Saving Beauty: A Theological Aesthetics of Nature

摘要

Toward the end of this short, but imaginative study, Kathryn B. Alexander observes that her discussion is like spinning a diamond around and exploring its facets. It is an apt image. This book is a gem. Its refractions are almost always illuminating, only at times obscured. Alexander's point of departure is existential. "How can our craving for natural beauty be reconciled with human destruction of the natural world?" (3) she asks. Alas, she observes, modern Christian theology and practices often have "planted seeds of a fiercely tenacious iconoclasm" (5), tending to leave nature barren and of no account for many believers. Still, the quest for beauty in nature has not been totally eclipsed in modern Christian life. Her purpose, then, is to explore those nature-affirming sensibilities in order to show that "there is a connection between beauty in creation and the human need for salvation" (8).