The Paradoxical Beauty of the Cross: Theological Aesthetics and the Doctrine of the Atonement in Athanasius’ Contra Gentes-De Incarnatio

In his two-part treatise Contra Gentes-De Incarnatio, Athanasius offers an interesting apologetic for the Christian doctrine of the atonement by employing various aesthetic themes and forms of expression drawn from the classical notion of beauty found particularly in the Platonic and neo-Platonic traditions. Although Athanasius never mentions the term “beauty” in Contra Gentes-De Incarnatio, the concept certainly looms in the background. Writing against the Platonic, Epicurean, and Stoic systems of his day, Athanasius centers his apologetic on the philosophical tension evident in the doctrine of divine transcendence/immanence. This paper argues that Athanasius implicitly characterizes the tension of divine transcendence/ immanence as paradoxical in nature and, as such, is not solved but resolved in Christian doctrine of the incarnation and the culminating event of the crucifixion. For Athanasius, the aesthetic force of the crucifixion is its manifold paradox in which Christ, the God-man, conquers by being conquered, restores man\u27s spiritual form by becoming formless, and establishes universal peace by surrendering to violence. Thus, in the Christian tradition, the divine transcendence/immanence paradox is localized and expanded in the incarnation and crucifixion event invoking an overflow of aesthetic inspiration in the heart of the believer. Therefore, the purpose of this essay is twofold. First, it will identify certain themes in the classical definition of beauty and will examine how these themes are interwoven throughout Athanasius’ apologetic . Second, it will attempt to prove that the aesthetic superiority of the cross, as implicitly argued in Contra Gentes-De Incarnatio, is rooted in the paradoxical nature of the crucifixion event. Thus, for Athanasius, beauty shines forth through paradox

Spartan Daily, January 16, 1936

Volume 24, Issue 61https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/2389/thumbnail.jp

Spartan Daily, January 16, 1936

Volume 24, Issue 61https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/2389/thumbnail.jp

Gardens in the Air: A Reexamination of the Ottoman Tulip Age

Scholars have long considered the “Tulip Age” to be a sort of Ottoman renaissance—a golden age initiated by the 1718 Treaty of Passarowitz and lasted until the Anti-Tulip Rebellion in 1730. However, recent scholarship has questioned the objectivity of the field’s founding historian, Ahmed Refik, who based his theory off of the twofold concepts of a marked increase in tulip culture and a movement toward westernization in the Ottoman Empire. Because of this shaky foundation, this research reexamines the debate from the beginning: the tulip’s connection to earlier Turkic arts and the actualities of Ottoman “modernization.” This perspective on the “real” Tulip Age is instrumental in suggesting a new hypothesis—that the Tulip Age did not exist in the way historians have accepted for a hundred years

Method and Meaning: Selections from the Gettysburg College Collection

What is art historical study and how it should be carried out are fundamental questions the exhibition Method and Meaning: Selections from the Gettysburg College Collection intends to answer. This student-curated exhibition is an exciting academic endeavor of seven students of art history majors and minors in the Art History Methods course. The seven student curators are Shannon Callahan, Ashlie Cantele, Maura D’Amico, Xiyang Duan, Devin Garnick, Allison Gross and Emily Zbehlik. As part of the class assignment, this exhibition allows the students to explore various art history methods on individual case studies. The selection of the works in the exhibition reflects a wide array of student research interests including an example of 18th century Chinese jade chime stone, jade and bronze replicas of ancient Chinese bronze vessels, a piece of early 20th century Chinese porcelain, oil paintings by Pennsylvania Impressionist painter Fern Coppedge, prints by Salvador Dalí and by German artist Käthe Kollwitz, and an early 20th century wood block print by Japanese artist Kawase Hasui. [excerpt]https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/artcatalogs/1014/thumbnail.jp

Spartan Daily, December 11, 1944

Volume 33, Issue 46https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/11006/thumbnail.jp

Spartan Daily, December 11, 1944

Volume 33, Issue 46https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/11006/thumbnail.jp

Spartan Daily, December 13, 1935

Volume 24, Issue 52https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/2380/thumbnail.jp

Spartan Daily, April 26, 1946

Volume 34, Issue 94https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/3750/thumbnail.jp

216 Jewish Hospital of St. Louis

https://digitalcommons.wustl.edu/bjc_216/1011/thumbnail.jp