Poetic theology : God and the poetics of everyday life

Reveals the presence of God in the creative works of human life and culture What are the "poetics of everyday life"? What can they teach us about God? Art, music, dance, and writing can certainly be "poetic," but so can such diverse pastimes as fishing, skiing, or attending sports events. Any and all activities that satisfy our fundamental need for play, for celebration, and for ritual, says William Dyrness, are inherently poetic -- and in Poetic Theology he demonstrates that all such activities are places where God is active in the world. All of humanity's creative efforts, Dyrness points out, testify to our intrinsic longing for joy and delight and our deep desire to connect with others, with the created order, and especially with the Creator. This desire is rooted in the presence and calling of God in and through the good creation. With extensive reflection on aesthetics in spirituality, worship, and community development, Dyrness's Poetic Theology will be useful for all who seek fresh and powerful new ways to communicate the gospel in contemporary society. Prelude to aesthetic theology: theological reflections on love, desire, and the affections The historical model: theologia poetica Poetic stewardship of life Re-reading the nineteenth-century Romantic heritage Twentieth-century aesthetics: in search of a theological voice Dante, Bunyan, and the search for a Protestant aesthetics Calvin, the locked church, and the recovery of contemplation The aesthetics of church Aesthetics and social transformation Living and reflecting poetically: systematic implications.