Art and the Experience of the Divine - Paperback

by Anne Searle Bent (Author), Ian S. Markham (Author)

How do people find faith? For centuries the focus of the church has been on providing arguments that might persuade a person rationally that faith is plausible. This book invites people to find faith through experience. By taking a great work of art, the reader is invited to meditate and pray through that art to God. Faith is primarily an experience of the heart, not an argument that appeals to the head. The book opens with a framing case for the centrality of the visual arts as a vehicle to experience the divine. Engaging with the literature, a distinctive case is made for a "spiritual theory of art," according to which art makes spiritual reality present to the seeker. Then there are twenty-two devotional reflections on art that show how properly reading a painting or a drawing can open up fresh ways of thinking about the divine that are compelling and powerful. Thus, we are guided towards seeing truly great art as a focus for prayer and meditation.

Author Biography

Anne Searle Bent has been collecting art all her life. She has a MA and is currently studying for a PhD at Virginia Theological Seminary. She has taught numerous courses on art and faith at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Lake Forest, IL.



Ian S. Markham is the dean and president of Virginia Theological Seminary and professor of theology and ethics and the president of The General Theological Seminary in New York.