Book contents
- Participation in God
- Participation in God
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Works of Thomas Aquinas: Texts, Translations, and Abbreviations
- Introduction
- I Participation and Causation
- II The Language of Participation and Language as Participation
- III Participation and the Theological Story
- IV Participation and the Shape of Human Life
- 13 Truth
- 14 Beauty
- 15 Goodness
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index of Names
- Subject Index
- Index of Biblical References
- Index of Works of Aquinas
14 - Beauty
Spirituality, Love, and Desire
from IV - Participation and the Shape of Human Life
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 August 2019
- Participation in God
- Participation in God
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Works of Thomas Aquinas: Texts, Translations, and Abbreviations
- Introduction
- I Participation and Causation
- II The Language of Participation and Language as Participation
- III Participation and the Theological Story
- IV Participation and the Shape of Human Life
- 13 Truth
- 14 Beauty
- 15 Goodness
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index of Names
- Subject Index
- Index of Biblical References
- Index of Works of Aquinas
Summary
This chapter, on beauty, explores the desirability and splendor of creatures as a participation in divine beauty and goodness. It is, at heart, an exploration of what to love, and how to love it. In the words of an ancient prayer, the message is one of loving God 'above all things, and in all things'. As a contrasting position, we consider the vision of the Swedish Lutheran theologian Anders Nygren. Unlike his appeal for us to sever love for God from love for creatures, the vision in this chapter is integrative. The tendency is considered, all the same, for human waywardness in how we love, and the order of our loving. While the reality of sin and the need for restraint are recognised, the characteristics of a 'participatory spirituality' are seen not to be founded on denial or rejection: what Martin Buber calls one of 'subtraction ... or reduction'. The focus for the chapter is for the most part what could be called the beauty of goodness. It concludes with a discussion of the participatory character of aesthetic beauty.
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- Participation in GodA Study in Christian Doctrine and Metaphysics, pp. 327 - 347Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019