Theology of Art, Part I

Theology of Art, Part I
Hands and Brains (or Lack of)
Hands and Brains (or Lack of) (continued)

Theology of Art, Part II
The Body - Neither Puritanism nor Pornography
The Body - Neither Puritanism nor Pornography (continued)

Theology of Art, Part III
Nakedness and imago Dei
Nakedness and imago Dei (continued)

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Hands and Brains (or lack of)

Michelangelo's David has a large head and large hands. How come?

Modern humanism may have cut itself off from God, but the Renaissance man, the true Christian forefather of humanism, considered his imago Dei roots highly inspiring. Through the "image of God" in us, we are blessed both intellectually (symbolized by the head) and pragmatically (demonstrated by the hands).

It is not easy to make judgments about the history of theology in general, but it seems that in today's religious thought the head and hands are often placed in mutual opposition. A self-proclaimed intellectual may look down upon the the "busybody." In turn, the busybody - or self-appointed "man of common sense" as he would rather be addressed (pride is not only the sin of the intelligent) - knows that dissertations tend to become "arguments and pretensions" (1 Cor. 10:5).

Is this hostile juxtaposition justified? Well, yes and no.

The Christian intellectual is perfectly right in stating that practice without theory - works without doctrine - may be blind. However, the intellectual may find it difficult not to long for admiration of his intelligence (a sin of pride, confessed also by Augustine in his famous Confessions). The pragmatic Christian, on the other hand, has got it right when he says, "faith without works is dead." However, he might not understand that theories tend to materialize.

(It is hard to believe that Marx, whose own children died of hunger, could have really foreseen - as he contemplated the exploitation of the working class - that his theses would eventually lead to the death of so many other children.)

(continued...)