The Sacred Community - by David Jasper (Hardcover)

About the Book

From art and architecture to pilgrimage and politics Jasper places this community in the midst of the contemporary world.

Book Synopsis

Liturgical, sacramental, and historical, The Sacred Community is a masterful work of theological aesthetics. David Jasper draws upon a rich variety of texts and images from literature, art, and religious tradition to explore the liturgical community gathered around--and most fully constituted by--the moment of the Sanctus in the Eucharistic liturgy. From art and architecture to pilgrimage and politics Jasper places this community in the midst of the contemporary world.

Review Quotes

Jasper's illustration of this repetition and remembrance of betrayal in the composition and reading of the Gospel of Mark, and how this complex web of multifold betrayals are inseparable from the 'good news' itself, is subtle and a masterful wedding of literary theory and theology.

--Bradley A. Johnson "Literature and Theology"

Ranging from the writings of and about the Desert Fathers and Mothers, classic texts by medieval mystics, works of classical and modern art, and contemporary Continental philosophy, Jasper reads each as work of literature with theological secrets to tell. The elusive, oracular quality of his writing can be at times difficult, but more often than not even his most meditative and specialist pieces are conversational and inviting.

--Bradley Johnson "Literature and Theology Journal"

Stylistically, Jasper's ability to make surprising connections enthralls, baffles, and enchants--often simultaneously--making this book a nourishing and exciting springboard for contemplation.

--D. R. Boscaljon, independent scholar "CHOICE Advance"

The rich layers of theological reflection with which [Jasper] weaves together his conversation between the arts and Christian liturgy benefit from not only a host of modern and contemporary artists, writers and poets with religious concerns but also from particularly poignant soundings on these matters from various cultural voices among the likes of philosophers, scientists, and historians.

--Taylor Worley, Union University "Theological Book Review"

About the Author

David Jasper is Professor of Literature and Theology at the University of Glasgow and is Distinguished Overseas Professor of Comparative Literature in the School of Liberal Arts at Renmin University of China.