On beauty and the sacred

The poetic dimension of Christian theology

Abstract

On Beauty and the Sacred proposes a theological reflection centered on aesthetics and poetry as legitimate ways of approaching the sacred. Inspired by Rubem Alves’s theopoetics and John Navone’s theology of beauty, the article criticizes  traditional theology for relegating beauty to the background. Conversely, the author proposes a new way of talking about the Christian divinity — Beauty Itself — in relation to biblical texts, and about human beings. To formulate this new language, we need to look at existence in a more poetic way, aiming to formulate a theology more connected to aesthetics. This article therefore highlights the triad — Creator, Scriptures, and human beings — as structuring elements of this new way of thinking about theology. Beauty is, in this context, presented as an epiphany of the divine. The aim of this work is that theology should lead to a new language about God, the Scriptures, and human beings and, consequently, through this language, promote transformation and social justice, making us see beauty, especially in those who are marginalized, rejected, and invisible to society.