Taylor Worley

A Spreading and Abiding Hope

Theology

“A Spreading and Abiding Hope opens up a salient and irenic discourse about how evangelical political theology might both broaden its reach and deepen its resources. Both timely and winsome, Shatzer's efforts toward a more reflective evangelical theopolitics not only provide immense support for renewed interest in vocation but also honor the generous spirit of A. J. Conyers's own lesser-known but tremendously significant legacy of careful Christian scholarship.”

Beauty Is a Basic Service

Arts & Literature

“The work of Theaster Gates defies straightforward categorization, and his determination to have an impact beyond the borders of the contemporary artworld have made him an irrepressible voice for clarity, wisdom, and healing more broadly. Maria Fee's illuminating text provides the fullest, most holistic account yet of the richly theological connections issuing from Gates's profound efforts to renew land, labor, and community. She sets out a feast of insight and reflection that demonstrates how theologians might do justice to the far-reaching scope of Gates's distinctive vision and at the same time amplify the good of his work themselves.”

God in the Modern Wing

Arts & Literature

“This wonderful compilation of vignettes on many of the most indelible and spiritually evocative works of modernism listens closely for their theological resonances while paying attention to the art-historical context, critical reception, enduring significance, and situatedness of each work within the museum's diverse collection. Its holistic approach preserves both the utmost intellectual integrity along with a generative curiosity of spirit. For readers exhausted by the fraught division of art and religion, the esteemed collective of voices in God in the Modern Wing issues an inspiring counterpoint and will serve as an adept guide for effecting fresh encounters with modern art.”

Modern Art and the Life of a Culture

Arts & Literature

“Despite his often biting criticism and emphatic rejections of modern art, those who read Hans Rookmaaker closely know that the care and attentiveness he displayed in engaging the art of his day intimated a valuation far beyond mere condemnation. The same spirit of eager and attentive hospitality can be seen in this rejoinder by Bill Dyrness and Jon Anderson. With the studied investment in their diverse subjects and the poignant reflections emerging throughout, they have demonstrated that both Rookmaaker's vocation and burden are live categories for our time. More than a response to the original, Modern Art and the Life of a Culture is an invaluable companion to Rookmaaker and essential reading for any serious Christian encounter with modern art.”

Placemaking and the Arts

Arts & Literature

“This book performs an extraordinary service within the literature of theology and the arts. In far too many cases that conversation has held the arts at arm's length, believing that such cultural entanglements are merely optional. Craft's treatment of art as placemaking resists that foolishness by demonstrating that there is no neutral ground for human life and artistry (i.e., no nonplaced experience). Rather than avoiding the inherent tensions of art and place, she embraces the wonder of God's redemptive activity in a broken world. Through her careful consideration of how the arts enable us to embody a sense of home, experience more rooted and contextualized worship, extend hospitality to friends or strangers, or navigate our place in the world, we come to see that geography and culture mutually determine one another for good or ill. We should be thankful for the ways in which Craft's theological aesthetic of placemaking can restore us to our own imaginations, embedded as they are in specific times and particular communities. More than that, we should accept her invitation to renew these connections with the mutually transformative love of Christ.”

Theatrical Theology

Theology

“The dynamic cast of voices in Theatrical Theology enacts a rich and vibrant dialogue rarely heard in academic conversations about theology and the arts. More than merely appropriating a new conceptual vocabulary for theology, Theatrical Theology actually reckons with the cultural practice of 'theatre' in generative and illuminating ways. This text models a careful engagement with the theorists, practitioners, and canons of theatre while also opening up fresh modes of faithful Christian practice.”

Understanding Natural Theology

Theology

“points in natural theology. In these pages, Brewer has convened a sprawling dinner party for the most intriguing and invested cast of guests, and thus our good host offers here a much-needed reanimation of the discourse. He’s done much to render the topic exhilarating once more.”