Medical Healing and the Christian

I think it’s a sign of our times that, while I have seen many Christians commenting on the pros and cons of vaccination, I don’t think I’ve seen too many articulate their theology of medical healing for fellow Christians. Once again, much of our practice seems to be happening in a theological vacuum. It shouldn’tContinue reading “Medical Healing and the Christian”

The art of Hildegard of Bingen

Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), was a German Benedictine abbess, writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, visionary, herbalist and overall polymath, who ruled her own monastery of Rupertsberg, high on a hill in rural Germany. Hildegard’s most significant works were her three volumes of visionary theology: Scivias (“Know the Ways”), Liber Vitae Meritorum (“Book of the RewardsContinue reading “The art of Hildegard of Bingen”

Christian art: the sun and the moon

The synoptic gospels tell us that, at the moment Christ died, darkness swept over the land for three hours (Mark 15:33, Matthew 27:45, Luke 23:44-45). In manuscripts and painted works of art that depicted this event, color was frequently exploited to illustrate darkness and to create a dramatic setting. The celestial bodies of the sunContinue reading “Christian art: the sun and the moon”

The presentation of Jesus at the Temple

The following slideshow features paintings by various Christian artists from various cultures inspired by the story of Jesus being presented at the Temple soon after his birth. The gospel of Luke describes it this way: When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to JerusalemContinue reading “The presentation of Jesus at the Temple”

The visionary art of the Rothschild Canticles

The Rothschild Canticles is one of the most unusual illuminated manuscripts to have survived from the Middle Ages. The text was made around 1300 to serve as an aid to mystical devotions in which images played as central a role as the written word. Visionary depictions of the Trinity, the Song of Songs, the VirginContinue reading “The visionary art of the Rothschild Canticles”