Catholic theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar, in his Herrlichkeit, laments the eclipse of the aesth... more Catholic theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar, in his Herrlichkeit, laments the eclipse of the aesthetic in modern theology, noting that the being of a Christian is itself a thing of beauty inscribed by the grace of God; that is, it is a form of existence "opened up to us by the God-Man's act of redemption. . . . God's incarnation perfects the whole ontology and aesthetics of created being." Von Balthasar traces the loss of the aesthetic dimension from Protestant theology to the Reformation principle of sola scriptura, which seeks to abstract "data" of scriptural revelation into objective formulae. This approach leads to the historicism of Hegel, Schelling, Schleiermacher and Barth, effectively removing the meditative gaze from theological contemplation. Von Balthasar's ultimate argument is that it is necessary for Protestant theology to revive the Alexandrian tradition in order to recover the * The title of this paper is an adaptation of the statement: "beauty will be the redemption of the world," from Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel The Idiot (trans. Alan Myers; Oxford Classics of World Literature; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 99) 40.
as a theologian often is submitted to caricature or largely ignored by contemporary theology, owi... more as a theologian often is submitted to caricature or largely ignored by contemporary theology, owing greatly to the perennial transmission of the sermon 'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God' as the hallmark of Edwards' theological vision. 2 The vast array of Edwards scholarship offers a corrective to the isolation of Edwards' theology through the uncovering of the complexity and dexterous range of Edwards' thought. The interpretive moment, theologically, is somewhat ambiguated by the multiplex cartography etched by the 'Edwards industry' in its quest for a metathematic center in the Edwardsean corpus; the programmatic fulcrum of Edwards' thought has been suggested as divine sovereignty, 3 Reformed apologetics, 4 grace, 5 1 The titular phrase is an appropriation of the denomination of the Trinity by Edwards in Misc. covenant/history of redemption, 6 metaphysical ontology, 7 typology, 8 piety, 9 ethics, 10 aesthetics, 11 and appropriation of Enlightenment philosophy. 12 This plurality of possible radial points, rather than yielding a pivotal epicenter, gestures, instead, to the fecund and 'ambidextrous' nature of Edwards' theology. 13 The operative query, which remains open, is whether there is a doctrinal theme or trope wide enough to offer a provisional view of the complex folds of Edward's theological construction?
Catholic theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar, in his Herrlichkeit, laments the eclipse of the aesth... more Catholic theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar, in his Herrlichkeit, laments the eclipse of the aesthetic in modern theology, noting that the being of a Christian is itself a thing of beauty inscribed by the grace of God; that is, it is a form of existence "opened up to us by the God-Man's act of redemption. . . . God's incarnation perfects the whole ontology and aesthetics of created being." Von Balthasar traces the loss of the aesthetic dimension from Protestant theology to the Reformation principle of sola scriptura, which seeks to abstract "data" of scriptural revelation into objective formulae. This approach leads to the historicism of Hegel, Schelling, Schleiermacher and Barth, effectively removing the meditative gaze from theological contemplation. Von Balthasar's ultimate argument is that it is necessary for Protestant theology to revive the Alexandrian tradition in order to recover the * The title of this paper is an adaptation of the statement: "beauty will be the redemption of the world," from Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel The Idiot (trans. Alan Myers; Oxford Classics of World Literature; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 99) 40.
as a theologian often is submitted to caricature or largely ignored by contemporary theology, owi... more as a theologian often is submitted to caricature or largely ignored by contemporary theology, owing greatly to the perennial transmission of the sermon 'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God' as the hallmark of Edwards' theological vision. 2 The vast array of Edwards scholarship offers a corrective to the isolation of Edwards' theology through the uncovering of the complexity and dexterous range of Edwards' thought. The interpretive moment, theologically, is somewhat ambiguated by the multiplex cartography etched by the 'Edwards industry' in its quest for a metathematic center in the Edwardsean corpus; the programmatic fulcrum of Edwards' thought has been suggested as divine sovereignty, 3 Reformed apologetics, 4 grace, 5 1 The titular phrase is an appropriation of the denomination of the Trinity by Edwards in Misc. covenant/history of redemption, 6 metaphysical ontology, 7 typology, 8 piety, 9 ethics, 10 aesthetics, 11 and appropriation of Enlightenment philosophy. 12 This plurality of possible radial points, rather than yielding a pivotal epicenter, gestures, instead, to the fecund and 'ambidextrous' nature of Edwards' theology. 13 The operative query, which remains open, is whether there is a doctrinal theme or trope wide enough to offer a provisional view of the complex folds of Edward's theological construction?
Uploads
Papers by Michael Gibson