Found Theology: History, Imagination and the Holy Spirit

Description

Found Theology is a book about how theology deals with newly-encountered (of 'found') material in time, and about the role of imagination in these encounters. The book is unusual and ground-breaking exercise in the interdisciplinary discussion of theology and the arts. Ben Quash brings together elements of doctrine, scripture, the fine arts and the experiences of everyday life. He looks closely at Christian artistic traditions via a number of case studies that represent a rich source of examples of the way that the new times properly stimulate new expressions of known and loved things. Quash engages closely with some serious and prominent American scholars, namely Peter Ochs, Daniel W. Hardy, C.S. Peirce and David H. Kelsey.

Ben Quash is the first occupant of the Chair in Christianity and the Arts at King's College London, UK. He has been there since 2007, and prior to that was Dean and Fellow of Peterhouse in the University of Cambridge, UK, where he was also Academic Convenor of the Cambridge Inter-Faith Programme, developing research and public education programmes related to the three Abrahamic traditions of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. He runs an MA in Christianityand the Arts in association with the National Gallery, London, has worked with many arts organisations including the Britten Sinfonia, the Royal Opera House, and the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music, and broadcasts frequentlyon BBC radio. He is a Canon Theologian of both Coventry and Bradford Cathedrals, and was the author of Abiding, the Archbishop of Canterbury's Lent Book 2013.

What perhaps makes Found Theology unique is Quash's embrace of that reality and his search for the work of the Holy Spirit within the ongoing processes of history. Quash is concerned with connecting theology to art, science, and interreligious dialogue. He is interested in a method for Christian theology that allows deep and meaningful interaction with these critical contemporary forces. As he proceeds, he opens up large vistas for the future of theology. * The Christian Century * Frames and reframes the questions that constructive and pastoral theologians ought to be asking about the Spirit's work ... I can imagine no better future for pneumatology than for it to follow Quash's lead. * Modern Theology * Quash's monograph provides a stimulating new proposal to the broader conversation about how the dialogue between theology and the arts can proceed. It will be of particular interest to post-graduate researchers in the related fields of Christianity and the arts. * Theological Book Review, Vol 26 No 1 * The book succeeds admirably in its ambition to be a groundbreaking exercise in the interdisciplinary discussion of theology, science and the arts. ... Fans of fresh, engaging, well-expressed and richly imagined works of theological enterprise will not be disappointed. * Theological Book Review Vol 26 No 2 * There is a richness and allusiveness to Quash's writing that corroborates that his first studies were in English literature rather than in, for example, philosophy or natural science. As such they are likely to succeed in provoking readers into further thought rather than definitively resolving in which direction they should next proceed. * Theology * An important book, Found Theology evinces the patience called for, and no doubt required, if we are to get beyond the given, or, taking the posture of the communicant, to receive the gift given in the found. * Modern Believing * Quash's literary background, accompanied by his historical concern, brings a valuable perspective to proceedings ... [An] inspired and inspiring work. * The Heythrop Journal *