Toward a Theological Aesthetics

I was recently looking at the Jesuit artist-priest Father A. J. Thamburaj painting on The Holy Trinity. Some could give raspy comment and critique regarding it, for the picture emphasis separateness as if the three person of the Trinity are not belong with each other. Apparently, there is another way of looking at the picture. And it is by not to focusing on the very rigid and detail doctrine of Trinity itself, but on the characteristic of each person in Trinity that the painter projected, which I personally think, the artist has made a tremendous job of expressing the beauty and identity. From the picture of three separate hands that Thamburaj drew, I can conclude that Father is the protector, Son as redeemer, and Holy Spirit as purifier of the soul.  Also, I like the picture on the basis of the Eastern-Indian element of the painting Incorporated and expressed elegantly. 

Art, can help us to activate our imagination more than words could. If art is created by God, which I believe is for God is the source of beauty, then logically art has it place in christian life in general, consequently. Of course we have a long history of the polemic between the rejection of the art or the acceptation of the art in christian community. In 6th century, Gregory the Great was famously commanded all statues of Romans antiquity to be thrown out. Art is considered as idol by some reformer. The event famously known as Iconoclasm controversy. Thus, for some, rather than purifying and redeeming art and its essence for a greater purpose, it is easy for people to diminished art in whatsoever forms. For literally, does Bible speak not that thou shall not make any image about God?

I am in line with what John Ruskin thought about art. For him, art cannot be separated from notion of religiosity. Out of religious conviction, the art will rise. Hence, art is one of the noblest thing that comes out of religion. The spirit of Ruskin may not be bought by people who only take the Bible and law in the Old Testament literally without looking at the correct context oft the text! (Problem is not in art but making the art as an idol). In fact, many theologian like Barth and Tillich also fond of art, especially music. Probably, with the decline of theology as the source authority and meta-narrative, the connection of theology and art has been terminated ever since. Separation between wide range of subjects  is the hall-mark of modernity. The effect can be seen up until recent time. That is why, the education of Theological Aesthetics is very important today. 

Art occupied in the early life of early church. The symbol of Fish, the of Cross and many more kinds of art were being profoundly celebrated, and deepen the faith of believers. No wonder, several great theologian bring forth again the theological aesthetics discussion in their works. One can think of Von Balthasar as the main proponent of it. Balthasaar argue that theological vision need to be enlarged within the three-framework true, good and beauty. Von Balthasar base his idea of theological aesthetic in connection to God not in art per se. Although he did not spend a lot of time on developing the theology of art, his theological aesthetic concept bring about the close connection between mundane and the sacred as he says there is ''a genuine relationship between theological beauty and the beauty of the world.'' By implication, there must be a good analogy that we can draw from the world to depicts God. Yet still, the art and whatsoever beauty in the world should be measured by the beauty of God. 

Several applications we can quickly draw that through our discussion. First theological aesthetics will help us to bring connection again between the relation between theology and the world, the connection between the beauty of God and the beauty of the world in particular. This recapitulate the problem that have been caused by the stream of modernism. Second, as logical implication, art, as the way of expressing beauty in the world can help us to inform something about God, not in absolute sense but in a good sense, at least through the means of feeling and imagination for at the end of the day, God cannot be stringently systematized or understood completely, only by rigid dogmatic. 

Moreover, art give us space so that we can contemplate the truth of God more deeply and bring the sense of transcendence in its loftiest place, a deep cultural apologetic to God as Charles Taylor once wrote in his work  A Secular Age, 

''There are certain works of art-by Dante, Bach, the makers of charters Cathedral: the list is endless-whose power seems inseparable from their epiphany, transcendent reference. Here the challenge is to the unbeliever, to find a non-theistic register in which to respond to them, without impoverishment'''.