Theology, Aesthetics, and Culture Responses to the Work of David Brown

David Brownis a widely-respected British theologian who initially made his mark in analytic discussions of Christian doctrine, such as the Trinity. However, with the publication of Tradition and Imagination: Revelation and Change (1999) his career entered a distinctly new phase, focused on theology, imagination, and the arts. Four related volumes followed, dealing with biblical interpretation, Christian discipleship, art and icons, place and space, the body, music, metaphor, drama, liturgy, the sacraments, religious experience, and popular culture. According to Brown, the fundamental thesis underlying all five volumes is that both natural and revealed theology are in crisis, and the only way out is to give proper attention to the cultural embeddedness of both. Theology, Aesthetics, and Cultureis the first attempt to assess the significance of this remarkable series, and its contributors include some of the most prominent philosophers, theologians, historians, biblical scholars, literary scholars, and cultural critics writing today. Aside from its exceptional interdisciplinary range and ecumenical line-up, a distinctive feature is sustained consideration of Brown's analysis of popular culture. Given the stature of the contributors, this volume is not merely of interest as a commentary on Brown's work, but also makes an important original contribution to our understandings of theology, aesthetics, and culture as they relate to the life of the Church, academy, and human society.

Robert MacSwain is Assistant Professor of Theology and Christian Ethics at The School of Theology of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee.

Taylor Worley is Associate Dean for Spiritual Life and Assistant Professor of Christian Thought and Tradition at The School of Theology and Missions at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee.

Introduction: Theology, Aesthetics, and Culture, Robert MacSwain
I: Tradition and Imagination: Revelation and Change
1. Scripture, Tradition, and Revelation: An Appreciative Critique of David Brown, William J. Abraham
2. Revelation, Christ, and Fundamental Theology: David Brown and Karl Rahner in Dialogue, Richard Viladesau
3. The Resurrection of Body: Reimagining Human Personhood in Christian Tradition, Margaret R. Miles
II: Discipleship and Imagination: Christian Tradition and Truth
4. Saints Before and After Death, Richard Bauckham
5. From Ethics to Eschatology: The Continuing Validity of the New Eve for Christian Doctrine and Discipleship, Tina Beattie
6. Revelation Imagined: Fiction, Truth, and Transformation, Douglas Hedley
III: God and Enchantment of Place: Reclaiming Human Experience
7. Enchantment and Transcendence: David Brown on Art and Architecture, Gordon Graham
8. Transcending Place and Time: A Response to David Brown on Enchantment, Epistemology, and Experience, Charles Taliaferro
9. Re-enchanting the World: The Possibility of Materially-Mediated Religious Experience, Mark Wynn
IV: God and Grace of Body: Sacrament in Ordinary
10. I am the Dance : Towards an Earthed Christianity, Kimerer L. LaMothe
11. Openness and Specificity: A Conversation with David Brown on Theology and Classical Music, Jeremy S. Begbie
12. Infinite Hospitality and the Redemption of Kitsch, Gavin Hopps
13. Were We Ever Secular?: Interrogating David Brown on Gospel, Blues, and Pop Music, Judith S. Casselberry
14. What if David Brown Had Owned a Television? Clive Marsh
15. After Ascension: The Body of Christ, Kenosis, and Divine Impassiblity, Graham Ward
V: God and Mystery in Words: Experience Through Metaphor and Drama
16. "A sensibility for the infinite": Metaphor, Symbol, Form, and the Sublime, David Fuller
17. Lectio Divina, Trevor Hart
18. The Density of Divine Address: Liturgy, Drama, and Human Transformation, Ben Quash
19. The Liturgical Body and the Gift of Presence, Ann Loades and Bridget Nichols
Response: Experience, Symbol, and Revelation: Continuing the Conversation, David Brown
Postscript: On Theology's Ekphrastic Mode, Taylor Worley