A famous Italian theologian's eloquent reflections on beauty and God. "Beauty is an event: it happens when the Whole, the All, offers itself to us in the fragment, when the Infinite makes its
A famous Italian theologian's eloquent reflections on beauty and God.
"Beauty is an event: it happens when the Whole, the All, offers itself to us in the fragment, when the Infinite makes itself little." This is how Bruno Forte describes the long-held Christian tradition that traces beauty back to God and sees God as the source of all beauty. But, he questions, is this really possible? How can the limitless inhabit what is little? In The Portal of Beauty Forte examines the deep, though not always obvious, contribution of theological thought -- from the minds of such luminaries as Augustine, Aquinas, Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky, Balthasar, and Evdokimov -- to the understanding and experience of beauty.
Robin M. Jensen
— Vanderbilt Divinity School
"Bruno Forte's lucid and eloquent account of beauty's place in theological and artistic expression inspires the reader to reflect more profoundly about the nature, source, and end of this infinite yet intimate means of Divine encounter. We are reminded that beauty is both transcendent and terrifying, calling us to consciousness of our mortality. At the same time, beauty is the assurance of God's presence to, in, and beyond human existence."
Gesa Thiessen
— Milltown Institute, Dublin
"A fine introduction to the notion of beauty in some key thinkers, written with empathy and insight."
Luci Shaw
— Regent College
" Beauty, a unique aspect of God's grace, is a universal that invites us to turn a corner, glimpsing transcendence and joining the earthly with the heavenly in those moments when God reveals his magnanimity and magnificence. This elegantly translated text allows us to see through the eyes of some of the great theological thinkers and observers in human history. If you are sick of banality and superficiality, dive into Bruno Forte's Portal of Beauty and be refreshed and enlarged."
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