Tikkun Olam' -To Mend the World: A Confluence of Theology and the Arts

by Jason Goroncy (Editor), Alfonse Borysewicz (Foreword)

"Tikkun Olam"--To Mend the World is premised on the conviction that artists and theologians have things to learn from one another, things about the complex interrelationality of life and about a coherence of things given and sustained by God. The ten essays compiled in this volume seek to attend to the lives, burdens, and hopes that characterize human life in a world broken but unforgotten, in travail but moving towards the freedom promised by a faithful Creator. They reflect on whether the world--wounded as it is by war, by hatred, by exploitation, by neglect, by reason, and by human imagination itself--can be healed. Can there be repair? And can art and theology tell the truth of the world's woundedness and still speak of its hope? "Artistically sensitive, theologically rich, and eminently readable--this is a rare combination, but it is amply demonstrated in this fascinating set of essays." --Jeremy Begbie, Duke University "Emerging from a theological symposium and an art exhibition, the essays in this book show in glorious profusion and profundity the marks of this double origin. Theologians, artists, literary scholars, and musicians combine to bear witness to a world that is broken and yet is also the stage for a decisive event of divine love and healing. These are essays full of insights about order and disorder, beauty and tragedy. Their achievement is to make the reader think and, above all, imagine." --Paul S. Fiddes, University of Oxford "The contributors to this book seek to stay alive between the questions and the answer. They have labored to offer us their reflections on realities that have been made and that are still being made anew. The result is a prayer to stir us awake. We need such books." --From the foreword by Alfonse Borysewicz Jason Goroncy is Lecturer and Dean of Studies at the Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership in Dunedin. His publications include Hallowed Be Thy Name: The Sanctification of All in the Soteriology of Peter Taylor Forsyth (2013), and "Descending on Humanity and Intervening in History" Notes from the Pulpit Ministry of P. T. Forsyth (Wipf and Stock, 2013).

232 pages, Paperback

First published March 8, 2012

About the author

Jason Goroncy is a theologian and historian who teaches at Whitley College, University of Divinity, Australia.

He is the author of Hallowed be Thy Name: The Sanctification of All in the Soteriology of P. T. Forsyth (T&T Clark, 2013), and has edited Descending on Humanity and Intervening in History: Notes from the Pulpit Ministry of P. T. Forsyth (Pickwick, 2013), Tikkun Olam – To Mend the World: A Confluence of Theology and the Arts (Pickwick, 2014), Imagination in an Age of Crisis: Soundings from the Arts and Theology (with Rod Pattenden; Pickwick, 2022), and T&T Clark Handbook of the Doctrine of Creation (Bloomsbury, 2024).

Reviews

[Alan Marr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book addresses the very important role of theology and the arts play in the "mending of the world". As in all books of of this kind with many contributors, there were some chapters more helpful for me than others.
There are many things I loved about the book:
Jason's Introduction was extremely helpful because of the way it introduced the overall theme of the book (which of course it was meant to do). Not all introductions do this as well. Sometimes, later, when I was feeling a little lost in the content i would return to the Intro to reread Jason's one para summary of each contribution to get me back on track.
The paper by Libby Berne, "Living Close to the Wound", touched me deeply. Allie Eagle's story was profound and I have found myself Googling her work. "Building from the Rubble" by Murray Rae was a stunner.
I will return to these three papers in particular in the future when I am preparing sermons.
I am not an artist but have a growing appreciation of the importance of creativity in helping to explore and heal the darker parts of my life.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this on Kindle, which wasn't ideal, because this is a detailed and complex book that would be easier to read on paper. Nevertheless I worked my way gradually through it; I was particularly keen to read it since I'd started reading P T Forsyth's own books - in fact was reading one of them at the same time as Goroncy's. It helped to have the cross-fertilization, as it were.

There are times when the theological writing went over my head, but in general this is a clear and thorough overview of Forsyth's thought and theology. Goroncy has spent several years studying Forsyth, and his deep involvement with the man's thinking shows forth in his book.

It's the sort of book that would benefit from several readings. Whether this will happen is a moot point, but I'd like to go back and read it again, and feel as though I'd got a bit more out of what is an excellent book.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

After having attended the forum that this book is based on, I had the privilege of reading much of the manuscript pre-publication, and enjoyed the wide range of artists presented. As a writer, composer, and musician myself it was good to have insights from people working in these various artistic endeavours. Some chapters will appeal more than others, depending on your artistic bent; some of quite theological, some very down-to-earth. And Goroncy's introduction is a model for anyone presenting such a disparate group of artistic thinkers and workers.