David Brown explores the ways in which the symbolic associations of the body and what we do with it have helped shape religious experience and continue to do so. A Church narrowly focused on Christ's body wracked in pain needs to be reminded that the body as beautiful and sexual has also played a crucial role not only in other religions but also in the history of Christianity itself. Dance was one way in which the connection was expressed. The irony is not that such a connection has gone but that it now exists almost wholly outside the Church. Much the same could be said about music more generally, and Brown writes excitingly about the spiritual potential of not just classical music but also pop, jazz, musicals, and opera. Like Brown's much-praised earlier volumes, God and Enchantment of Place, Tradition and Imagination, and Discipleship and Imagination, the present book will enlarge horizons and challenge the narrowness of much theological thinking.
Reviews
Brown has made a bold claim and given us a well-argued and finely-crafted argument to consider. His method includes a generous amount of valuable insights into art works of various media. in this he has greatly advanced the field of theological aesthetics. * Alejandro Garcia-Rivera. Modern Theology. *
Brown takes the reader on an impressive and often detailed journey through classical and contemporary religious and culutural manifestations of the sacred and the divine. * Werner G. Jeanrond, Scottish Journal of Theology *


Awards
Winner of Shortlisted for the Michael Ramsey Prize 2009.



Book Information
ISBN 9780199599967
Author David Brown
Format Paperback
Page Count 480
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 1g
Dimensions(mm) 216mm * 137mm * 26mm