While the average person rarely sees it, the visual arts play a subtle yet profound role in the teaching and formation of faith, both for individuals and religious communities. The Substance of Things Seen explores the intersection of art and faith, offering thoughtful reflections on the way art functions in Christian life and practice. Highly readable and featuring instructive illustrations, this book is meant to engage church leaders as well as artists in constructive conversation about the critical role that art can play in the renewal of Christian education, worship, and study. It also challenges anyone who thinks the arts are only of marginal importance to the religious life. Robin Jensen considers here a broad range of topics relevant to Christian faith and culture, including the construction of sacred space, the use of art in worship and spiritual formation, the way that visual art interprets sacred texts, and the power and danger of art from a historical and contemporary perspective.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
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Artists and Pastors: Working Together to Create Worship?,
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This review is from: The Substance of Things Seen: Art, Faith, and the Christian Community (Calvin Institute of Christian Worship Liturgical Studies) (Paperback)
In The Substance of Things Seen, Robin M. Jensen begins several conversations about the place of art in worship and the effects of the experience of art upon our lives, worship, and ability to clearly see ourselves and our place in the universe crafted by God. The book is a record of several lectures given as part of a series at Calvin Institute of Christian Worship regarding the practice of Christian worship.
Jensen draws on observations, personal experience, history and some scripture to describe the place art has had in Christian community and worship, enumerate the effects of art on spiritual formation, explore artistic representations of Christian experience, and the use of art in creating places of worship. She tackles debates ongoing since the beginnings of the church: whether art should be an aid to worship, or simply a teaching device, and the place of decorative art in churches. She goes on to explore how art moves us to reconsider assumptions about ourselves, the world, and God in works of art that move and even disturb us. This book is a great starting place for discussing the place art should take in our community. The book is wide in scope, but concepts are broken down into consumable pieces, easy to use and apply. The examples and images used are helpful and recognizable, making the information relevant and timely. Jensen moves easily between the viewpoint of artist and church leader with authority, making possible understanding and collaboration between the two.
1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting Read,
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This review is from: The Substance of Things Seen: Art, Faith, and the Christian Community (Calvin Institute of Christian Worship Liturgical Studies) (Paperback)
Good overview of the subject of art and faith. She explains and uses diagrams to make her point. Overall good!
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Growing up as a Midwestern, middle-class American female in the nineteen-fifties and sixties, I was encouraged to explore the arts of all kinds. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
visual exegesis, worship space, gourd vine, elephant dung Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Middle Ages, New Testament, Virgin Mary, Holy Land, Mary Magdalene, Brooklyn Museum, John Cassian, John of Damascus, Oxford University Press, Palm Sunday, Paul Tillich, The Art of the Byzantine Empire, The Clash of Gods, Visual Piety New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Growing up as a Midwestern, middle-class American female in the nineteen-fifties and sixties, I was encouraged to explore the arts of all kinds. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
visual exegesis, worship space, gourd vine, elephant dung Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Middle Ages, New Testament, Virgin Mary, Holy Land, Mary Magdalene, Brooklyn Museum, John Cassian, John of Damascus, Oxford University Press, Palm Sunday, Paul Tillich, The Art of the Byzantine Empire, The Clash of Gods, Visual Piety New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 30
books:
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2
books
cite this book:
- A Documentary History of Art Vol. II: Michelangelo & the Mannerists--The Baroque & the Eighteenth Century on page 20, and page 83
- Understanding Early Christian Art by Robin Margaret Jensen in Front Matter
- Christian Worship in Reformed Churches Past and Present (Calvin Institute of Christian Worship Liturgical Studies Series) by Lukas Vischer in Front Matter
- Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2: Gregory the Great (Early Church Fathers Series) by Philip Schaff on page 86
- Critical Terms for Religious Studies by Mark C. Taylor on page 23
See all 30 books this book cites
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