When, in 1741, George Frideric Handel completed writing the Hallelujah Chorus for his oratorio Messiah, he reportedly told his servant: ‘I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself seated on His throne, with his Company of Angels’. More recently, the Australian musician Nick Cave described how the gods are closely associated with the flight of the imagination. Both musicians had a sense, each in their own way, of the connection between the arts and theological work.
Theology and art are often considered separate forms of human activity, but are they? How might they relate? What influence do they have on one another, and how might that inform our understanding of faith, of the human condition, of ourselves, and maybe even of God?
At Whitley, we’ve dedicated a unit of study to explore such questions. Theology and the Arts is a dynamic subject that expands our traditional view of theology into the world of the arts in a way that both delights and challenges. It will be delivered online by Jason Goroncy, Rod Pattenden, and guest artists, as an intensive unit over 7 sessions – on 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28 September and 21 October.
Learn more about Jason Goroncy in his interview with the University of Divinity’s Vox here.
Enrolments close on Friday 15 July.