Faith and Beauty: A Theological Aesthetic

Rating:
Summary: Aesthetic description of the Christian life
Review: Farley sets out to describe the life of Christian faith using aesthetic rather than the more usual moral categories, complaining that 'an odd lack of relation between faith and the aesthetic dimension of human life. . . haunts the work of most theologians I know.' (Preface) To make up this deficiency Farley turns first and foremost, not to scripture, but to a survey of theologians who do take the aesthetic dimension of life seriously. Noting that some (mainly protestant) theologians are wary of beauty as a theological category while others (mainly Catholic) are more positive, Farley places himself in the positive camp. After a brief, lyrical introduction grounded in Farley's own childhood experience, the first half of this work comprises a history of ideas on the theme of beauty and theology.
On the plus side, this approach allows Farley to resurrect neglected work on this topic (this said, Farley ignores relevant work by more well-known figures, such as C.S Lewis and Francis Schaeffer). On the minus side, Farley does not grapple with the philosophical question of what beauty is. Rather, he simply reports what various theologians (and some philosophers) have said beauty is and works from there. Indeed, although Farley notes the association between beauty and being, he ignores the widespread and traditional definition of beauty as that which is objectively or intrinsically good to appreciate (a tradition continued today by the likes of Norman L. Giesler and Alvin Plantinga); concentrating instead on the scholastic definition of beauty as proportion in being. I also found it quite hard to determine exactly which of the views reported Farley himself held. While I was encouraged to see him proposing, in agreement with Christian tradition, that beauty is an objective facet of reality: '"aesthetics" refers to a dimension of human experience, an engagement with and participation in what is intrinsically attractive - in other words, with what is beautiful' (Preface), he does not argue for an objective view of beauty. For such a defence, readers would be well advised to turn to the first chapter of C.S. Lewis' The Abolition of Man, (Fount).
Farley's basic conclusion is that 'beauty comes with redemptive transformation' (p. 96). In other words, sanctification has an aesthetic dimension related to the Christian being made more like Jesus: 'virtue harmonizes the conflicted self and is thus beautiful. . . to lack virtue is to be ugly.' (p. 91). Beauty is part and parcel of 'the way in which the faithful person behaves towards others and in the world.' (p. 110). Farley also notes that: 'if God is dead, so is beauty.' (p. 64). It is good to see a contemporary theologian reminding his readership of this fact. However, that readership is unlikely to be very wide, because this book is written using some of the most impenetrable prose I have ever read. This is certainly not an introductory volume, but one that assumes some background knowledge on the part of the reader. The difficulty of reading this work is unfortunate, because Farley's analysis reminds us of some important past work in theological aesthetics, and his conclusions desperately need advocating in our post-modern society.

Rating:
Summary: Aesthetic description of the Christian life
Review: Farley sets out to describe the life of Christian faith using aesthetic rather than the more usual moral categories, complaining that `an odd lack of relation between faith and the aesthetic dimension of human life. . . haunts the work of most theologians I know.' (Preface) To make up this deficiency Farley turns first and foremost, not to scripture, but to a survey of theologians who do take the aesthetic dimension of life seriously. Noting that some (mainly protestant) theologians are wary of beauty as a theological category while others (mainly Catholic) are more positive, Farley places himself in the positive camp. After a brief, lyrical introduction grounded in Farley's own childhood experience, the first half of this work comprises a history of ideas on the theme of beauty and theology.
On the plus side, this approach allows Farley to resurrect neglected work on this topic (this said, Farley ignores relevant work by more well-known figures, such as C.S Lewis and Francis Schaeffer). On the minus side, Farley does not grapple with the philosophical question of what beauty is. Rather, he simply reports what various theologians (and some philosophers) have said beauty is and works from there. Indeed, although Farley notes the association between beauty and being, he ignores the widespread and traditional definition of beauty as that which is objectively or intrinsically good to appreciate (a tradition continued today by the likes of Norman L. Giesler and Alvin Plantinga); concentrating instead on the scholastic definition of beauty as proportion in being. I also found it quite hard to determine exactly which of the views reported Farley himself held. While I was encouraged to see him proposing, in agreement with Christian tradition, that beauty is an objective facet of reality: `"aesthetics" refers to a dimension of human experience, an engagement with and participation in what is intrinsically attractive - in other words, with what is beautiful' (Preface), he does not argue for an objective view of beauty. For such a defence, readers would be well advised to turn to the first chapter of C.S. Lewis' The Abolition of Man, (Fount).
Farley's basic conclusion is that `beauty comes with redemptive transformation' (p. 96). In other words, sanctification has an aesthetic dimension related to the Christian being made more like Jesus: `virtue harmonizes the conflicted self and is thus beautiful. . . to lack virtue is to be ugly.' (p. 91). Beauty is part and parcel of `the way in which the faithful person behaves towards others and in the world.' (p. 110). Farley also notes that: `if God is dead, so is beauty.' (p. 64). It is good to see a contemporary theologian reminding his readership of this fact. However, that readership is unlikely to be very wide, because this book is written using some of the most impenetrable prose I have ever read. This is certainly not an introductory volume, but one that assumes some background knowledge on the part of the reader. The difficulty of reading this work is unfortunate, because Farley's analysis reminds us of some important past work in theological aesthetics, and his conclusions desperately need advocating in our post-modern society.

Rating:
Summary: dense, complex, and worth it!
Review: While I found myself having to re-read sections in order to fully grasp the density and complexity of this book, I still recommend it. Farley provides a commendable and important historical overview and analyses of various contributors and themes in theological aesthetics. The first 5-6 chapters seem to build to the pinnacle chapter 7 in which Farley offers his own theological aesthetic which the reader is better able to appreciate having read previous chapters that inform historical context. Given my own unique reasons for reading this text (for doctoral dissertation work), I wish that Farley had further developed what he begins in chapter 7; (the book has only 8 chapters).
Farley's contribution is to provide a re-newed vision of beauty i.e., beauty (and ugliness) have little to do with degrees of prettiness. Instead, beauty has more to do with a liberative, relational, life-affirming faith that is evidenced in benevolent concern for others. Farley's understanding of beauty concerns that which opens up and makes room for others (in our differences and idiosyncratic mysteries). He lays out criteria for the discernment of beauty and ugliness in theological terms as he asserts his thesis that beauty is intrinsic to the life of faith (because it is a "feature of the divine image which is distorted by sin and restored by redemption" (viii).
Given our cultural values around issues of beauty, Farley's thesis stands as an important theological position.