FROM WORD TO IMAGE

THEOLOGY OF SEEING

Authors

  • Sebastian Elavathingal Hachenburg

Keywords:

Art as a Theological Language, Cross as the Tree of Life, Theological Exclamation, Theology of Seeing, Worship and Creativity

Abstract

This article is an attempt to show that “seeing” is a consummate theological experience and “images” are valid theological works. Images are generated in the matrix of worship (bhakti), which is essentially a creative experience, since it integrates knowledge (jñāna) and action (karma), mind and body, conception and perception. In Christian faith tradition, the Cross as the Tree of Life embodies and expresses the message of salvation in the most effective and exhaustive manner. “Seeing” the Cross as the Tree of Life can be an experience of theological “exclamation,” a wordless exultation.

Author Biography

Sebastian Elavathingal, Hachenburg

Dr Sebastian Elavathingal, CMI is a staff member of Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram and formerly the Rector of Samanvaya Theological College, Bhopal. He is presently engaged in pastoral ministry in Germany. He took PhD in Missiology from the Gregorian University, Rome and did Fine Arts Diploma at the Accademia di Belle Arti, Brera, Milan. His publications include Inculturation and Christian Art – An Indian Perspective. He is a member of the Editorial Board of Asian Horizons.

References

Ninian Smart, The Religious Experience, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1996.

Mortimer J. Adler, Aristotle for Everybody, New York: Touchstone, 1977.

N. Deane, St. Anselm: Basic Writings, trans. by Sidney D. Deane, Chicago: Open Court, 1962.

Gustavo Gutierrez, A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics, and Salvation, Maryknoll: Orbis, 1988(1st ed.), Maryknoll: Orbis, 1973.

Kevin Irwin, Context and Text: Method in Liturgical Theology, Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1994.

Matthew R. Schlimm, “Emotions and Faith: The Perplexing Relationship between What We Feel and What We Believe,” Theological Investigations on Faith and Culture, 6, 1 (Spring 2011), at http://www.atthispoint.net/ articles/emotions-and-faith-the-perplexing-relationship-between-what-we-feel-andwhat-we-believe/217/ accessed on 15-11-2017.

Pontifical Council for Culture, Concluding Document of the Plenary Assembly 2006, “Via Pulchritudinis, Privileged Pathway for Evangelisation and Dialogue” at http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/cultr/ documents/rc_pc_cultr_doc_20060327_plenary-assembly_final-document_en.html, accessed on 15-11-2017.

John Paul II, “Letter to Artists,” # 3, Vatican, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1999.

www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_ 23041999_artists_en.html, accessed on 10-11-2017.

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p122a5p1.htm, accessed on 9-11-2017.

Orazio Marucchi, “Archæology of the Cross and Crucifix,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04517a.htm - accessed on 8th Nov.2017.

Coomaraswamy, “Svayamātrnnā: Janua Coeli” in Selected Papers Vol.1: Traditional Art and Symbolism, ed., R. Lipsey, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1977.

J. E. Cirlot, s.v. “Water,” A Dictionary of Symbols, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1971.

F.W. Dillistone, Christianity and Symbolism, London: SCM Press, 1955.

M. Thomas Antony, “Saint Thomas Cross: A Religio-Cultural Symbol of Saint Thomas Christians,” Dukhrana, (December 17, 2013), at http://dukhrana.in/saint-thomas-cross-a-religio-culturalsymbol-of-saint-thomas-chrsitans, accessed on 15-11-2017.

J.E. Cirlot, s.v. “Tree,” A Dictionary of Symbols, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1971. In the Mesoamerican Mayan culture, the tree of life is Yaxche. It is the axis mundi and represents the three dimensions of cosmos — the underworld, earth and heavens. See Tom Christensen, “Yaxache — The Maya Tree of Life,” at http://www.buriedmirror.com/yaxche.htm, accessed on 16-11-2017.

Wikipedia, “Mesoamerican world tree” at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Mesoamerican_world_tree, accessed on 15-11-2017.

Hanna Strack, “VIRIDITAS bei Hildegard von Bingen und ihre Bedeutung für eine Theologie des Blühens,” http://www.hanna-strack.de/wp/wp-content/ uploads/2011/05/VIRIDITASAufsatz2.pdf, accessed on 15-11-2017.

Hildegard von Bingen, “Welt und Mensch,” Das Buch “De operatione Dei,” aus dem Genter Kodex, translated and interpreted by Heinrich Schipperges, Salzburg: Otto Müller Verlag, 1965.

Jocelyn Monette, “The Apse Mosaic at San Clemente, Rome,” at http://catholicbiblical.com/wpcontent/uploads/2013/04/B2-The-Apse-Mosaic-at-San-Clemente_web-13-Apr03.pdf, accessed on 15-11-2017.

Alister E. McGrath, The Christian Theology Reader, Blackwell Publishing, 2006.

Downloads

Published

2017-12-31

How to Cite

Elavathingal, S. (2017). FROM WORD TO IMAGE: THEOLOGY OF SEEING. Asian Horizons, 11(04), 683–697. Retrieved from https://dvkjournals.in/index.php/ah/article/view/2831