Naming the Spirit

Discover the deep connection between theology, the arts, and the work of the Holy Spirit in Naming the Spirit

In this book, W. David O. Taylor and Daniel Train bring together a remarkable group of theologians, scholars, and artists to offer a fresh perspective on pneumatology through the creative lens of the arts.

Each chapter unpacks a particular name for the Holy Spirit and examines its significance, using examples from a variety of artistic mediums—music, poetry, visual art, film, and even landscape architecture. Far from being just a theoretical exploration, the book seeks to be a catalyst for renewal in theology and the arts, aiming to inspire new avenues of thought and engagement within classrooms, churches, and beyond.

Curated by Taylor and Train, two leading voices in theology and the arts, Naming the Spirit is a rich, interdisciplinary work that promises to deepen our understanding of the Holy Spirit's work in the world through the profound lens of artistic expression.

This book is an essential resource for professors, students, ministry leaders, and artists who are looking to enrich their understanding of art in relation to the Holy Spirit. Order Naming the Spirit today and discover a new way to engage with the Holy Spirit through the beauty of the arts.



W. David O. Taylor (ThD, Duke University) is associate professor of theology and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary and the author of several books, including Prayers for the Pilgrimage, A Body of Praise, and Glimpses ofthe New Creation. In addition to a range of popular essays, he has published articles in the Calvin Theological Journal, Christian Scholar's Review, Worship, Theology Today, and Image Journal, among others. An Anglican priest, he has lectured widely on the arts, from Thailand to South Africa. In 2016 he produced a short film on the Psalms with Bono and Eugene Peterson.







Amos Yong (PhD, Boston University) is professor of theology and mission and director of the Center for Missiological Research at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He is the author or editor of over two dozen books, including Spirit of Love: A Trinitarian Theology of Grace, Afro-Pentecostalism: Black Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity in History and Culture (coedited with Estrelda Alexander), Science and the Spirit: A Pentecostal Engagement with the Sciences (coedited with James K. A. Smith), and The Spirit Poured Out on All Flesh: Pentecostalism and the Possibility of Global Theology.







Taylor Worley (PhD, The University of St Andrews) is associate professor of faith and culture as well as associate vice president for spiritual life and ministries at Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois. In both these roles, hefocuses on enabling students to see how their gifts and passions can be leveraged for greater vocational impact in the kingdom of God. He is coeditor of Theology, Aesthetics, and Culture: Responses to the Work of David Brown.







Daniel Train (PhD, Baylor University) is assistant teaching professor of the practice of theology and the arts at Duke Divinity School, where he serves as the associate director of Duke Initiatives in Theology and the Arts (DITA). He is the coeditor of The Art of New Creation and The Saint John's Bible and Its Tradition: Illuminating Beauty in the Twenty-First Century.







Wesley Vander Lugt (PhD, University of St Andrews) is adjunct professor of theology and acting director of the Leighton Ford Initiative for Theology, the Arts, and Gospel Witness at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Charlotte. His publications include Living Theodrama: Reimagining Theological Ethics and Beauty Is Oxygen: Finding a Faith That Breathes.







Justin Ariel Bailey (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is assistant professor of theology at Dordt University. He works at the intersection of theology, culture, and ministry, and his written work has appeared in the online journal In All Things as well as Christian Scholars Review and the International Journal of Public Theology. He is an ordained minister in the Christian Reformed Church, and he has served as a pastor in Filipino-American, Korean-American, and Caucasian-American settings.







Jennifer Allen Craft (PhD, University of St. Andrews) is associate professor of humanities and theology at Point University in West Point, Georgia, where she teaches courses in theology, philosophy, and the arts. Her work has been featured on Transpositions and in Contemporary Art and the Church: A Conversation Between Two Worlds.







Jonathan A. Anderson (MFA, California State University, Long Beach) is an artist, art critic and associate professor of art at Biola University. He is the coauthor, along with Amos Yong, of Renewing Christian Theology: Systematics for a GlobalChristianity and a contributor to Christian Scholarship in the Twenty-First Century: Prospects and Perils.



Foreword by Amos Yong



Introduction

W. David O. Taylor and Daniel Train



1. Remaining with a Name: The Identity of the Holy Spirit and the Posture of the Artist

Steven R. Guthrie



2. The Outpouring Spirit: A Visual Theology of Pentecost

Jonathan A. Anderson



3. The Illuminating Spirit: Seeing the Trinity in Basil of Caesarea and Olafur Eliasson's Beauty

Christina Carnes Ananias



4. The Spirit of Shalom: Contemporary Native Art and the Question of Kincentricity

Erin Shaw and Taylor Worley



5. The Spirit as Breath: Poetic Imagination and the Word-Bearing Breath

Devon Abts and Joelle A. Hathaway



6. The Spirit as Breadth: Blk Halos and Spacious Places

Phil Allen Jr. and Justin Ariel Bailey



7. The Overshadowing Spirit: Mary, Incarnation, and Unexpected Mutuality in Olivier Messiaen's Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus

Chelle Stearns



8. The Convicting Spirit: The Holy Spirit's Use of Black Music for the New Creation

Julian Davis Reid



9. The Spirit as the Bond of Peace: Enactment of and Participation in Spiritual Song

Amy Whisenand Krall



10. The Freeing Spirit: Resignation as Creative Freedom in the Hymns of Charles Wesley

Shannon Steed Sigler



11. The Comforting and Disrupting Spirit: The Holy Spirit and Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life

David W. McNutt and Wesley Vander Lugt



12. The Particularizing Spirit On the Art of Landscape Architecture

Jennifer A. Craft and W. David O. Taylor



Acknowledgments



List of Contributors



General Index



Scripture Index



"I'm delighted to find this book succeeds just where so many fall short. Here is an integration of biblical-doctrinal wisdom with artistic insight which gives the arts room to be themselves without making them the touchstone of theological truth. A remarkable achievement, paving the way for a host of similar studies."



"This adventurous volume evidences that theology and the arts is no longer an emerging field, but an established one—a field that sets the pace for theology as a whole."



"There are books about the Spirit. And then there are books animated by the Spirit. In Naming the Spirit, W. David O. Taylor and Daniel Train have brought together a collection of authors and artists who are not simply talking about the third person of the Trinity but are creating theological works that are drenched in the presence and activity of the rûaḥ ĕlōhîm—the life-giving breath of God. I cannot recommend it highly enough."



"This book is a rich, confident, and generous exemplification of how the discipline of theology and the arts is coming of age. Both expansive and closely attentive in its vision, it proves the value of drawing deeply on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit to frame an enlivening discourse about the life-giving power of art."