"" --Richard A. Burridge, professor of theology, University of Manchester ""Art aficionado Anne Bent and Christian thought leader Ian Markham have given us food for eyes, mind, and heart. We are shown how to think theologically about art and inducted into a new journey with God. A gift both for spiritual seekers and Christians facing the long haul, Art and the Experience of the Divine helps us to see, to pray, and to give thanks."" --Scott Cowdell, research professor in theology, Charles Sturt University ""The rich and ancient relationship between religious experience and beliefs and art is a fascinating topic to explore. The approach of the authors (a Christian theologian and an expert in Old Master Drawings) is fresh, informal, and invitational. The authors invite the reader to think with them, in an informed and interdisciplinary way, about how art can and does inform and enrich religious beliefs and feelings and, in turn, how religious beliefs and feelings help shape one's perceptions of works of art."" --Heidi Hadsell, president emeritus, Hartford International University of Religion and Peace

Author Information

Anne Searle Bent has been collecting art all her life. She has a MA and is currently studying for a PhD at Virginia Theological Seminary. She has taught numerous courses on art and faith at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Lake Forest, IL. Ian S. Markham is the dean and president of Virginia Theological Seminary and professor of theology and ethics and the president of The General Theological Seminary in New York.

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