The intensity and meaningfulness of aesthetic experience have often been described in theological terms. By designating basic human emotions as rasa, a word that connotes taste, flavor, or essence, Indian aesthetic theory conceptualizes emotional states as something to be savored. At their core, emotions can be tastes of the divine. In this book, the methods of the emerging discipline of comparative theology enable the author's appreciation of Hindu texts and practices to illuminate her Christian reflections on aesthetics and emotion.
Three emotions vie for prominence in the religious sphere: peace, love, and fury. Whereas Indian theorists following Abhinavagupta claim that the aesthetic emotion of peace best approximates the goal of religious experience, devotees of Krishna and medieval Christian readings of the Song of Songs argue that love communicates most powerfully with divinity. In response to the transcendence emphasized in both approaches, the book turns to fury at injustice to attend to emotion's foundations in the material realm. The implications of this constructive theology of emotion for Christian liturgy, pastoral care, and social engagement are manifold.

This book develops a theology of aesthetics and emotion that holds transcendent religious experiences of peace and love accountable to the embodied demands of justice.

About the Author
Michelle Voss Roberts is Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Theology at Wake Forest University School of Divinity. Her most recent book, Tastes of the Divine: Hindu and Christian Theologies of Emotion (Fordham, 2014), received the American Academy of Religion's Award for Excellence in Constructive/Reflective Studies.

Reviews
"This work is an important contribution to the current landscape of comparative theology-where deep learning is taking place across religious lines-as it moves the discourse forward by incorporating both critical analysis and embodied practices." -- -Jeannine Hill Fletcher Fordham University "The main thrust of her argument, and indeed the most delightful part of her book, comes toward the end in the section on 'Tastes of the Divine.'" -- -C.A. Barnsley. Transylvania University Choice Connect


Awards
Winner of American Academy of Religion's Award for Excellence, Constructive-Reflective Studies 2015.



Book Information
ISBN 9780823257386
Author Michelle Voss
Format Hardback
Page Count 296
Imprint Fordham University Press
Publisher Fordham University Press