Naming the Spirit - by W David O Taylor & Daniel Train (Paperback)

About the Book

"This book aims to show how the Christian doctrine of Pneumatology can both illuminate and be illuminated by an engagement with the arts. Drawing on specific examples from a wide range of media-music, poetry, visual art, film, and landscape architecture-each chapter seeks to deepen our understanding of a particular name for the Holy Spirit as it relates to the Spirit's distinctive work in the world. Each chapter likewise shows how a concerted engagement with a biblically centered theology of the Holy Spirit can enrich our understanding of art's distinctive capacity to help us to inhabit our world more faithfully and to engage it more fruitfully"-- Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

Discover the deep connection between theology, the arts, and the work of the Holy Spirit in Naming the Spirit

In this book, W. David O. Taylor and Daniel Train bring together a remarkable group of theologians, scholars, and artists to offer a fresh perspective on pneumatology through the creative lens of the arts.

Each chapter unpacks a particular name for the Holy Spirit and examines its significance, using examples from a variety of artistic mediums--music, poetry, visual art, film, and even landscape architecture. Far from being just a theoretical exploration, the book seeks to be a catalyst for renewal in theology and the arts, aiming to inspire new avenues of thought and engagement within classrooms, churches, and beyond.

Curated by Taylor and Train, two leading voices in theology and the arts, Naming the Spirit is a rich, interdisciplinary work that promises to deepen our understanding of the Holy Spirit's work in the world through the profound lens of artistic expression.

This book is an essential resource for professors, students, ministry leaders, and artists who are looking to enrich their understanding of art in relation to the Holy Spirit. Order Naming the Spirit today and discover a new way to engage with the Holy Spirit through the beauty of the arts.

Review Quotes

"There are books about the Spirit. And then there are books animated by the Spirit. In Naming the Spirit, W. David O. Taylor and Daniel Train have brought together a collection of authors and artists who are not simply talking about the third person of the Trinity but are creating theological works that are drenched in the presence and activity of the rûaḥ ʾĕlōhîm--the life-giving breath of God. I cannot recommend it highly enough."

--Kutter Callaway, associate dean of the Center for Advanced Theological Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary and author of Scoring Transcendence

"This book is a rich, confident, and generous exemplification of how the discipline of theology and the arts is coming of age. Both expansive and closely attentive in its vision, it proves the value of drawing deeply on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit to frame an enlivening discourse about the life-giving power of art."

--Ben Quash, director of the Centre for Arts and the Sacred at King's (ASK) and professor of Christianity and the arts at King's College London

"I'm delighted to find this book succeeds just where so many fall short. Here is an integration of biblical-doctrinal wisdom with artistic insight which gives the arts room to be themselves without making them the touchstone of theological truth. A remarkable achievement, paving the way for a host of similar studies."

--Jeremy Begbie, Thomas A. Langford Distinguished Research Professor of Theology at Duke Divinity School and coeditor of The Art of New Creation

"This adventurous volume evidences that theology and the arts is no longer an emerging field, but an established one--a field that sets the pace for theology as a whole."

--Matthew J. Milliner, professor of art history at Wheaton College

About the Author

Daniel Train (PhD, Baylor University) is assistant teaching professor of the practice of theology and the arts at Duke Divinity School, where he serves as the associate director of Duke Initiatives in Theology and the Arts (DITA). He is the coeditor of The Art of New Creation and The Saint John's Bible and Its Tradition: Illuminating Beauty in the Twenty-First Century.

W. David O. Taylor (ThD, Duke University) is associate professor of theology and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary and the author of several books, including Prayers for the Pilgrimage, A Body of Praise, and Glimpses of the New Creation. In addition to a range of popular essays, he has published articles in the Calvin Theological Journal, Christian Scholar's Review, Worship, Theology Today, and Image Journal, among others. An Anglican priest, he has lectured widely on the arts, from Thailand to South Africa. In 2016 he produced a short film on the Psalms with Bono and Eugene Peterson.