A Thing of Beauty: How Everything Is Art and Art Is Everything - Paperback

by James S. Spiegel (Author)

John Keats's famous assertion that "beauty is truth, truth beauty, that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know" is typically regarded as quaint hyperbole. In this book, Spiegel shows why there is strong biblical and philosophical warrant for taking Keats's statement quite literally. Spiegel develops what he calls the "Divine Art Paradigm"--the notion that the entire cosmos is essentially a divine artwork--and explores its profound implications for understanding every area of human activity, from science and history to ethics and athletics. It also has significant applications to people's personal lives in terms of how they view their bodies and relationships, their work and recreation, and all of their dreams, ambitions, trials, and temptations. Every bit of who someone is and what they do has an important functional role in the cosmic mosaic that is the artwork of God. However things might appear at times, it is encouraging that God's work in people's lives is always and ever--to quote Keats again--"a thing of beauty."

Author Biography

James S. Spiegel is Executive Director of the Center for Faith & Life at Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. He is the author or editor of twelve books and over one hundred articles.