Liturgy as a Way of Life: Embodying the Arts in Christian Worship

by Bruce Ellis Benson, James K. A. Smith (Editor)

Overview

How do the arts inform and cultivate our service to God? In this addition to an award-winning series, distinguished philosopher Bruce Ellis Benson rethinks what it means to be artistic. Rather than viewing art as practiced by the few, he recovers the ancient Christian idea of presenting ourselves to God as works of art, reenvisioning art as the very core of our being: God calls us to improvise as living works of art. Benson also examines the nature of liturgy and connects art and liturgy in a new way. This book will appeal to philosophy, worship/liturgy, art, music, and theology students as well as readers interested in engaging issues of worship and aesthetics in a postmodern context, including Christian artists and worship leaders.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801031359
Publisher:	Baker Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/15/2013
Series:	The Church and Postmodern Culture
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.43(d)

About the Author

Bruce Ellis Benson (PhD, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is professor of philosophy at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. His areas of expertise include contemporary French thought and philosophy of art. He is the author of Graven Ideologies, The Improvisation of Musical Dialogue, and Pious Nietzsche, and the coeditor of several books, including Evangelicals and Empire.

Table of Contents

Contents
Introduction: The Art of Living
1. The Call and the Response
2. Deconstructing the Discourse of Art
3. Improvising Like Jazz
4. On Not Being an Artistic Whore
5. Becoming Living Works of Art
Index