"[Author] examines recent art, showing that its insignificance is due to the collapse of cultural values. At the same time Christians have lowered their aesthetic standards and failed to interact with contemporary culture. Ours is certainly a time for a response from Christian artist with the highest of aestihtic sensitivity"--Back cover.

One of the 20th century's most incisive art historians and cultural critics issues a prophetic call to artists-craftsmen, musicians, visual artists, and others in all walks of life to "weep, pray, think, and work."

Biblical Foundations Book Award Few issues are more central to the Christian faith than the nature, scope and means of salvation. Many have thought it to be largely a transaction that gets one to heaven. In this riveting book, N. T. Wright explains that God's salvation is radically more than this. At the heart of much vigorous debate on this topic is the term the apostle Paul uses in several of his letters to describe what happens to those in Christ--justification. Paul uses this dramatic image from the law court to declare that Christians are acquitted of the cosmic accusations against them. But justification goes beyond this in Paul's writings to offer a vision of God's future for the whole world as well as for his people. Here in one place Wright now offers a comprehensive account and defense of his perspective on this crucial doctrine. He provides a sweeping overview of the central points in the debate before launching into a thorough explanation of the key texts in Paul's writings. While fully cognizant of tradition and controversy, the final authority for his conclusions is the letters of Paul themselves. Along the way Wright responds to critics, such as John Piper, who have challenged what has come to be called the New Perspective. For Wright, what Paul means by justification is nothing less than God's unswerving commitment to the covenant promise he made to bless the whole world through Abraham and his family. This irenic response is an important contribution for those on both sides of the debate--and those still in between--to consider. Whether you're a fan of Wright's work or have read his critics and would like to know the other side of the story, here is a chance to interact with Wright's views on the issues at stake and form your own conclusions.

Since 1979, when Richard Rorty's Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature appeared, there has been a flood of new scholarship on the philosophy of John Dewey. Surprisingly, little of this scholarship has thus far made its way into the field of education, where Dewey's philosophy has traditionally had a wide influence. Many of the authors of this collection are philosophers who have created some of the most original and influential work in this new scholarship. Five of them -- Larry Hickman, Thomas M. Alexander, Raymond D. Boisvert, and J.E. Tiles -- have written major books that have received wide international acclaim. Among the philosophers of education some, like Philip W. Jackson, are among the best known names in the entire international field, and have kept pace with Deweyan scholarship for many years. Others are younger scholars who know the new scholarship well. Finally, two prominent feminists contribute important new work on Dewey, expanding the domain of the new scholarship on Dewey. One of them, Susan Laird, has had her work cited in the new biography of John Dewey by Robert Westbrook.

The tension between Christianity and the arts is often real. But it also offers a false dichotomy. Many Christian artists think that they must choose between their faith and their artistic calling. Drawing upon his experiences as both a Christian and a practicing artist, Cameron J. Anderson explores the dynamics of faith and art in this Studies in Theology and the Arts volume. Tracing the relationship between evangelicalism and modern art in postwar America—two entities that often found themselves at odds with each other—Anderson raises several issues that confront artists. With skill, sensitivity, and insight, he considers questions such as the role of our bodies and our senses in our experience of the arts, the relationship between text and image, the persistent dangers of idolatry, the possibility of pursuing God through an encounter with beauty, and more. Throughout this study, Anderson's principal concern is how Christian artists can faithfully pursue their vocational calling in contemporary culture. Readers will find here not only an informed and thoughtful response, but also a vision that offers guidance and hope. The Studies in Theology and the Arts series encourages Christians to thoughtfully engage with the relationship between their faith and artistic expression, with contributions from both theologians and artists on a range of artistic media including visual art, music, poetry, literature, film, and more.

In recent years, many prominent and successful artists have claimed that their primary concern is not the artwork they produce but the artistic process itself. In this volume, Kim Grant analyzes this idea and traces its historical roots, showing how changing concepts of artistic process have played a dominant role in the development of modern and contemporary art. This astute account of the ways in which process has been understood and addressed examines canonical artists such as Monet, Cézanne, Matisse, and De Kooning, as well as philosophers and art theorists such as Henri Focillon, R. G. Collingwood, and John Dewey. Placing “process art” within a larger historical context, Grant looks at the changing relations of the artist’s labor to traditional craftsmanship and industrial production, the status of art as a commodity, the increasing importance of the body and materiality in art making, and the nature and significance of the artist’s role in modern society. In doing so, she shows how process is an intrinsic part of aesthetic theory that connects to important contemporary debates about work, craft, and labor. Comprehensive and insightful, this synthetic study of process in modern and contemporary art reveals how artists’ explicit engagement with the concept fits into a broader narrative of the significance of art in the industrial and postindustrial world.