Pictures at a Theological Exhibition: Scenes of the Church’s Worship, Witness and Wisdom

by Kevin J. Vanhoozer

Publisher:

IVP

, 2016

Overview

Many Christians are held captive by a picture of the imagination as a purveyor of false images, prone to idolatry. We live in a society fixated on images that have little or no significance. We are surrounded by models of the world that are not in touch with any truth outside of themselves. But we lack the resources to see and imagine things differently.

Kevin Vanhoozer calls the church to a more biblical and premodern picture, one that sees every particular person, thing and event in the light of God’s act of reconciling the world to himself in Christ. Through essays on the church’s worship, witness and wisdom, Vanhoozer shows us how a poetic imagination can answer the questions of life’s meaning by drawing our attention to what really matters: the God of the gospel.

Key Features

• Seeks to restore theology as a source of guidance, edification, and inspiration in the church
• Connects the practice of biblical interpretation to real-life situations
• Draws attention to God’s redemptive work as the ultimate focus of theology

Contents

Foyer: Before the Promenade (Prolegomena)

• What Are Theologians For? Why Doctors of the Church Should Prescribe Christian Doctrine
• True Pictures: What Every Pastor Should Know About Biblical Truth and Interpretation
• Three Ways of Singing Sola: Scripture as Light, Compass and Script (A Sermon on Psalm 119:103-5, Luke 24:25-27 and Colossians 3:15-17)

Gallery One: Pictures of the Church’s Worship

• Worship at the Well: From Dogmatics to Doxology (And Back Again)
• Praising God in Song: Beauty and the Arts
• Moses? Magnificat: A Song for the Semester—and the Ages (A Sermon on Exodus 15:1-18)

Gallery Two: Pictures of the Church’s Witness

• The Drama of the Christ: The Gospel as Thing Done and Word Made
• The Drama of Discipleship: A Vocation of Spiritual Formation
• The Strange New Status Symbol of the Cross (A Sermon on Philippians 2:5-11)

Gallery Three: Pictures of the Church’s Wisdom

• Sapiential Apologetics: The Dramatic Demonstration of Gospel Truth
• Enhancement in the Cathedral: Power, Knowledge and Smart Pills
• The Wisdom of Angels: Brokenness and Wholeness in the Academy and Church (A Sermon on 1 Corinthians 1:18-25)

Praise for the Print Edition

Imagine a book that seeks to rehabilitate theology’s tenuous connection to the church’s worship, mission and discipleship. Put the idea into the hands (and heart) of a master theologian who is an artist, playwright and vision-caster operating in the interface of Scriptural canon and shifting culture. The result is the picture/play book you are about to enjoy. Imagine (no) more!

—Gregg R. Allison, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Vanhoozer has a reputation for unveiling the big picture for us, but here he devotes his considerable critical powers to a series of small ones. For fans of his earlier work, there are characteristic delights and a few surprises—not least the interspersed sermons that answer the question, ‘Yes, but will it preach?’ Vanhoozer’s playfulness, recursions, puns and layered allusions all pay off exceptionally well in these miniature studies. And readers who have heard that Vanhoozer’s theology deserves attention but have wondered where to begin studying are well advised to start with these rich and accessible essays.

—Fred Sanders, Torrey Honors Institute, Biola University

Kevin Vanhoozer writes of the church’s worship and wisdom with enormous discernment and love. Deeply revealing and fascinating!

—Cornelius Plantinga Jr., author of Reading for Preaching: The Preacher in Conversation with Storytellers, Biographers, Poets, and Journalists

Product Details

• Title: Pictures at a Theological Exhibition: Scenes of the Church’s Worship, Witness and Wisdom
• Author: Kevin J. Vanhoozer
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Publication Date: 2016
• Pages: 327
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Topic: Theology

About Kevin J. Vanhoozer

Kevin J. Vanhoozer (PhD, Cambridge University) is a research professor of systematic theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He also served as Blanchard professor of theology at the Wheaton College and Graduate School (2009–2012) and senior lecturer in theology and religious studies at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland (1990–98). He is the author of ten books, including Faith Speaking Understanding: Performing the Drama of Doctrine and Biblical Authority after Babel: Retrieving the Solas in the Spirit of Mere Protestant Christianity—both Christianity Today Theology Books of the Year (2015, 2017). He serves on the editorial board of the International Journal of Systematic Theology, Journal for Theological Interpretation, and Pro Ecclesia and was the North American consultant for the second edition of the New Dictionary of Theology (IVP). He is married and has two daughters (and his doctoral students). He is an amateur classical pianist and avid reader, finding that music and literature help him integrate academic theology and spiritual formation into his everyday life.

Sample Pages from Pictures at a Theological Exhibition: Scenes of the Church’s Worship, Witness and Wisdom