5 comments about For the Beauty of the Church: Casting a Vision for the Arts.

1. Great book, a must-read for anyone interested in the arts and evangelical Christianity, especially in the context of the local church. I will use it as a reference for years to come.



2. Note: A version of this review first appeared at [...]
   
   Books by Protestants on the arts come out at least once a year. On hearing of the next one, For the Beauty of the Church: Casting a Vision for the Arts, we can be forgiven a degree of skepticism. Haven't similar visions been already cast (Steve Turner's 2001 Imagine: A Vision for Christians in the Arts)? Haven't such calls already been sounded (Phil Ryken's 2006 Art for God's Sake: A Call to Recover the Arts)? Protestants in the arts seem to be caught in a holding pattern of vision casting - one that is not entirely unwarranted. In his recent book Senses of the Soul, which studies visual worship patterns in contemporary American Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant congregations, William Dyrness suggests that despite a surge of interest in the arts in Protestant intellectual life, there is still a "residual suspicion" regarding the arts in Protestant congregations. For the Beauty of the Church is therefore a regrettably necessary, and largely effective attempt to once more address Protestant distrust of the arts - which is arguably an inextricable groove of Reformation DNA.
   
   The list of contributors to this particular volume is studded with familiar evangelical authors. Andy Crouch provides a fresh spin on his culture-making thesis, Eugene Peterson is characteristically sagacious, offering art-related anecdotes from a life of pastoral ministry, and Lauren Winner paints a persuasive justification for purchasing art even while the poor are still with us. Jeremy Begbie spurs artists to be "hopefully subversive." New voices are included as well. David Taylor, the book's editor, provides some hard-earned lessons from liturgical experimentation gone awry. Josh Banner offers sound advice on how to critique other artists without extinguishing smoldering wicks.
   
   For the Beauty of the Church gives us reason to hope that Protestant churches have come to a new level of liturgical maturity, understanding the necessity for restraint, humility, and historical precedent when enhancing the worship with art. John Witvliet, the director of the Calvin Institute for Christian Worship, rightfully criticizes churches for being overly-experimental and ignoring the irreducibly communal nature of liturgical art: "[A]ccessibility--a dangerous and controversial criterion for artists--is a significant and legitimate factor in preparing and evaluating art for worship."
   
   Unfortunately, however, the same book gives us reason to think that the necessarily conservative nature of liturgical art hasn't been adequately grasped. Begbie helpfully reminds us of T.S. Eliot's famous insistence that mastery of tradition precedes originality; but he also asks pastors: "Are you prepared to allow artists room to provoke the church to venture into risky arenas of novelty--a fresh `take' on a parable, a hitherto unexplored zone of culture?" Banner describes the role of pastor as talent agent (don't they have enough to do already?), and suggests that pastors "create a safe place for artist to risk."
   
   In the book's introduction, Luci Shaw worries that the great flood of artful beauty in the church will "narrow its course into the well-worn channels permitted by tradition or custom." Interestingly, the great American theologian John Nevin saw the liturgical deficiencies of American Protestantism more than a century ago, and inverted Shaw's metaphor: "Rather than seeking novel forms of expression," explains historian James Nichols, "Nevin held ... the spirit of devotion flows best in long consecrated channels."
   
   For the Beauty of the Church shows a degree of respect for such long consecrated channels, but considering the weekly flashfloods of liturgical recklessness and irreverence that, Sunday after Sunday, douse helpless Protestant worshippers, it might have shown more. To be fair, screenwriter Barbara Nicolosi's essay does provide the most direct advice on pursuing artistic vocations outside the church, a New Maritainian description of what it means to be an artist in pursuit of beauty. It is telling, however, that she is Catholic. One begins to wonder if Dan Siedell might have been right when he suggested, in discussing what it means to seriously engage the world of contemporary art, that "Protestant approaches simply aren't expansive enough."
   
   Indeed, the last century's most accomplished thinker on theological aesthetics, Hans Urs von Balthasar, a Catholic, understood the dilemma with a disconcerting clarity. Surveying the history of Protestantism, he traced a perpetual feud between those who valued aesthetics too highly (Hegel, Schleiermacher) and those who reacted to such an over-valuation (Kierkegaard, Bultmann). The most serious recent attempt to reinstall beauty into the Protestant system, according to Balthasar, came from Karl Barth.
   
   Yet even Barth could not completely extricate himself from the feud. He valued beauty highly, but was sufficiently suspicious of its dangers to limit its role within theology, let alone beyond it. Consequently, Balthasar asked an uncomfortable question:
   
   "Should we go the way of Karl Barth, who rediscovers the inner beauty of theology and revelation itself? Or (and this is perhaps implicitly included in Barth's position), may it not be that we have a real and inescapable obligation to probe the possibility of there being genuine relationship between theological beauty and the beauty of the world."
   
   Balthasar's parenthetical escape clause aside, perhaps it is the case that a Protestant theology cannot fully engage beauty and the arts outside the church without surrendering the priority of revelation. Barthians will point to Barth's lifelong love of Mozart, which lead him, though only in an end of life Retractiones of sorts, to the possibility of "secular parables" of the gospel outside the church.
   
   Others, especially those in the domain of visual art, will insist this was too little, too late. Should Protestants think about this matter deeply, they may be swept into the Balthasarian project, well aware of its Roman end point. "Whoever loves beauty," lamented the Protestant Gerhard Nebel, "will, like Winckelmann, freeze in the barns of the Reformation and go over to Rome." It is no wonder that when David Taylor lists Protestant thinkers in the realm of theology and art, he discreetly consigns Catholic and Orthodox contributions to a courteous endnote.
   
   Unless of course, Protestants rediscover their barn's blazing, but neglected, fireplace. Beauty is the guiding motif to Jonathan Edwards' thought, and plays a greater role in his work than even in Balthasar's or Augustine's. (Amazingly, Edwards, the great theologian of beauty, makes not a single appearance in Balthasar's encyclopedic theological aesthetics.)
   
   Should we politely excuse ourselves from Germanic debates, Protestants can find in Edwards a theological canopy under which the arts can both flourish inside the church, and outside of it as well. As he wrote: "All the beauty to be found throughout the whole creation, is but the reflection of the diffused beams of that Being who hath an infinite fullness of brightness and glory; God... is the foundation and fountain of all being and all beauty."
   
   Dyrness is right to suggest that to thrive in the aesthetic arena, Protestants need to "allow themselves to be enriched by the Catholic and Orthodox past, that is in fact, also their own." But Jonathan Edwards provides a compelling, home-grown Protestant resource as well. Here is the Protestant vision that might be expansive enough, one that can answer Balthasar's troubling question.
   
   Edwards' thought can certainly underwrite the liturgical enhancement that For the Beauty of the Church does so much to encourage. But the pulsating centrality of aesthetics in Edwards' theology may be enough to underwrite the endangered beauty of the art world as well. For the Beauty of the Church "outlines a vision for the church and the arts for the next fifty years," which is an important, even urgent ambition. But to ensure its success, we best begin by looking two hundred and fifty years back.



3. Before starting, I was eager to read For the Beauty of the Church: Casting a Vision for the Arts, I hoped it would be full of thoughtful, fresh and original insights on visual art in the life of the church. What I found was a collection of essays that never really took off the ground. It's not a bad book, its just not a great one. For a genre of writings that is sparse and cluttered with ambiguity, I'm afraid this added to the noise.
   
   I have a few strikes against it, how I think it could have been better. I should say in praise of the writing that each chapter is clear, concise and stands alone. However, there are a few things wrong with it.
   
   Weaknesses
   - Lack of clarity
   Things like "the arts" and ministry are for being as central to this book, are never really defined in a clear helpful way. The best we get is in the introduction when editor W. David O. Taylor says "by 'the arts' I mean at least music, dance, drama, poetry and other literary arts, film, architecture". Without a clear starting point, I was forced to go along with their arguments hoping I knew what they meant but never really sure. There are strong moments in each of the essays, but the whole is less than the parts.
   
   
   "Arts"
   - This is perhaps the most ideological objection I have to this book. Its that strange word that shows up in the subtitle, arts, or rather, Arts with a prominent capital "A". I've already mentioned the lack of a coherent definition of art, the problem with "arts" is a bigger problem. The definition of arts is so elastic and vague that what they are really talking about is probably better understood as "culture". What I fear is being assumed is a fine-art and high-art dichotomy. I won't argue for or against it here, but to throw the word arts around with no boundaries or definition is asking for trouble. It epitomizes one of the key problems with evangelicals and the artworld today. Evangelicals by their own rules and get upset when the artworld/Hollywood doesn't acknowledge the art that Christians produce as legitimate. Another problem with the word "arts" is that is a historical term. There was a time when the concept of fine art as we know it didn't exist; many speculate that the era of art is on its way out. To sloppily use the word "arts" shows that the homework hasn't been done. Is art a proper name? A concept? Does the notion of art exist beyond objects like The Last Supper, No. 5, Fountain, etc.?
   
   
   - Artist as prophet
   Many of the authors fall prey to speaking of the artist as the true prophet of society with overly superstitious rhetoric about their ability to see through the real problems of our age. Barbara Nicolosi's chapter is the worst about this. She even defines the "usual sense of the artist... as called to be prophet and priest"(105). This view is problematic for a couple of reasons. It stands in direct opposition to current theories and opinions of the artworld, I fear this opposition has more to do with ignorance though. Another reason related to the first is that historically this concept is relatively new. The concept of artist in the strange new world of the bible is more like craftsmanship. Finally, the biggest reason why the artist as prophet is problematic is that in the bible, the prophets are prophets. We may see creative production ordained by God and various media integrated into the people of God, but "how they will believe" unless someone paints? I don't think so.
   
   
   -Disjuncture from Conference to the page
   This book was produced out of an arts ministry conference held in Austin, Texas in April 2008. Most of the articles refer to that conference, but it would have been better to omit those parts with a footnote saying, "you had to be there". Whatever synergy was achieved and referred to, "pastor and artist" hand-in-hand, was obscured in the pages.
   
   
   Strengths
   
   Lauren Winner
   Lauren Winner's essay is perhaps the strongest. She is a better writer than most, though the article seems to lack the punch it needed. I think her chapter was a good abstract for a book. Unlike the others she cites specifics texts, acknowledges current debates about artistic production and social theories.
   
   
   Andy Crouch's views of Culture
   Andy Crouch makes an excellent observation about the fact that bread and wine are the elements of communion. Elements of culture become sacred. That reality alone has massive ramifications. However, it has little to do with art, and less to do with his chapter assignment on "the Gospel". I haven't read it, but I assume if you like Crouch pick up his Culture Making.
   
   
   Who this book would be good for?
   
   It's stated target audience is both artist and pastor. I'm afraid it misses both. It seems to be a good fit for people who already agree with that marriage, there is little work done to mediate a complicated custody battle that spans the centuries. I think this book is good for right brained pastors under 35 working at non-denominational churches south of the mason Dixon line, east of the Mississippi.
   
   Some suggestions:
   
   Case studies. I think that might be the best way to get about this arts ministry issue. Find a few examples, put them in dialogue. Maybe have them critique and respond to one another. This doesn't need to be a tome, but I think focusing it in a bit would make it more worthwhile. Maybe make a whole series to take the time for each volume to address these issues. These articles would have been better blog posts, or a podcasts.
   [...]



4. For the Beauty of the Church, edited by David Taylor, is one of those unique books that addresses both the indicative and the imperative, theory and practice, head and hands. We have had many great books and teachers help us develop a theology of the arts and help us do theology through the arts, from Tolkien to Begbie to Wolterstorff to Seerveld to Rookmaaker, etc. This book, however, while including a theology of the arts "along the way," traces out the implications of this theology in the lives of pastors, artists, and the church communities with whom they live and move. It reminds me of St. Paul's `task theology" that offers theologically-contoured responses to practical questions, the primary questions here being 1) how the church can nurture and pastor the artists in its midst, and 2) how artists can offer their abilities and insights to the church.
   
   As Taylor writes in the Introduction, this book "aims to inspire the church, in its life and mission, with an expansive vision for the arts" by offering "a complex reflection on the arts and the church - the church, that is, as the gathered community in its local manifestation and in its varied functions, such as worship, discipleship, community, service, and mission"
   
   In this book, Taylor has pulled together an excellent group of discussion partners, each of whom are either pastors, or artists, or theologians, and sometimes all three- a group you would like to share a long evening together with over a bottle (or two) of wine in your front room. Each chapter is filled not only with theological and practical reflections but also with stories, stories of how each of the authors has attempted, both successfully and not, to bring churches and artists together "for the beauty of the church."
   
   A few personal highlights:
   Andy Crouch's use of Genesis 1-2 to remind us that art is a gift whose good cannot be reduced to its utilitarian `usefulness," but is rather a calling to participate in the larger human activity of "culture making."
   
   John Witvliet's encouragement (chapter 2) to both churches and artists to consider how arts might become "liturgical art" and thus express, challenge, and deepen a church's corporate acts of worship: praise, confession, lament, proclamation, and sacraments, etc.
   
   Eugene Peterson's comparison of the work of pastors with the work of artists and how his pastoral vision and identity was shaped by the Israelite artist, Bezalel, and the artists in his congregations: "they were artists, whether anyone else saw them as artists, and regardless of whether anyone would ever pay them to be artists. Being and artists was not a job. It was a way of life; it was a vocation...And it has been artists in my life - not exclusively, but more than most others - who keep the distinction sharp between vocation and job description."
   
   Barbara Nicolosi's chapter on shepherding artists was one of my favorites. She offers suggestions for identifying, teaching, nurturing, and challenging artists to pursue excellence in their field "for the general edification of the body of Christ and for the world," because beauty and art, when done excellently, can "open a channel of revelation between God and man."
   
   Joshua Banner's and David Taylors's chapters offered a plethora of practical suggestions and insights drawn from their long experience as "arts pastors," called to tend to the spiritual and artistic formation of artists but also to prepare their churches to receive, celebrate, and hear from the artists in their midst. As Taylor writes: "We have no business remainig naïve or impulsively enthusiastic, as if all we needed were merely more art. Rather we need good art that serves the good purposes of the church. And that requires a great deal of wisdom and humility."
   
   And, of course, anything Jeremy Begbie writes on the arts and theology is worth reading. He offers six ways that the subversive and hope-offering Spirit might enter our present and draw us toward a future in which the arts and our churches flourish together.
   
   Finally, David Taylor picks up Begbie's theme and looks toward a hopeful future: "My hope is that we will see churches thoughtfully develop arts programs...My hope is that we will see a greater number of young Christians entering art schools...My hope is that a greater number of seminaries will add art-related courses to their curricula...My hope is that parachurch organizations will proliferate to complement the work of the church...My hope is that there will be an increase of involvement in professional societies by believer artists...My hope is that we as Protestants will recapture a culture of patronage...I hope for an artful cultural cross-pollination...I hope to see a fruitful exchange between Christians of different denominations."
   
   That's a lot to hope for, but Taylor not only hopes for a bright future for the arts and the church but he has offered the church a book that has the potential to help us all lean into that future and see it become a Spirit-formed reality around us.



5. I just finished For the Beauty of the Church. Dang it, it is going to be an expensive book. I have already ordered two more copies.
   
   As a woman, a working artist and a believer my relationship with the church has been a love/hate relationship. So often I have been unable to articulate the struggle. David Taylor has brought together a varied group to give voice to the struggle. Not just a group talking theory, but individuals in the trenches. I was registered to attend the conference in Austin where these ideas were first presented, but I was unable to attend (a new baby and allergy season in Texas took me out!) I am thrilled to have this resource in my hot little hand. I read. I cried. I underlined vigorously. I wrote comments in the margins. I read more. I ordered another two books and when my budget recovers I will order more. (Merry Christmas friends and family.)
   
   For the first reading Barbara Nicolosi's chapter was my favorite as it brought healing to my heart. As the seasons change other chapters will rise to the forefront. I know that I will go back to this book to remind myself that the battle is worth fighting, and that the struggle, as Jeremy Begbie so eloquently reminds us, has an end and that it might behoove us to think from the end to the present. I am so PROUD of Eugene Peterson for not only admitting he has artist friends, but that artist friends are worth having, YOU GO EUGENE! Barbara Nicolosi's chapter reminded me that what is do is not a waste of time, energy or emotion. Joshua Banner's description of a pastor involved in one's arts career, in a positive way, blew my mind. I can not even imagine, but wow, what a concept. Hope stirred. And David Taylor did a delightful wrap up. Context, context, context! David is a master encourager.
   
   It is a good book. It was an easy read. "For the Beauty of the Church" will bring understanding into the Body of Christ.
   
   I have art in 54 nations yet at any moment I question whether or not I am "really" an artist. There is so much pain in the world, at any moment I can question the value of arts. It is difficult, at least for me, to balance the truth of it all, that what I do is worth doing. In the church environment where results and numbers are held in such esteem, it is hard to quantify beauty. I am very thankful for this collection of essays and their pointing to a truth beyond statistics.
   
   I am gonna go paint now.

4 comments about The Art of Pastoring: Ministry Without All the Answers.

1. This book is so real!!! I MEAN REALLY REAL to life. I LOVED it and so will you...Get it for a seminarian, student, pastor, laymen, their family, etc...It is rich in wisdom and I suggest reading it over and over again as the years go by.



2. I had to read this book for a Ministry Practice and Polity seminary class, and it was probably one of the most enjoyable books that I read in my whole seminary career.

   At the most basic level, this is sort of a 'day in the life' kind of book about David Hansen's experience in the role of pastor. The book is refreshingly honest as he discusses his struggles, victories, and overall experience of being a pastor in all the different compacities. I don't plan on being a pastor myself, but I would definitly recommend this book to anyone who is feeling called in that direction, as a 'window into the life of a pastorate.'




3. I could say a lot about this book. A whole
   lot in fact. But I am just going to say this:
   if you are a pastor or a family member of a
   pastor get this book! It is rich, deep,
   honest, Christian, Christlike, and so much
   more. I am glad it came across my path
   and am thankful the author shared his life
   with us.



4. EUGENE PETERSON said: "This is the freshest and most honest book on pastoral work you're ever likely to come upon." I agree. Hansen helps us pastors consider what is essential for us to be pastors. Prayer, presence, scripture are central. Stories drawn from Hansen's contemplative fishing experiences help the reader appreciate the value of paying careful, quiet, patient attention in ministry. Not a "how to do it in X steps" book, but a book about being. This is a simple but deep book; it's hopeful and encouraging for a too busy pastor.

1 comments about Hebrew Illuminations 2011 Mini Calendar (7 x 7 inch) (Illuminated Letter).

1. It was a nice prodiuct. Would be good for some one who had a small space and needed a calendar.

5 comments about How to Read a Church: A Guide to Symbols and Images in Churches and Cathedrals.

1. A very useful book for teaching purposes and giving an understanding of many church items



2. Well written and organized. I learned a lot. Potential buyers should know that the focus of this book is on Anglican and Catholic churches. I'd recommend it very highly.



3. Bought this to prepare for a trip to Italy, hoping to better understand what I was seeing in all those historic churches. This book, however, is centered on churches as places of Christian worship. To quote from the introduction: "Admiring a church for its beauty or history alone is like admiring a Monet for the frame". This is the author's principle theme. As an example, one chapter is devoted to the life of Jesus. In it, he elaborates on 29 different stages of Christ's life that you might see as an image in a church, from the Nativity to The Incredulity of Thomas. Other chapters include The Virgin Mary, Saints, and The Old Testament. The book does provide the needed visual clues to understand what one is seeing, e.g. pictures of St. Lawrence are of a young man with an iron grid and a money bag. However, the piety of the author is the both the book's strength and weakness. Those of the Christian faith may find this a wonderful read. Those of other faiths or none at all may be constantly irritated (as I was) by his writing technique, which treats the Bible as a source of eye-witness history. If you are looking for dispassionate discussion of church imagery, look elsewhere.



4. This book would be a useful guide for the American churchgoer who is curious about the signs and symbols he sees around him. In an encyclopedia-like format, Taylor describes the chi-rho, the attributes of the more popular saints, and similar visual messages of Christianity.
   
   It is not in-depth or particularly scholarly. For example, the entry for the columbine (flower, not high school) gives one meaning for that flower's symbolism, but does not go into older meanings that appear in medieval art. OK for most uses, but not as a reference for art history students.
   
   There are also odd mistakes that an editor should have prevented. For example, throughout the book Taylor uses the word "unshaven" to mean "beardless". I don't know about him, but when I don't shave, I am bearded.



5. This is a well-written, religiously neutral excursion of the visual symbols and elements of the Christian church, more or less as it exists today and leaning somewhat to the Anglican church. It is not a history of Christian church architecture or symbols through the ages though the author seems to be fairly conversant with the relevant art history. It is no more or less than a brief description of what is behind what you'd see in an English church, with accounts of the lives of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Peter and all the rest, in case you know absolutely nothing.
   
   The charming churches the author is most familiar with are relics, and efforts like this one that may in some way preserve them are good. They, the churches of the past, are as much like America's mega-churches as flowers are like asphalt. I don't know if they have mega-churches in Europe. I don't think so. They, the mega-churches, help us envision the utter banality of the age to come. And what a long way we have traveled since Chartres.
   
   The author is studiously non-evangelistic, which is good, but one feels the absence of faith in or hope for anything beyond the obvious. It is really a rather light-hearted anatomy of Christian churches, lacking soul. If there's no hope of meaningfulness, no hope that these places may convey the possibility of a real inner life, it all seems rather hollow.

1 comments about Religion, Art, and Visual Culture: A Cross-Cultural Reader.

1. This is an amazing book. It opens up all kinds of interesting questions about the importance of seeing and vision in a range of different religious contexts. In each major section, Plate invites us to approach a religious tradition not through its main scriptures but through a visual medium. Islam, for example, is approached via calligraphy as a way of thinking about the written word as image. Buddhism is approached through zen gardens as a way of thinking about the concept of shinjin (mind-body). I used this book as the primary textbook for a college course called "Religion and Visual Culture." It was a huge success. It is filled with interesting ideas and fresh approaches, and it is great reading. I highly recommend it.

5 comments about Icons and Saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church (A Guide to Imagery).

1. This is an excellent book of icons which includes both Festival and individual icons. The photography of the icons is excellent and there are very informative comments about color, history, parts of festival icons, and so much more. As an iconographer it is a fine addition to my collection and very reasonably priced.



2. I came across this book 5 years ago and now regret not having picked it when I first saw it! The information contained in each chapter is invaluable for the personal research & study I have embarked upon in 'writing' icons. A must have.



3. I Purchased this for my husband. He is studying iconography and wanted to understand the symbolism in iconography better. This book has been extremely educational. It would be nice if it were larger though since there is a lot of detail.



4. This is a very comprehensive and beautiful work on the icons of the Eastern Orthodox Church, and includes Byzantine, Russian, and icons of other traditions. Each icon's significance in the life of Our Lord or church history is detailed. The description and symbolism of each icon is informative without being scholarly or overly long, and each has the Biblical quotation and reference as well as the particular feast day observed. The size is perfect for use in browsing a gallery, the quality of the paper and the color reproductions are excellent. The various types of icons are well represented, and arranged in a convenient fashion. Many of the icons shown have not found their way into any of the books I have previously read, making this a real treasure.



5. This book on icons is probably the most useful book to have in a collection of books on icons. It has a good index, something that is frequently missing from books on icons. The information is concise, helpful and useful for expanding a person's knowledge of iconography. The color illustrations of historical icons helps with recognition of icons and is also useful for those who write (the preferred term) icons. Many books on icons are physically very large; this book is relatively small and easy to handle. I recommend this book highly.

5 comments about Basilica: The Splendor and the Scandal: Building St. Peter's.

1. The book is a great romp through 200 critical years of European history using the building of St. Peter's as the focus. It is entirely readable, entertaining, and revelatory.
   
   Ms. Scotti gets the basics right as implied in her subtitle, "The Splendor and The Scandal." Her story leaves us with the question, "How can we divorce ethics from beauty?"
   
   Whether or not the building of St. Peter's caused the Protestant Reformation, the author counterposes the absolute corruption responsible for the construction of the Basilica. While she correctly states that modern historians are kinder to the Renaissance popes than were critics of their own day (such as Erasmus), she leaves no doubt about the immense personal ambition and lust for power that motivated the construction of St. Peter's.
   
   The book gives us a good insight into the unbelievable scale of corruption of the Renaissance Church, with its clergy brazenly using spiritual powers for material and personal gain. For example, Ms. Scotti gives us a brief but vivid picture of Pope Julius II leading his troops and an army of cardinals and clergy in his military campaign to re-take the Papal States, brandishing threats of excommunication and interdict.
   
   I first visited St. Peter's in 1980 as a Catholic priest, suspended for publishing my book, The Human Church, which called for the democratization of the Church. In the book I argued that there was no theological reason why the Church had to be set up on monarchical lines like the Roman government. Democracy would be much more amenable to its purpose and mission. As history has repeatedly shown, the monarchical, top-down, structure is both corrupt and corrupting.
   
   I found St. Peter's immense and awesome, but I did not find it beautiful. That, and all the fountains and monuments around Rome constructed by popes, I saw as tribute to their quest for personal power and empire. Their breathtaking arrogance is reflected in the inscription across the facade of St. Peter's: "IN HONOR OF THE PRINCE OF THE APOSTLES PAUL V BORGHESE BY NAME SUPREME ROMAN PONTIFF 1612 SEVENTH YEAR OF HIS PONTIFICATE."
   
   The popes whose portraits Ms. Scotti paints are often larger-than-life people of often immense energy and brilliance who used the project of St. Peter's, not only as an answer to the Protestants, but also as the focus of building of a new Rome, which had been devastated by neglect and the sack of the city in 1527. While they may have been effective as CEOs, we have to ask, as Luther asked, "Is that really their job?"
   
   The fact that St. Peter's still functions as the symbol of the Roman Church shows there is much more reform that remains to be done.



2. You know the old saying," You can't judge a book by it's cover." Apparently, the Basilica is an enormous example of the old adage. This book is a historical account of the building of one of the most well known structures in the world, St.Peter's Basilica. Before you pooh pooh the idea of reading another boring history book, hold on... this is a story of deceit, love, art, blackmail, envy and greed. The story spans the history of the Vatican from 1505-1667,the 150 years it took to conceive and build the Basilica. The story begins with Michelangelo,a young 31 year old artist, fleeing from Pope Julius II's, horsemen. It quickly intertwines the story from the temperamental cast of 8 Popes and artists such as Michelangelo, DaVinci,Bramante. The architectural design is so unique to the period that many of the delays involved inventing new construction techniques to achieve the desired product in the end. This brought on competition and more conflict.
   I went to the Basilica before reading this book. When I saw it I thought,"I've been there, it is breath-taking!" Then I checked it out at the library, read it, looked it up on Amazon,purchased it . This is something I wanted to own. It has a time line, architectural drawings, 2 appendixes and a great index. The next time I went to the Vatican, I went to the Sistine Chapel and missed the Basilica. I still want to go back! RA Scotti has really given the reader a wonderful new perspective of the truth behind the Vatican and all that it means without spoiling (even enhancing appreciation for) the experience of entering the hallowed halls of the Basilica.



3. What a great read! Once I started, the conclusion of one chapter made me turn the page and start the next.
   
   A solid history of St Peter's, but also a wonderful telling of the history of the Catholic church and the string of popes who are associated with it and their chosen artisians who collectively create the cathedral.
   
   While reading Scotti's book, I yearned for a trip to Rome to see it first hand.



4. Before you read the book, know that even with all the sniping of some of the reviewers, this is an entertaining and thoughtful book. I doubt that Ms. Scotti went out of her way to make any mistakes as to the materials used or how the building was constructed. But nowhere in the book does she ever claim to be an architect or to have studied architecture. It would seem that her main purpose of writing this book was to explain how and why, then in what manner the building was constructed.
   
   Pope Julius II (who thought of himself as the 'new' ceasar) decided to replace Constantine's Basilica of St. Peters with something even more extravagant. Why he would tear down a twelve hundred year old building is beyond question one of the most egotistical destructions up there with Stalin's tearing down of the major churches in Moscow and replacing them with a pool. But Julius was a man after his own heart and no one was going to get in his way.
   
   That the renaissance popes were about as corrupt as could be (one was a bastard, another the grandson of a pope) profligate and a study in all seven of the deadly sins is unassailable. That the connivance of the curia and the priesthood to fleece the multitude to pay for their lavish life styles and to build the Basilica are truisms. How much the cost
   of St.Peter's contributed to the selling of indulgences would be speculation but we do know that the sales are one of the major reasons that Luther stated in his '95 Theses'.
   
   Read this book for the story, because a story it is and not as a history or architectural study and you will enjoy it.
   
   Zeb Kantrowitz
   [...]



5. This book is a light read but does a good job in telling the story of the building of St Peters and the flawed and all too human characters who were involved in its building, including several Popes and the artists Michelangelo, Bramante, and Raphael. If you are planning to visit St Peters this book would add much to your enjoyment and appreciation of it.

5 comments about Caravaggio.

1. I just purchased this book based on previous reviews. One disappointment I have with it is the cropped paintings or paintings with the seem slicing through them. It's frustrating as a student of the arts to try and copy the tiny details out of the bindings. Aside from that, I am glad I bought it. The works inside are fantastic.



2. This is an excellent book. The pictures are amazing! and the explanation is precise. I give it 5 stars!



3. I did so look forward to receiving this book greedily unwrapping it as soon as it arrived. I'm a huge fan of Caravaggio and having seen many of his paintings in situ I was eager for any new information. Unfortunately I'm one of the people who can't read the small silver text on glossy white paper. When I say "can't read" I mean that within about two minutes all of the little silver words on the page just dissolve into whiteness. I agree it looks pretty but perhaps that combination of ink and paper might best be reserved for an invitation to a Winter Solstice dinner and not used in an obviously superb book such as this one. Catherine Puglisi was done a terrible dis-service in the design of this book. The quality of the photographs of the paintings (and the quantity) are fantastic and I have enjoyed them immensely. Maybe the paper version is black on white but I sure don't like to have buy the same book twice. I'm giving two stars to what is probably a five star book.



4. Dr. Catherine Puglisi is not only a fine scholar, well informed about her subject, she is also a fine writer. CARAVAGGIO is a richly produced heavy volume (hardcover reviewed) that spreads the text throughout the course of the book as each of the points about the artist's life and technique and gifts to art history is explored.
   
   The color plates are reproduced with clarity and two-page extensions of the larger horizontal works aid the reader in gaining perspective. Multiple images of details offer close examination of Caravaggio's technique, a manner that continues to influence representational artists today.
   
   Puglisi gratefully does not shy away from the controversial aspects of Caravaggio's life and sexuality. She deals with the facts and presents them in context with his concurrent paintings. The volume includes an exceptionally fine body of appendices that offers a complete checklist of the paintings including small reproductions of some, a terse bibliography, and a series of extracts from the myriad sources from which Puglisi extracted information.
   
   The one criticism of this book, and it is a significant one, is the small type font in the pale gray ink selected by a designer who seems more concerned with 'making a pretty book' than in respecting the written word! But in the end this is a definitive volume about one of art history's more interesting and gifted painters. Grady Harp, December 05



5. Anything showing photos of this fellow's incredible oevre would probably deserve the highest praise even without editorial guidance. But just browsing thru this one will stun anyone not familiar with Caravaggio, which is probably 98% of the populace.Ms. Puglisi interweaves the artist's life and times around the glorious color photos. The print may be a tad small,but the fact that there's around two spaces between each line of text makes it, IMHO, even easier to read than otherwise. The raw,harrowing originality of this artist are beyond description, and his life is a near match. He died violently before the age of 40...Especially recommended for those (mainly males) who may think that Art and Art History are less than manly pursuits!! (Yes there are plenty of guys out there who think like this.) Give this book, the author,publisher, and the artist way more than five stars!!

4 comments about Making Crosses: A Creative Connection to God (Active Prayer Series).

1. The author began making handmade crosses from found materials as a spiritual exercise. So far, so good. While the book describes some general principals and has a number of illustrations of finished crosses, it has few clear directions and lots of white space. I would have preferred some example crosses with detailed directions, and maybe some more reflection on the spiritual process with a bit more depth. I understand that part of the goal of making a handmade cross is to accept the found materials available and work with the creative impulse of the moment as an expression of the Spirit moving within you - but most people need a bit more help getting started than this book gives. As a spiritual leader myself, I may use the book's general idea for adult or youth activities, but I will have to do a lot more work to actually set up a class or workshop to round out the book's advice, which isn't detailed enough to really help me. On the whole, a disappointing book.



2. A delightful form of meditation is detailed in Making Crosses. The only problem is having to take time to gather the materials, but the process is worth the wait. A marvelous companion to Praying in Color.



3. This was an impulse buy-one of those you bought this, you might like this suggestions. Am I ever glad that this purchase was made. The book is quiet and humble in it approach, but the impression it leaves is great. It is the right amount of organization, evangelization and artistic know how. It is a good book for a foundation in teaching a class about cross making or using it to explor your personal faith.



4. A charming new book from Paraclete Press, Making Crosses: A Creative Connection to God, by award-winning Memphis writer Ellen Prewitt, can change your perspective on the way you interpret everyday things. This book is a guide for finding and using simple, sometimes discarded, perhaps once-loved, objects and pieces of your life and prayerfully incorporating them into a focal point - a cross. As Prewitt guides the reader into the process, she gently reminds us, "it is not our purpose to make a beautiful cross," but instead the purpose is to lead us into our own theology, how we think about God. When participating in one of her workshops, her statement that when we work on a cross the cross begins to work on us, struck me as absolutely true. After reading her book, I cannot go for a walk that I do not pay closer attention to objects that I pass, or things that may block my path. Items that I may have once thrown away suddenly have new value. Readers are drawn into the beauty of God's creation as we look for items to incorporate into a cross, and I am continually amazed at what God Brings. As Prewitt says, "Trust the one who knows the secrets of our hearts and whose joy it is to give them to us." Ellen Prewitt has certainly brought joy into many lives, and continues to do so, through "Making Crosses".
   Making Crosses: A Creative Connection to God (Active Prayer Series)

5 comments about The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican.

1. Enough has been said by other 1 star reviews with which I agree. I just want to add that every tourist visiting the Medici Chapel in Florence is told even by the lousiest guide that the Michelangelo's statue representing Lorenzo de' Medici is not THAT Lorenzo but a much less distinguished relative. These two amateurs are claiming to shed new light on Michelangelo's intentions and even lack BASIC knowledge of his work. I wasted 22 euros but I had many a laugh. Risible



2. With a subtitle that includes forbidden, I just had to read this book! Michaelangelo, like many Renaissance artists was something of a polymath, well schooled in art, engineering and philosophy. The fact that painting was not his long suit makes his paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel an interesting puzzle. Why would he paint this enormous work when he felt he was a sculptor? Who could force him to do something he didn't want to do?
   
   The author led tours for the public at the Sistine Chapel and as such had quite a bit of exposure to the paintings. Eventually, he came to the conclusion that the symbolism was primarily Jewish, which is very odd for the decorations of the private chapel of a Pope. With this radical assumption, he proceeds to disclose all the subterfuge that Michaelangelo employed to get the pictures he chose to paint past the observation of both the Pope and Michaelangelo's opponents among the Pope's retinue.
   
   It was a fascinating read that brought the really human story to life.



3. Fascinating speculation fills this book. It can be fun as light conspiracy-theory reading, and as an introduction to Michelangelo and the Vatican.
   
   What's wrong with it? To begin with, factual errors on embarrassingly simple subjects.
   
   Zerubabel was not the king blinded during the sack of Jerusalem (that was Zedekiah); he is associated with the building of the second temple, not the destruction of the first.
   The Book of Jonah is not read at the closing (ne'ila) service on Yom Kippur, but at the beginning of the afternoon service (mincha).
   Jonah does indeed have his own book in the Jewish Bible. The fact that it's referred to as one of the twelve short books is true of the books of Joel and Zechariah as well.
   
   This is stuff that an eighth-grader in Jewish day school would know. In a book that wasn't edited carefully enough to catch these errors, all assertions become doubtful, and the force of the argument is gone.
   
   Equally bothersome is how overblown the argument is. A little less bluster would make the book a lot less exasperating.
   
   Then why three stars? Because it's a fascinating premise; because many of the questions it raises are worth exploring; because some of the explanations it offers do make sense.



4. The details of this book are tremendous! A part history I never knew. Interesting reading.



5. I don't know if the theories are historically correct or if its all a wonderful layer of creative midrash superimposed upon the existing information, but I immensely enjoyed reading about Michaelangelo's
   Jewish pre-dispositions in his art for the Sistine Chapel.
   
   I also learned much about his personal educational rearing and the existing ethos in his art world.
   
   The style of this book is most engaging and I heartily recommend it.