Image as Theology

The Power of Art in Shaping Christian Thought, Devotion, and Imagination

Edited by Strine Casey Edited by Mark Mclnroy Edited by Alexis Torrance

Book cover: Image as Theology

Extent: 244, 244 pages

Publisher: Brepols Publishers

Subjects: Art & Art History, Religious Studies

Series: Arts and the Sacred

Series volume number: 6

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(August 2022)

ISBN: 9782503581217

8.62 x 10.98 inches

Price: $138.00

Out of stock

Our lives are saturated with images, and this book explores how they shape sacred texts and theological concepts.


Our lives are saturated with images. They exert an unparalleled power in contemporary culture. However, the power of images is in fact nothing new. Although texts are often the most important historical sources for academics, the image played an enormous role for those who actually lived in these past societies. Images communicated all manner of concepts and messages to a much wider audience than theological texts. Throughout history, images frequently depicted God, human beings, and their relationship in a manner that was meant to teach theology and inspire awe. Historically speaking, most people who have done theological reflection have done so in intimate conversation with the images seen in sacred spaces. This volume explores how images themselves are theology, how they influence sacred texts and theological concepts in a way that words cannot on their own. In part one, the book presents five essays investigating the ways in which images have shaped sacred and theological texts. In part two, the book offers five discussions of the sort of theological work that images can perform that words are unable to do. The volume concludes by outlining areas for future research and exploration based on the insights achieved among the chapters. The collection is, in its totality, a celebration of how central the image has been in shaping theology and how it should continue to do so.

  • Edited by Strine Casey
  • Edited by Mark Mclnroy
  • Edited by Alexis Torrance