Creator Spirit

Foreword

(wrote the foreword)

Jeremy Begbie

“Guthrie has offered to a varied audience a study that is both challenging and captivating as it traces how and in what way the Holy Spirit is active in sanctified human artistry. Indeed, Creator Spirit itself reflects the beauty that its author seeks to describe. First, the book displays admirable proportion, balancing an analysis of the arts (music, visual art, dance) with theological, philosophical, and cultural concerns. Next, it provides keen pleasure for the reader in terms of its lively and compelling style and its rich content. Finally, it moves admirably toward a satisfying telos, even if, with all other human projects, it is not perfect. That perfection is instead attributed to the Author and Creator of all, whom this book glorifies, as Guthrie rejoices in the gifts and in the Gift, the Spirit who humanizes those who receive.”

Edith M. Humphrey

“We have seen a spate of books offering an ‘incarnational’ affirmation of the arts or a ‘sacramental’ aesthetic. But in Creator Spirit Guthrie gives us something we have been waiting for in discussions of theology and the arts: a pneumatology. Unafraid to engage popular conceptions of spirituality and art, Guthrie challenges the latent gnosticism in so much talk of ‘spirituality,’ returning Christian spirituality to the rehumanizing work of the Holy Spirit. The result is a kind of chemical reaction of mutual illumination: I have a new appreciation for the Spirit’s work and a new excitement about the arts. I hope this book finds many, many readers.”

James K. A. Smith

“This book participates in a growing movement interested in the intersection of art, faith, and spirituality. But this book also stands out as a leading voice in this field because of its breadth of vision for the sources and functions of the arts in human life and because of the specificity and clarity of its theological convictions about the work of the Holy Spirit and the expansive nature of salvation offered in and through Jesus Christ. The book’s particular interest in Athanasius is especially welcome, inviting all of us to sharpen and deepen our theological vision and to wrestle with the astonishing implications of the incarnation for human flourishing.”

John D. Witvliet

“Talk of the relationship between spirituality and aesthetics has become so commonplace in our culture that it has become both cacophonous and banal at the same time. In the midst of this situation Guthrie has produced a theology of the Spirit and the arts that brings welcome clarity to the conversation while retaining an appropriate sense of mystery and openness. Creator Spirit is a compelling example of the sort of generous orthodoxy that is in keeping with the best intuitions of the Christian tradition.”

John R. Franke

“A brilliant book! Guthrie makes nuances exceedingly accurately, so that his readers are able to distinguish various ideas in Christianity from their mistaken use in historical and postmodern philosophies about the arts. Guthrie consequently frees us to recognize more clearly and biblically the labors of diverse artists and the liberating presence of the Holy Spirit. You will devour this volume, and it will increase your faith!”

Marva J. Dawn