The Beauty of the Infinite is an extended essay in "theological aesthetics." David Bentley Hart here meditates on the power of a Christian understa...
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reviews
Aug 04, 2011
Jacob
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It took me several months to finish this book. Hart argues for getting beauty back as a theological category. Reformed and the more intellectually rigorous evangelicals are the ones who will likely read this book. That is good. Those are the ones--and I am reformed--who need to see beauty in theology. Hart uses the latest vocabulary from postmodern philosophy. the reader is urged patience in this regard. The first section of the book (the first 150 or so pages) is incredibly hard to read. Hart a
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Aug 01, 2011
Duane Alexander
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Hart, an Orthodox theologian from America, takes on the metaphysical aesthetic of paganism, which includes almost everyone except for a few Christians. Paganism reached its apogee under Nietzsche, and its defining characteristic is that the infinite is disorderly. Christianity posits that the infinite is good and that its form is peace.
Jun 11, 2011
Steven
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An excellent book that would have been five stars had it enjoyed a stricter editor. Hart is infatuated with himself at points, and so he chooses inaccessibility whenever possible. Still, he's got something that's real in this book.
Oct 05, 2009
Toby
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Read this several years ago. It's a tough read, slogging through Hart's rhetoric. And honestly I wish he'd rewrite this in ordinary English, but with that caveat, I really liked it.
Jan 25, 2010
Jonathan
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The introductory chapters of this book are wonderful...the body of the book, not so much.
Jun 28, 2008
Tom
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Wow. This guy can write. He's got extra horse-power for a brain. Some kinda intellect. Impressive. A treatise on beauty and truth (Trinity, Christology, Creation, and Salvation). Amazing.
I thought Dallas Willard was a slow read, but Hart is 100x worse. Have a 10 lbs dictionary beside you when you read You'll need it. Deep. Rich. Difficult. But rewarding. I still haven't decided just what I think about Eastern Orthodoxy's core beliefs. Sometimes they make me shout for job. Other times More...
I thought Dallas Willard was a slow read, but Hart is 100x worse. Have a 10 lbs dictionary beside you when you read You'll need it. Deep. Rich. Difficult. But rewarding. I still haven't decided just what I think about Eastern Orthodoxy's core beliefs. Sometimes they make me shout for job. Other times More...
Aug 24, 2008
William Randolph
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I was reading above my level with this one, but it was great all the same. As a non-theologian, I am not exactly competent to review this well, but if I write any reflections elsewhere I'll try to remember to post them here.
Nov 15, 2008
Charles
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A book of stunning brilliance. Reveals how classical Christian dogma (in both its ancient and contemporary expressions) casts amazing light on virtually all of our modern concerns.
Oct 27, 2008
Allyne
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This is a difficult read; it helps to have a good background in Continental philosophy. But it repays careful reading.
Jul 29, 2008
Michael
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this is going to take a while, and i'm going to need a good dictionary.
Jul 25, 2009
Dennis
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A difficult read but quite worthwhile. It is a brilliant approach to Christian aesthetics and helpful in its response to the postmodern critique of Christianity. It is profoundly insightful but bring a high-power dictionary - and possibly a few foreign language dictionaries.
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